Choose a Flat Panel TV

LCD or Plasma?

First of all, coupons short the question that every buyer uninformed will inevitably arise in their favorite store: LCD or plasma? But before answering this question is probably one of those facing the most when buying a flat screen, it is necessary to detail a few lines of the principle of these two technologies are quite different.

The operating principle of the LCD screen

The slab of an LCD is composed of several layers that are traversed by a light background (created by neon). The light rays will be projected onto a polarizing filter and through a first layer of glass, then a filter guidance. The light then reaches a slab containing liquid crystals, which are more or less direct and pass on the basis of an electrical current. A second filter direction, 90 degrees first, then will pass some rays and filtered. The light will eventually pass through a color filter, red, green or blue, then a second layer of glass and a third polarizing filter. The pixel is created and it will call the image of the LCD.

The operating principle of the plasma screen

The slab of plasma is composed of two glass plates, between which there are hundreds of thousands of capsules filled with a gas mixture (xenon) that glow when subjected to an electric pulse. For a pixel, it takes three capsules component colors (red, green, blue). Electrodes are subject to an electric pulse of varying intensity, which excite the gas mixture and illuminate the phosphors contained in these capsules.

The difference

The fundamental difference between the LCD technology and operation of the plasma is therefore in the fact that an LCD screen, there is a light-based wrought by the LCD. But this work is not perfect, and when it comes to reproducing deep black, the role of liquid crystals (which must then keep all the light) is undermined. In contrast, plasma technology, the pixel emit no light when not solicited. This difference explains why LCDs are not getting as deep blacks that plasma screens, although their contrast tends to increase through a correction electronic attack and the use of a powerful lamp (which promotes Report white / black).

True false question!

Even if these differences exist, however they tend to fade over the improvements in digital processing, and the question of opting for an LCD or plasma can not find his answer in the depth of black or latency. In reality, they are more manufacturing constraints that will guide your choices, because LCD panels exceeding 40 inches are not plenty, while in contrast, plasma screens with a size less than 50 inches are virtually no on the market. So the space you have in your living room and the budget that is yours that make the difference predominantly in relation to choice of technology. Finally, you are faced with a situation where you have little choice but where space constraints and budget cut for you. The first question you ask a salesperson must also be: what have you back in your room? We shall see later that in a context of visual comfort, the screen size to choose depends on the distance from your screen to your sofa.