Plasma or LCD?

[Computerbud]

Whats the difference between a Plasma TV and an LCD TV? Which is better, regardless of price?

[homeresque]

Thin Film Transistor (LCD) - Underneath the surface of the display panel are tiny transistors in a liquid material. When the transistors are energized they react with the liquid and produce a transparent red, blue or green hue. Energizing a combination of different colored transistors at varying levels of intensity produce other colors. The screen itself does not produce any light. There is a light assembly behind the LCD panel.

A plasma display is an emissive flat panel display where light is created by phosphors excited by a plasma discharge between two flat panels of glass. The gas discharge contains no mercury (contrary to the backlights of an active matrix LCD); a mixture of noble gases (neon and xenon) is used instead. This gas mixture is inert and entirely non-harmful.

For which is best, try this

[Computerbud]

Do you ever have to Re-Gas Plasma tv's? I heard you did but not sure!

[homeresque]

I'm fairly sure you don't (almost certain I read something from a trade body that said it was a myth) but apparently plasmas can suffer from image burn.

Never had one meself - I'm still happy with mt CRT!

[Computerbud]

Heheh ok you seem to know your stuff about these...my parents are after a new TV and want a HD plasma or LCD. What would you suggest?

They need one that you can plug your PC into...

[parkesquay]

Notwithstanding the techical stuff your first priority has to be size. For example if you are going from a 32" CRT the you will need to compensate for the loss of depth by going to a 37" LCD/plasma.

Also as a generalisation have a look at LCDs up to 37" and plasma for above that. For very big then projector screens come into the equation. LCDs have a poor picture at extreme angle(say 160 degrees) and plasmas tend to have a better brightness ratio but with a theoreticl burn problem . However you will not find many Plasmas in the 37" size or below.

All my research was done on 37"LCDs and Evesham models with their 3 year swap-out guarantee seem to be the business. See www.lowestonweb.com which is the retail outlet for Evesham.

I in fact ended up buying a 37" Panasonic plasma because it came with a 5 year guarantee and I didn't see how I could lose out over this period of time. Therefore length of guarantee should should also be a factor.

I hightly recomment www.totaldigital.biz as a first class site to get fair prices for all sorts of models together with a good description of the products.

Hope this helps