# Plasma vs. LCD Television **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793 "2002-07-25T16:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/1 "2002-07-25T16:51:30Z")
I’ve been having a hard time finding info on the distinctions between a Plasma television and an LCD television. I am aware how the different technologies work (the actual mechanics of the things) but I am unaware of the strengths and weaknesses of each to determine which is a better television to have. Also, I have heard that plasma and/or LCD TVs can fade or otherwise seriously lose their quality over time. However, I can’t find anything out on the internet that describes this problem. I got one vague reference to it from a review of a plasma TV released in 1999 that said the ‘new’ 4[sup]th[/sup] generation televisions got rid of some of the problems of the older generations (no more specific than that). I can’t imagine paying the hideous cost of these things only to find they need to be replaced every 4-5 years (changing bulbs I could live with but that’s it). ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/2 "2002-07-25T18:17:20Z")
This might be worth checking out: [http://www.circuitcity.com/ewebIMa/frame1.jsp?BV\_SessionID=@@@@0049406602.1027619988@@@@&BV\_EngineID=ccdgadcfkimijiicfngcfkmdffhdffh.0&upper=head.jsp&lower=frame2.jsp&left=leftchildcat.jsp&department=TV+Video+and+Camcorders&category=Flat+Panel+TVs&right=learnabout.jsp&learn=Basics](http://www.circuitcity.com/ewebIMa/frame1.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0049406602.1027619988@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdgadcfkimijiicfngcfkmdffhdffh.0&upper=head.jsp&lower=frame2.jsp&left=leftchildcat.jsp&department=TV+Video+and+Camcorders&category=Flat+Panel+TVs&right=learnabout.jsp&learn=Basics) If it doesn’t work, it’s a link to circuit city - TV video and camcorders - flat panel TVs. ---
**Author:** ![scotth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/3 "2002-07-25T19:17:03Z")
I haven’t heard where either technology is having serious reliablility issues. (That doesn’t necessarily prove anything). Picture wise, I much prefer plasma to lcd. Plasma tends to do a couple things better. 1. Higher contrast 2. Brighter 3. Wider viewing angle 4. Deals with ambient light better Having said that, I haven’t seen a single flat panel tv in either technology that I would want as my HDTV monitor yet. A couple reasons. 1. None of them do 1080 lines yet. Over 50 inches 1080 is distinctly better than 720 IMHO. 2. The largest screen I have seen is 61 inches and that is on a $20k NEC unit. 20 grand and it still won’t get 1080 lines. They do have major cool factor though. Still my budget is finite. I went with a 65 inch CRT based rear projection set. For comparison: Pro 1. It is still 4 inches larger than the 20k NEC unit. 2. it cost 1/4 as much. 3. It will do a true 1080 vs 720 (or 768) Con 1. The plasma unit is a bit brighter 2. My set is bigger/weighs more. However, I will be watching the plasma sets in particular. If the can get them to 1080 and about 70 inches in size with a price under 10 grand, it would be getting pretty attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/4 "2002-07-25T20:23:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scotth \* > **1) None of them do 1080 lines yet. Over 50 inches 1080 is distinctly better than 720 IMHO.** Whoa! How bad does that suck!? I mean you’re shelling out majorly big bucks for a unit that can’t even hit all the resolutions supported today? Man…I’m pissed off now because believe it or not I _have_ to get a flat panel display unless I want a very small TV. My problem is the stairs in the house I just moved to are too small to get a large TV up. The movers I had helping me were cursing my name as they hefted a 200+ pound 36" HDTV up to the third floor only to be stopped at the last turn. I had to take the whole freaking thing back. I had gotten used to that TV and am going nuts watching a 26" (27") standard TV and finally figured I could just manage a flat panel. I checked what you are saying to find the bastards had thrown me a curve ball. They don’t outright lie about anything but they say they get 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i broadcasts. Of course they don’t say they can’t actually _display_ 1080i as you said. Looking more closely I saw what you caught…768 vertical resolution. I was so looking forward to one of those… How many broadcasts are in 1080i? Right now I haven’t seen anything better than progressive scan. Is 1080i preferrable to 720p? You got more resolution at 1080 but your interlaced. Maybe it depends on how much motion is going on in the picture (the more ‘action’ in the scene the better progressive scan will help you). any Straight Dope on this? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/5 "2002-07-25T20:29:38Z")
Does this TV come any closer with a 1024x1024 display? [Sony KZ-42TS1](http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?itemid=29213&hierc=9685x9421&catid=) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/6 "2002-07-25T20:38:48Z")
Sorry for the multiple posts but I noticed one other thing… Only the plasma displays seem capable of 720p resolution. So far all the CRT and projection sets I’ve checked only do 480i,p and 1080i. ---
**Author:** ![scotth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/7 "2002-07-25T21:21:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \* > \*\*Does this TV come any closer with a 1024x1024 display? > > [Sony KZ-42TS1](http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?itemid=29213&hierc=9685x9421&catid=) \*\* Well, HD should display 1920 pixels across in 1080 mode. So, there is still a pretty good reduction in horizontal definition. As to the other questions, I haven’t noticed any real flicker or movement issues at 1080i. The only times it does jumpy stuff is when a channel is splitting their digital channel and running HD at reduced bandwidth (generally during demo loops and such). My TV runs in 1080 mode 100% of the time. My tuner upconverts all broadcasts (OTA and satellite) to 1080i. Native 1080 looks a bit better than upconverted 720, but it isn’t too drastic. Here is a quote of myself from another HDTV thread listing all the shows available and their formats. > [@](#): > > The District - 1080i > CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) - 1080i > Drew Carrey - 720p > The Agency - 1080i > The Young and the Restless (Daytime) - 1080i > Tonight Show with Jay Leno 1080i (This recently went up from 720p) > My Wife and Kids - 720p > According to Jim - 720p > Jag - 1080i > The Gaurdian - 1080i > Judging Amy - 1080i > Queen of Hearts - 1080i > Yes Dear - 1080i > Everybody Loves Raymond - 1080i > Becker - 1080i > > Looks like 1080 is pretty prevelant today. ---
**Author:** ![scotth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/8 "2002-07-25T21:26:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \* > \*\* > My problem is the stairs in the house I just moved to are too small to get a large TV up. The movers I had helping me were cursing my name as they hefted a 200+ pound 36" HDTV up to the third floor only to be stopped at the last turn. I had to take the whole freaking thing back. \*\* I can’t help but think that calling a mover that speciallizes in large items (like pianos for instance) would have gotten that TV in there. Is there not a window on the third floor that the set would fit through? Just hoist the sucker up and in through a window. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/9 "2002-07-25T21:31:40Z")
I finally found some interesting stuff that answers some questions raised here by **scotth** and myself. First off the 1080i deal with a plasma display (bolding mine). > [@](#): > > The 50" plasma monitors display somewhat different pixel resolutions. Native pixel resolutions of 1280X768 or 1365X768 are shown. These plasma monitors will use progressive scanning to show the best possible picture. An incoming 1080i signal will be cross-converted to 768P (as opposed to down-converted with an 853X480 widescreen monitor). An incoming 720P signal will be upconverted to 768P. **Therefore, the viewer will get a full and true HDTV picture.** > > SOURCE: [Plasma TV Buying Guide](http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/resolution-explained.html) As to the fading thing it seems to be true but not really an issue. > [@](#): > > **Misconception #1:** Many retailers seem to be telling consumers that plasma monitors will only last a couple of years which is false as you will see below. > > **Misconception #2:** The gas plasma inside the plasma TV can be refilled or replaced when it burns out. This is false. > > So how long will a plasma last? The long and short of it is that it depends upon your daily hourly usage as well as how you use the monitor. 12 to 17 years is my short answer. > _\_ > > For consumer use these numbers should be comforting. Plasma Displays are now about equivalent in longevity to CRTs, which typically state 25,000 hours or so life. Let’s put these hours in perspective. The average U.S. household watches 4 to 6 hours of television per day. Staggering. Taking a mean time manufacturer stated longevity of 22,500 hours of usage, times our average 5 hours per day we come up with over 12 years of usage. And that is on the low side of estimates. \*\*At 4 hours per day and 25,000 hours we are looking at 17 years. \*\* > > SOURCE: [Plasma TV Buyers Guide](http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasmatv-life.html) ---
**Author:** ![scotth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/10 "2002-07-25T21:50:06Z")
> [@](#): > > An incoming 1080i signal will be cross-converted to 768P (as opposed to down-converted with an 853X480 widescreen monitor). An incoming 720P signal will be upconverted to 768P. Therefore, the viewer will get a full and true HDTV picture. Well, anything greater than 720p meets the definition of HDTV, none the less, it still isn’t 1080. I love the use of the word cross-convert instead of down convert. If you are reducing resolution, it is down converting. I am sure it looks pretty good, but… On 3/4 or current prime time HD it will be a reduction in detail. I like the plan of up converting 720 to 1080 better. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-vs-lcd-television/120793/11 "2002-07-25T22:52:14Z")
Both should be at [howthingswork.com](http://howthingswork.com) aka [howstuffworks.com](http://howstuffworks.com)