LCD, LED and Plasma TV – What’s the Difference?

As the technology is advancing too rapidly, the extent of opting to choose between LCD, LED and Plasma TVs is too overwhelming.

As you walk into an electronics store searching for a perfect flat screen TV, you are sure to discover a dozen models that all look alike. Even if all the 3 types look similar outwardly, there are several internal differences that make them stand apart.

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Let us consider some of the major differences between the three flat screen types – LCD, LED and Plasma.

How Do They Work?

The LCD/LED and Plasma technologies are totally different, while the difference between LCD and LED is only the backlight used in them.

An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TV has liquid crystal stuck between its display panel which gets activated when the power is supplied and uses a CCFL backlight. The LED TV too works on the same platform but light emitting diodes (LED) are used to provide the backlight.

But a plasma TV works on a completely different platform. It uses thin sheet of tiny individual plasma cells that project or produce a picture when electric current is passed.

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratio is the TV’s ability in displaying the images full range which is considered very essential in creating the fine details that are visible in the high contrast areas of the screen. As the individual cells of the plasma TV turn off themselves on the darker parts of the screen, they generally have a high contrast ratio.

Compared to plasma TVs, LCD TVs have a single liquid crystal and are not much convincing when they have to show the dark pictures. This is because the CCFL backlight used in them only dims itself, unable to display the darker pictures efficiently.

Conversely, LED TVs project the darker parts of a picture very convincingly as the individual LEDs used in them turn themselves off in the dark parts of the screen.

Color

The display and brightness of the colors is an important factor that every TV buyer considers before buying one. With the growing technology, all the TVs appear to show the same good quality picture in terms of color. However, it is supposed that a colored back-lit LED TV will show the best quality picture of all.

Viewing Angle

It is of course the angle from which an image on the TV is viewed. And the TVs are ranked in this category on how well they project the picture to viewers sitting at almost any angle. Plasma TVs rank the best in this parameter by providing a much wider angle for the viewers. LCD TVs fall back in this category as the color detail is lost when viewed from an odd angle. LED TVs stand between the LCD and plasma TVs as they minimize this problem fairly because of the colored backlight.

Power Consumption

Power consumption is definitely a fall point for the plasma TV as it consumes a lot more power when compared to LCD TV. But the LED TV is considered best in this parameter as its LED backlight is more power efficient and needs less electricity to light up. Due to this reason, the LED TV is considered as the greenest of them all.

So, make sure to check out the above parameters along with the price difference and the TV lifespan. Also decide which factors among these are important for you before you buy one.

This is a guest post by Safe Computing Tips. Visit our blog for some useful tips on ergonomics and ergonomics in the workplace.