Difference between LED and Plasma TV

We will compare the difference between LCD and LED and Plasma TV. 3D TV is a TV which can play the 3D double picture signal. All three Plasma, LCD and LED can play 3D pictures provided they are fitted with the 3D signal receiver and process 3D signals.

To the questions like 'Which is better LCD or LED?' you will be able to decide for yourself after reading through this page

Sizes of TV

The standard sizes of flat screen TV are 22, 26, 32, 37, 40, 46, 50, 55 and 60 inches. LED TV are available from 32 inch onwards. Plasma TV are available from 42 inch onwards. The popular Plasma TV sizes are 42, 43, 50, 60 and 65 inches

Generally Plasma TV are cheaper than the equivalent size LED / LCD TV.

How much electricity does a TV use

We hope to answer that question here. LED TV is the most efficient in terms of electric power use. LCD comes next and Plasmas require the most current or electric power. Plasma was notorious for consuming lots of current but now has become much more efficient. To have an idea of the TV Power Consumption per month of the different TV, let us assume 5 hours per day of TV viewing. That is 1825 hours in a year (365 days x 5 hours). In the following TV Power Consumption Chart we have given against each type of TV the electric power use in Kilo Watt Hours, which is the Unit of Electric Power. You can calculate the electricity charges per month by multiplying the Total Monthly Units by the rate of electricity per unit at which you are billed.

Life of LCD and LED TV, Lifespan of Plasma TV,

All TV loses some of it brightness as the years go by. The lifespan of a flat screen TV is defined as the working time in hours it takes for the screen brightness to become half its original brightness. For LCD and LED the figure quoted is over 100,000 hours. For the life of Plasma TV the figure quoted is 60,000 hours. Let us look at these figures in perspective. We calculated as 1825 hours of TV Viewing in a year when viewed for 5 hours every day of the year. Thus 60,000/1825 = 32.88 years and 100,000/1825 =54.8 years.

So to the question: How long does Plasma TV last? The answer is at least 32 years. Thus You need not worry about the life of Plasma TV or any other TV for that matter.

Size and Weight of TV

Just by looking at a flat screen TV you will not be able to tell whether it is an LCD or LED or Plazma TV. They all look the same. LED TV can come with a very thin profile (front to back). Plasma TV is usually the heaviest and LED TV the lightest. The table below gives the weight of comparable TV.

Viewing Angle

Plasma TV without doubt has the best viewing angle. LCD and LED suffer from picture degradation as you move towards the sides of the TV. The picture also suffers if the TV is placed well above or below eye level.

Plasma TV Burnin

Plazma TV used to have a problem known as 'Burn-in'. Plasma TV Burnin occurs when there is one constant picture on the TV screen all the time, for example the logo of a TV station shown all the time in one corner of the TV. If you watch this TV station for a long time then that logo seems to get imprinted on the TV screen. When you watch another channel, the logo of the TV station referred to before, seems to appear as a ghost image on all channels. This is the phenomena called 'burn-in'. Now Plasma TV manufacturers have a plasma tv burn in fix to overcome this problem with a process called 'Plasma pixel-shifting' under different trade names like 'pixel wobbling', 'pixel orbiting', etc. Plasma TV of today have overcome this problem and do not suffer from it any more.

TV Brightness & Colour

LCD / LED TV normally have brighter screens and perform better in very brightly lit rooms. But under normal or dim lit rooms Plasma TV picture is better. Plasma has richer colors which appear more natural, whereas in LCD /LED TV the color tends to be oversaturated. The reason for this is that in a Plasma TV, each pixel has the red, green, and blue elements which can together create all colours in the spectrum, upto 16.77 million colors. LCD / LED TV on the other hand has to work with the white backlight and needs to reduce colours from white light to get the right colour. This is a difficult task, but modern LCD / LED TV does a good job of it. Newer LED technologies are trying to overcome this problem by having Red, Green and Blue LED bulbs as the backlight source and trying to match the colours of particular spots of the picture by on/off of the right coloured LED as required. This technology may come close to the Plasma colour but it is doubtful if it can match the Plasma, where each individual pixel produces the color required.

LCD and LED TV Motion Blur

LCD and LED TV suffer from an effect known as 'Trailing image' or 'Motion Lag'. This becomes obvious when you are watching fast action sports. For example a cricket ball while being hit to the boundary appears blurred. Similarly in football the ball, and sometimes the players, moving fast appear blurred with a trailing ghost image behind. The same effect can also be seen when in a scene, the camera moves fast from one side to the other, the whole picture starts to Judder or flicker. These effects are caused by the LCD elements not being fast enough to switch on and off. Plasma TV does not have this problem and so is usually the TV of choice amongst Sports enthusiasts. LCD and LED TV are trying to catch up and are doing a good job of it.

Contrast Ratio

Plasma TV has higher contrast ratios than LCD or LED TV. This is because of the inherent technology, where Plasma TV has millions of pixels which light up individually to make the picture. In a LCD / LED TV the picture is projected on to the viewer with a backlight at the back of the LCD panel. This inherently causes bleeding of light to the dark areas of the picture thus effecting the contrast ratio. LCD / LED TV are improving dynamic contrast ratio with use of technologies like 'Local Dimming' and slowly catching up with Plasma TV.