LED TV Vs. Plasma TV

As far as the retail industry of television sets are concerned, the burning debate that is doing the buzz is the competition between two of the most advanced and technological television sets. Deciding on a winner between an LED TV and a plasma TV is an issue that has divided the opinion of experts and consumers the world over today. The choice is a difficult one as both television sets provide amazing features and greatly enhance the viewing experience of the consumers, but to pick one out of these TV sets is a task that cannot be performed properly without understanding the workings of both the TV sets.

LED TV

Simply put, LED TVs are just a subset of LCD panels. Only the method of illuminating the LCD pixels on your TV screen is the differing factor between LCD TVs and LED TVs, but apart from that, LED TVs follow the working of an LCD TV. The biggest advantage of LED TVs is that they consume the least amount of energy and power out of all the HDTVs available in the market today. You can save up to 40% percent of power using an LED TV set vis-a-vis an LCD TV or a plasma TV. The mercury free design of the light bulbs in an LED TV also ensure better eco-friendliness, along with the other benefits of extended panel lifespan and lower heat emissions of LED TV sets. When you are analyzing and comparing the various technologies that are used in TV sets, these factors begin to play a major role.

Plasma TV

Plasma TVs are very popular flat HDTVs, but they require more than just low prices to stay competitive with their counterparts. They are priced much lower if you compare them with LED TV prices, but this is not enough as LED TVs have a lot more benefits than plasma TVs. Cheaper plasma TVs have lower resolutions than comparable (price point comparison) LED TVs and as a result show lesser amount of details and graphics for movies and games. However, high-end plasma TVs are available that are capable of playing the highest 1080p full-HD resolution as well. But the main advantage of plasma TVs is that they can produce excellent colors and viewing angles at the same time.

LED TV Vs. Plasma TV

Now the question that arises in our minds is that which TV set is actually better, amongst both these differing technologies. You need to consider a variety of parameters in order to get the answer to that question about flat screen TVs.

Color Accuracy
In the current scenario, plasma TVs definitely have an edge over LED TVs as they deliver far superior color shades and quality. In the displays of plasma TVs, the color pixels are filled with three main colors - red, green and blue. These colors combine to create an effect of billions of different colors. The choice of colors depends a lot on personal tastes now as LED TVs are quickly closing this gap on plasma TVs in the LED TVs vs. plasma TVs debate.

Viewing Angle
In plasma TVs, each and every single pixel is lit, hence the view from any angle looks absolutely perfect. Over time the viewing angle benefits for LED TVs and LCD TVs in general have increased, but they are still considered inferior to the possibilities available in a plasma TV. Beyond a 75 degree angle off the center of an LED TV, the viewing quality will fall drastically. Thus as far as the viewing angle is concerned for LED TVs vs. plasma TVs, plasma TVs are the clear winner.

Brightness
This is an area that LED TVs win hands down. Plasma TVs are beginning to catch up with LED TVs now in the brightness quality, but they still have some distance to go before they can catch up. The reason why the brightness quotient is so high for LED TVs is that they are built with a superior diode backlighting system that emits tremendously bright lights.

Contrast Levels
A contrast ratio for a TV set measures the contrast between the darkest black and the brightest white. Plasma TVs were always built with great contrast levels, but LED TVs are catching up with them in this department. If you are considering the parameter of contrast ratios for LED TVs vs. plasma TVs, then plasma TVs are much better.

Longevity
In this regard, both LED TVs as well as plasma TVs are on an equal footing. Optimal viewing conditions can be seen for both kinds of TV sets till about 100,000 hours of use on an average. Thus longevity plays no part in the LED TVs vs. plasma TVs debate.

Screen Burn In
Screen burn-in is an occurrence that takes place when an image is left still for more than an hour. As a result of this, the picture retention qualities of the TV set takes a hit. LED TVs have never faced this problem because they instill a technology known as 'twisting crystals' to combat this. Over the last few years, top manufacturers of plasma TVs have also been creating some technologies to combat this, but so far LED TVs have the advantage.

Size and Cost
As far as size is concerned, both LED TVs and plasma TVs are available in large sizes, so there is no comparison there. Plasma TVs lead the line just marginally though. Since plasma TVs were manufactured before LED TVs, their manufacturing facilities and processes are already in place. The cost per unit of production for plasma TVs is lower than that of LED TVs due to this reason. As a consequence, plasma TVs are much more economical than LED TVs for the consumer and the overall quality of the plasma TVs is more than the LED TVs.

Comparison Point	LED TV	Plasma TV
Picture Quality	×	√
Color Accuracy	×	√
Viewing Angle	×	√
Brightness	√	×
Contrast Levels	×	√
Longevity	√	×
Screen Burn-in	√	×
Size and Cost	×	√
Power Consumption	√	×

(tick indicates the better option in that particular comparison)

As you can see, LED vs. plasma TV comparisons show that there is not much to choose over each other. A few final tips to help you choose are:

• If you are going to be installing the TV in a bright room, go for LED TVs as they are brighter and will make viewing in bright conditions easier. However, in dim conditions, plasma is the better option.
• If your TV is going to be anything less than 42-46 inches in size, go for LED again, as plasma is only better in 42 inches and above. If fact, you might be even hard-pressed to find a plasma TV that is smaller than 42-46 in size.
• If you are going to be connecting your PC to the TV, then you should go with LED yet again, as plasma does not display static images as well as LED.
• If you are worried about power consumption, then again LED is your choice, as it consumes far less than plasma TVs.
• For a wall mount, the viewing angles on a plasma make it a better choice, though the weight is a factor as LED weighs less.
• If you watch a lot of sports, plasma is the choice for you, LED/LCD suffers from motion blur (though at very minute levels).

Both TV technologies have pros and cons, with both excelling where it counts the most. Go for either of the technologies and you can't go wrong. But if you are one of those finicky people who must know the niggles, then these points should help you.

Keeping these parameters in mind, the LED TVs vs. plasma TVs debate can be seen in a different light. Both kinds of TV sets provide a superior viewing experience, especially for digital TV, and both are highly advanced products of technology, but based on the factors discussed here, plasma TVs are marginally better than LED TV sets.