Video Asylum

Posted by halfnote (A) on October 13, 2006 at 21:58:44

In Reply to: LCD Flat Panel TVs...... posted by klepp on October 8, 2006 at 18:58:47:

No, LCD flat panels are NOT subject to burn in. For this reason, they are often chosen over plasmas for computer gaming, computer display, and other applications that involve standing images.

It should be noted that plasmas today are are LOT less subject to burn-in than the early ones. That doesn't mean I'd take any chances with a $3000.00 set. If you turn down the brigtness, i.e., if you don't overdrive the monitor, it will be even less likely to exhibit burn in.

I have also heard that the life span of LCD is somewhat longer than plasma, as much as 50 to 100%. But you will probably replace your tv before it burns out, whichever flat panel you buy. Even the plasmas are rated for 10 years of heavy use. LCD do become dimmer with age as well. I don't know if this is the case with plasmas.

LCD generally give you the highest resolution and the brightest most vivid colors. However, this advantage is greatly compromised by the lower contrast ratios. Simply put, this means LCDs are not as effective as plasmas when it comes to displaying deep blacks or detailed whites. LCD blacks are often grayish, and the whites can be harsh. You can lose details of figures moving in shadows, and, similarly, brightly lit scenes can "wash out" details as well.

But, for my money, LCD is the way to go if you're going to watch HD content, especially if the geometries of your set match up well to the broadcast HD specs. 1080i looks great on my set, because it is a native 1080 set. HD images that come through at 720p don't look quite as crisp or revealing, though they still look much better than standard def.

There are very few plasmas that can display 1080 lines natively. Plasma pixels are not as easy to make small as LCD pixels, as I understand it. The only plasma native 1080 set out there costs 10 grand (it's a Pioneer, I think). You can get lots of 1080 sets in LCD for much, much less.

Hope this helps.