Tuesday, August 14, 2007 6:13 PM
What’s the difference between plasma and LCD TV?
Well, the main difference is in the way the picture is
created on your TV screen. (For all you techies out there, the plasma is made
up of thousands of phosphor-coated bubbles that emit light and create the
picture. An LCD or liquid crystal display, on the other hand, has tons of
pixels in the screen with a light source behind it.)
This probably means nothing to most of you, but it makes a
big difference when it comes to cost and performance. You can get a big screen
plasma TV for the same amount of cash as a smaller LCD (like a 32-inch LCD
versus a 42-inch plasma) because LCDs have a longer screen life and provide a
slightly sharper picture. Plasmas also have the drawback of "burn in,"
which happens when an image becomes frozen onto the screen if the TV left on the
same channel for a long time.
If you’re still watching House
on an old tube that requires an antenna, though, both of these are
definitely well worth the upgrade.