Plasma Vs LCD Vs LED TVs - What Are the Differences?

In the last 10 years, TV technology has advanced to a great extent and has brought in state of art technologies in providing the finest flat-screen TVs. The most important aspect of the technology used has mainly focused around the size, resolution and compatibility and with this, in the last 5 to 10 years there has been a gradual change in the choice and viewing expectations of people.

The manufacturers have now started to put in unique features in their flat-screen TV models making the product having a distinctive advanTAGe of full film effect viewing along with outstanding sound technology. There are various types of flat-screen TVs in the market today, and in order that you could decide between Plasma, Lcd, and a LED TV, you ought to know a bit about the differences.

Overview of Plasma TV: The display in a Plasma TV is made up of millions of tiny plasma cells, and to put it simply, these cells emit light to create a complete image on the screen when a precise volTAGe is applied to them.

Plasma TVs available now offer larger screen size than Lcds. The screen sizes of Plasma TVs that are commonly available in the market include, 30 inch, 42 inch, 50 inch and 63 inch models, while the LCD TVs are limited to smaller screen sizes, which range from 10 inch to 40 inch models. Presently larger screen sizes of more than 60 inches are being made available in the market. One favourable point is that, the LCD technology is more flexible, which allows wide variety of screen sizes to be developed.

AdvanTAGes on Plasma TVs:
- Plasma TVs are available in larger display screen sizes.
- Plasma has better black levels, and also the contrast ratio.
- Plasma TVs can be viewed from any angle, as long as the viewing angle is between 160 to 180 degrees. - Plasma TVs have top refreshing rate which captures every detail in a Fast action scene.
- Plasma screen can display billions of colors, producing smooth gradations of shades, enhancing the picture quality to a great extent, making the images life-like and realistic, responding sharply to Fast moving images.

DisadvanTAGes of Plasma TVs:
- Plasma TVS do not perform as well at higher altitudes.
- Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.
- Plasma TVS are thicker than LCD TVs and hence much heavier.
- Plasma TVs produce glare in brightly lit rooms though some advanceMent in technology has been made to correct this.

Overview of LCD TVs: LCD TVs have Liquid Crystal Displays, a technology which is seen being used in Computer monitors, cell phones, and at times are found in camera screens. LCD screen was first created for Computer monitors, and now with the application of the technology in LCD TVs, they seem to be a bit better when you are playing games on your TV. However, the choice enTirely depends on the user, since some like the vivid colors in Plasma TV, which comes from its deep black levels.

LCD panels work with liquid crystal solution being sandwiched between two polarized glasses. When an electrical voltage is applied to the liquid crystal, the crystals rotate, and this changes the polarization of the light passing through them. A LCD panel does not generate light by itself. It just Filters or subtracts its back light source to create an image on the screen.

Advantages of LCD TVs:
- LCD TVs have better longevity than the Plasma. The average life-span has been predicted as more than 30 years.
- The display of LCD TVs uses lower power compared to Plasma TVs, but has more consumption than LED. - The screen sizes of LCD TVs are available in various sizes starting from Computer monitor screens to over 60 inches.

Disadvantages of LCD TVs:
- The TV has a very poor contrast level and responds slower to Fast moving images, creating a blur.
- The prices of LCD TVs are higher than the Plasma, and because of the demand and increased production the prices are gradually falling.

Overview of LED TVs: The term 'LED' stands for Light Emitting Diode. It is an electronic component which emits light when a certain voltage potential is applied to its terminals. Though the TV using this technology is call LED TV, but the LED light source is used as the TV's backlight, while the TV screen is actually LCD. Though some current TV models use CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps), LED form of backlighting remains a far more efficient TV backlight system.

The Advantages of LED TVs are as follows:
- With LEDs as the backlighting source, the TVs have a far better dynamic contrast level than LCD TVs, since it uses a direct backlighting technology.
- LED TVS are ultra thin as much as about an inch in thickness.
- The power consumption of LED TVs are less than the LCD TVs currently available.
- Out of the flat screen TVs available in the market today, LED TVs are considered to be most reliable.

The disadvantage is that LED TVS are higher priced than LCD TVs, but prices are expected to come down with increased production.

The above is an attempt to provide a basic conception about the differences between the three technologies available presently in flat-screen TVs which would help a buyer to decide which TV to buy.

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What To Look For In Plasma TV Wall Mounts

One of the great advanTAGes of the modern TV screen is that many of the newer technologies employ display methods that allow the TV screen to be very thin by past TV standards. This makes having a large screen TV much more practical, especially in rooms where space is at a premium. Older large screen televisions that used CRT monitors were very large, bulky pieces of equipMent that only the most spacious rooms could accommodate. But that has all changed now with Lcd and plasma TVs.

So if you have decided on mounting your plasma TV to a wall in your home, you need to keep a few things in mind. First and foremost is the weight of your particular TV model. You can usually find that weight specification in the user manual or even on the box that it comes in. As you start to shop for a wall bracket system, make sure that any mount that you consider is able to comfortably handle the weight of your television. If for any reason, the wall mount fails you can wind up with a very expensive piece of equipMent on the floor pretty much destroyed. So with wall mounts you will need to have strong, sturdy equipMent that can easily handle the weight of your TV. As always, price will affect how heavy-duty the brackets will be, so don't spend a lot of money on the TV and then try to scrimp too much on buying a plasma TV mall mount.

If you can, it's good to get a wall mount that is specifically made for your TV model, but there are also good universal mounts available. It used to be that the only wall mounts you could get for most televisions were a set of metal brackets that mounted to the wall and the TV hung on those brackets. While very sturdy, it did not allow any moveMent or repositioning of the TV, so today, you can find flexible wall mount units that actually let you extend the TV from the wall and turn it to adjust the viewing angle too. Just bear in mind, that with every flexible joint in the mounting system, there is more chance that something can go wrong. So buy extra heavy-duty in this particular area.

Just getting the plasma TV wall mounts is only the first step though. Now you have to install them and we suggest that you have someone who is very familiar with this kind of task to do this Job for you. You can't simply drill holes at any spot in your wall and mount the hardware. You have to do it correctly or the weight of the TV will simply pull the wallboard down along with the brackets. So it's a good idea to factor in the cost of having a well-qualified person install the mounting hardware for you, in your total wall mount budget.

Once installed, a wall mounted plasma TV can be a joy to behold and Watch, and if done correctly, it will last for many years.

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