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Plasma vs LCD TV - Comparative Guide

Choosing between a Plasma TV and an LCD Television
Part 1: Size and Price

We begin this Plasma vs LCD TV detailed comparative analysis by looking at the two most basic considerations - Screen SIZE and PRICE.

Price and Size

Picture Matters

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Last Update:
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Samsung LN52B750 52-inch
240Hz with gray 'Touch of Color'

Best-selling 52-inch 1080p LCD TV from the 2009 Samsung Lineup

Plasma vs LCD TV:
Screen Size & Price Issues

Intro: 'Screen SIZE' and 'PRICE' represent the two most basic issues one should look at before any other consideration when buying a TV.

Available budget will determine the available buying options, while the desired screen size may eventually determine the technology to opt for.

These two basic considerations are also interrelated in that price increases as the screen size increases.

Interesting is that when comparing plasma vs LCD, the increase in price with screen size varies from one display technology to another. What may be prohibitively expensive for one, may turn out to be rather inexpensive for the other.

Plasma vs LCD: Display Screen Size

Up to the recent past, the issue of 'Plasma vs LCD TV' would only arise in the 40-inch to 50-inch screen size range, in that collision between LCD and plasma TVs used to occur only within these screen sizes.

This is no longer the case; both plasma TVs and LCD televisions are coming out larger than ever.

In January 2008, Panasonic unveiled the world's largest plasma, a 150-inch Life Wall TV, an ultra-high resolution display sporting a 2160 x 4096 pixel count! This was Panasonic response to the world's largest LCD - a 108-inch LCD display presented by Sharp during CES2007.

It seems that if you were to compare plasma vs LCD available panel sizes, size does not represent a limitation to either technology. Rather, the real major problem for display panel makers is to produce the required giant-size glass substrate. At the same time, one cannot but remark that LCD production calls for more technological challenges. Producing a 100-inch 1080p LCD display panel without defects implies that the production process should ensure that the six million plus transistors etched onto the surface of the LCD glass substrate are all fully functional and without defects.

But prototypes apart, what sizes are available for consumer use?

Both plasma and LCD TVs are readily available in screen sizes up to around 65-inch. But with LCD TVs, anything above 60-inch diagonal is too expensive for most home theater budgets. The interesting Sharp LC65XS1U-S 65" 120Hz LCD HDTV released less than a year ago has an online price of $10,000. True that this represents Sharp Aquos flagship LCD; it is capable of exceptional picture quality and as with the latest trend in premium line HDTVs, it also includes Sharp Aquos Net - which offers similar IPTV features to that of Panasonic VieraCast, LG NetCast and Samsung Medi@2.0.

Move further up to the slightly larger 70-inch model from Sony, the Sony BRAVIA KDL-70XBR7 and expect to pay some $20,000 for a model of this size.

Slightly more affordable 65-inch LCDs are also available from both Samsung and Sony. Both the Sony Bravia W-series KDL-65W5100 and the Samsung LN65B650 are selling online at close to $5,000.

At the big-end of the scale, LCDs become significantly more affordable as one approaches the 55-inch and 52-inch screen categories. Sets such as Samsung LED 55-inch UN55B7000 is selling at close to $2,700 while the extremely popular high-end 52-inch Samsung LN52B750 and the corresponding Sony KDL-52XBR9 are both selling online at under $2,000.

It is true that at 52-inch, you are getting less screen estate. But when considering the big difference in price between 52-inch and larger LCD models, present pricing renders 52-inch LCDs as the most affordable and cost-effective LCD HDTVs within the 'big screen' domain.

The situation with plasma televisions at the larger end is slightly different. You have more choice at the larger screen sizes than with LCDs, and this at a substantially lower price.

Interesting products include the latest Panasonic VIERA TC-P58S1 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV and its bigger brother, the massive 65-inch TC-P65S1 - which are both available online at $1,700 and $2,400 respectively.

Samsung massive 58-inch PN58B650 ($2,199) and the 63-inch PN63B550 ($2,799) are also selling at about the same price while the high-end 60-inch LG 60PS80 is even more affordable at just $2,000.

58-inch TC-P58S1 1080p/600Hz
Panasonic Plasma HDTV

Even high-end 58-inch plasma TVs from Samsung and Panasonic are also more affordable than corresponding 55-inch premium LCDs. The Samsung PN58B860 and the Panasonic TC-P58V10 we recently reviewed on our site are selling at around $2,700 as against the $3,000 for Samsung's high-end equivalent LCD, the UN55B8000 LED LCD TV. Yet even more expensive at the 55-inch LCD category is the Sony KDL-55XBR8 LED LCD TV which at $4,500, is probably the most expensive 55-inch HDTV around. In this plasma vs LCD debate, some may argue that the Sony XBR8 is a super-performing TV, but in that case, even Samsung Series 8 and Panasonic V10 series represent equally top-notch performers.

At the smaller end of scale, namely for anything smaller than 42-inch, your only choice is LCD. While during 2008, we have seen a number of 37-inch and even 32-inch plasma TV sets, it seems that plasma TV makers have realized that plasma's real edge over LCD arises at the larger screen size of the spectrum rather than at the medium-to-small screen category.

Plasma vs LCD - Size ADVANTAGE:

If you were to compare plasma vs LCD TV sets for available screen sizes, it is clear that both technologies are playing on level ground, with a few differences though...

You have more choice when it comes to plasma televisions for screen sizes greater than 54-inch. This is partially explained by the fact that while production costs and retail prices have come down for both technologies, yet plasma still leads as far as production cost goes.

On the other hand, for anything smaller than 42-inch, your real way forward is LCD as plasma TVs within this screen category are basically non-existent.

Plasma vs LCD: Flat-panel TV Prices

Price is always a big issue when choosing an HDTV. In general, when comparing plasma vs LCD TV pricing, LCD televisions tend to be more expensive than their plasma counterpart - especially at screen sizes larger than 52-inch. And as we have already seen in this discussion, the price difference between these two display technologies shoot upwards as one crosses the 54-inch boundary - with LCDs becoming much more expensive than their plasma counterparts.

This higher price tag generally associated with LCD TVs is the result of the production process itself. Production processes for plasma displays still support a better yield and thus carries a pricing advantage, especially at the larger screen sizes.

This contrasts heavily with LCD production process where an estimate 30% of all manufactured panels have to be discarded because of defects leading to what are known as 'bad-pixels'. This also explains why manufactures never guarantee that an LCD display panel is completely free from bad pixels.

Recent developments in the manufacture of LCD displays have led to a substantial drop in the price of LCD panels. The latest prices of LCD HDTVs are more in line with those of plasma televisions of the same size, in particular for screen sizes less than and including 50 to 52-inch.

And at 42-inch, entry level 1080p plasma and LCD TVs are practically selling at about the same price. Panasonic 42-inch TC-P42S1 1080p plasma HDTV is selling at just under $800 as against the $850 of the Samsung LN40B550 1080p LCD TV - a price difference that is negligible.

Mind you, plasma still carries a price advantage overall and the lower pricing policy adopted by plasma TV makers for 2009 has in fact further strengthened this advantage. This led to over 35% increase in total plasma TV sales value during the second quarter of 2009 compared to quarter 1 sales. Instead, sales of 40-inch+ LCDs were flat and revenues were down 7 percent. This contrasts heavily with 2008 pricing when plasma and LCDs within the 40 to 50-inch screen size were selling at practically the same price tag - something which eventually led to a shrinking plasma market during 2008.

However, when comparing plasma vs LCD TVs, plasma's real price advantage at the 40 to 50-inch domain becomes significant mainly as one shifts towards the 720p HDTV category.

Lower resolution displays are cheaper to manufacture, yet while plasma 720p HDTVs are readily available, 720p LCDs at these screen sizes have almost vanished completely. Panasonic cheapest HDTV, the 42" TC-P42X1 720p plasma TV is selling online at just under $600. Instead, cheapest name brand 42-inch LCDs would start at close to $800. The 40-inch Samsung LN40B550 already referred to earlier on is approximately some 40% more expensive that the Panasonic X1. And yet, other than the higher screen resolution, these two HDTVs practically come with a very similar feature set.

Our best advice at this point is to buy with an open mind and opt for a 720p plasma HDTV if it provides the features you need. As pointed out in our plasma television sales article, a 720p television yields a far better deal at these screen sizes than corresponding 1080p HDTVs.

Do not underestimate picture detail on a 720p HDTV. While a 1080p display delivers more picture information, yet at any screen size less than or equal to 50-inch, the eye would not be able to perceive the increased level of picture detail afforded by a 1080p over a 720p display when viewing takes place at the recommended viewing distance.

Unfortunately, 720p LCDs have become almost inexistent at anything bigger than 37-inch. This means that if you want to make the most out of your available budget at this screen size, your only readily available option is a 720p plasma HDTV.

You see, the higher resolution associated with 1080p displays has its share in the product price - irrespective of whether this being plasma or LCD. And higher product costs afford higher price markups by both manufacturers and retailers. This explains the drive towards 1080p HDTV sets even at screen sizes where the higher resolution of a 1080p display would not yield any significant image viewing advantage for most content.

Plasma vs LCD - Price ADVANTAGE:

Up to less than two years ago, the plasma vs LCD price issue was non-existent as plasma was the obvious choice for all screen sizes where collision between the two technologies occurred.

This is no longer the case and the price difference between plasma and LCDs for anything up to 50-inch is generally minimal. Plasma's real price advantage at these screen sizes arises mainly as one opts for a 720p HDTVs.

On the other hand, at the larger end - 52-inch and above - plasma still leads by a good margin, with this pricing advantage becoming more pronounced as one crosses the 55-inch border.

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