Choosing between a Plasma TV and an LCD Television

Plasma vs LCD - a Comparative Guide (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.

Samsung PN58A650 58" 1080p HDTV An affordable big screen option from a leader in HDTV

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 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 in larger sizes.

Up to not long ago, the largest two plasma displays just exceeded the 100-inch size; these came from Samsung and Panasonic. However, 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 massive plasma display is expected to go into production in 2009.

And what about LCD TVs? During CES 2006, Samsung and Sony had presented the then largest LCD panel, an 82-inch prototype LCD HDTV. However, it did not take long for Sharp to come up with something bigger. During CES2007, Sharp presented an LCD giant prototype that was 108-inch in diagonal!

It seems that when comparing plasma vs LCD TV sets, size does not represent a limitation to either technology; rather a real major problem here arise with producing 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 to end customers?

Both plasma and LCD TVs are readily available in screen sizes up to around 70-inch. A 103-inch (TH-103PZ600U) HDTV plasma model from Panasonic is also available, though at $70,000, it would be difficult for this massive plasma to find its place in home entertainment.

With LCD TVs, anything above 60-inch diagonal is - to say the least - too expensive for most home theater budgets. The interesting Sharp LC65SE94U 65" 120Hz LCD HDTV in the famous Aquos range of LCD TVs has an MSRP of $10,000 though it is presently selling at amazon at under $6,000. True that this represents Sharp flagship LCD; it is capable of exceptional picture quality and as with the latest trend in premium line HDTVs, it also includes a built-in network media player. Move further up to the slightly larger 70-inch model from Sony, the Sony BRAVIA KDL-70XBR3 and expect to pay some $20,000 for a model of this size.

Significantly more affordable are the slightly smaller 52-inch LCD 1080p HDTVs. The extremely popular Samsung LN52A650 52" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV is selling at close to $2000. Similarly, the highly rated Sharp Aquos LC52SE94U 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV  is selling at amazon at under $2,200.

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 models, present pricing renders 52-inch LCDs as the most affordable and cost-effective LCD HDTVs within the 'big screen' domain.

Interesting is that both the Sharp and the Samsung LCD TV sets use innovative, though different backlight technologies that yield improved color freedom.

Unfortunately, as you move towards anything larger than 52-inch, your choice for an LCD HDTV is still very much limited. Nevertheless, if you want a truly big screen LCD TV and you can afford it, it is readily available.

The situation with plasma televisions at the larger end is slightly different. You have more choice at the larger screen sizes than with LCDs. Interesting products include the latest Samsung PN63A650 63" Plasma 1080p HDTV, selling at under $4,400, and the TH-58PZ800U 58" Panasonic Plasma HDTV, which is available online at $3,700.

Panasonic TH-58PZ800U 58" Plasma HDTV

At the smaller end of scale, namely 32-inch to 37-inch TVs, the situation is somewhat different in that whereas at the larger end of the scale, plasma gives you plenty of choice, at the smaller end, plasma HDTVs are almost non-existent. Furthermore, at anything smaller than 32-inch, your only option for a flat panel TV is LCD. Top-sellers in this size bracket include the relatively inexpensive Samsung LN32A450 32" 720p LCD HDTV, which at the time of this write-up occupies the top-most position in terms of LCD HDTV sales at amazon. Another equally affordable 32-inch LCD TV is the Panasonic TC-32LX85 720p LCD HDTV, which at a price tag of $570, is one of the cheapest 32-inch LCD HDTVs from a top brand.

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, though...

You have more choice when it comes to plasma televisions for screen sizes greater than 52-inch. This is partially explained by the fact that while production costs and retail prices have come down for both technologies, plasma still leads as far as production cost and capacity go.

On the other hand, at the smaller end of the spectrum, i.e. at anything smaller than and equal to 37-inch, LCD is the dominant technology; anything smaller than 32-inch implies LCD.

Plasma vs LCD: Flat-panel TV Prices

Price is always a big issue when choosing a flat panel TV. Although prices vary, yet when comparing the prices of plasma vs LCD TV sets, LCD televisions tend to be more expensive than their plasma counterpart - especially at screen sizes larger than 52-inch.

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 of more than 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 would 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. In fact, 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-inch.

In fact, as one approaches the 50-inch size - often referred to by many as the sweet spot in home entertainment, the difference in price between the two technologies start to get less of an issue. Mind you, plasma still carries a price advantage here but it is only marginal. Just compare the latest 52-inch Samsung LN52A650 LCD HDTV with its slightly smaller plasma equivalent from within the same brand, the 50-inch Samsung PN50A650 plasma HDTV; the plasma is just $350 cheaper than its LCD counterpart. And this marginal difference would become less of value if you were to project the present day pricing of this 50-inch plasma over a similar but hypothetical 52-inch plasma unit for a more precise comparison between the two. The price difference in favor of plasma would turn out to be just about $200; negligible in comparison to the $1000 or so you had to pay a few years ago.

Move closer to the 40-inch and the difference in price between the two technologies almost vanishes unless...

You buy with an open mind and opt for a 720p plasma HDTV. As pointed out in our plasma television sales article,  a 720p HDTV would yield a far better deal at this screen size, yet 40-inch 720p LCD TVs are becoming almost non-existent. This means that if you want to make the most out of your available budget at this screen size, your only readily available 720p option is a plasma HDTV.

We say that you need to buy with an open mind. Sales rep would tell you that 720p would not deliver the same level of picture detail as a 1080p HDTV. This is true. But 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.

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 profit margins for 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 advantage to the viewer.

Plasma vs LCD - Price ADVANTAGE:

The playing field is leveling at a fast rate. Up to less than two years ago, the plasma vs LCD price issue was non-existent - plasma was the obvious choice for all screen sizes where collision between the two technologies occurred. This is no longer the case.

In general, plasma still leads by a good margin only at the bigger screen sizes - anything larger than 52 inch - with the pricing advantage getting more pronounced as one approach the 60-inch domain.

At the smaller end of the spectrum (32 to 44-inch), price becomes almost a non-issue and though plasma HDTVs still tend to be slightly cheaper, yet the price difference between similar models is almost non-existent.

Last Update:
17^th September, 2008

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