So you’re looking at upgrading from that old round styled boxed TV set that’s been sitting in the living room for some time and picking up a big screen. After all, your mate has one and he loves it right? Probably not, though he won’t tell you this. The reason for this is he probably didn’t do his background research and didn’t ask the right questions when he was making the purchase. So this article has been specially designed to help prevent you from making the same mistakes he did. After all what is the difference in LCD and Plasma? Why upgrade? What questions do I need to ask?

No matter where you search or who you ask you always get someone trying to fill your head full of stats and specs that regular people just don’t understand. All you want to know is what to buy! So here is the part where you need to forget everything you know and ask yourself these few questions before going any further.

What size do I want?

Do I just want to watch TV and movies or will I also play games on it?

Will I be using it for long periods at a time?

Asking yourself these questions are very important, as they ultimately decide on whether you end up with an LCD or Plasma sitting in your living room. “How do these questions decide what I want?” I hear you ask. Well let me break it down for you.

Plasma

The advantage of Plasma screens is the really large picture you can get at a really cheap price. Plasmas are great for watching TV on and even better for watching that big sporting event.

The disadvantages of owning a Plasma unfortunately greatly outweigh the advantages. They get what is referred to as a bleeding of the screen. This is where the image appears to split and the colours bleed/gel into one another. This can happen anywhere on the screen and causes much frustration when trying to watch anything on it. Another problem Plasma screens suffer from is where watching one thing for too long can cause a burn-in effect. For example if you are watching your favourite sport and there is a constant box on the screen throughout the game, say the scores of two teams, that image may burn into the screen. So if you turn off your display you will still see this score box. This may sound like no problem but if you watch a TV station and their symbol is in one corner throughout all of their programs you will get a burn in from that as well. Now if you play games on your TV and they have the same kind of health boxes that are on the screen throughout the entire game then this will burn in as well. The reason I’m telling you this is imagine having your Plasma off and 10 different images burnt onto your screen in different spots and then going to watch a movie on it, the movie is wrecked by these burnt in images. The good news on this burn in effect is displays are now taking longer to burn in and Plasma companies are trying new things every day to fix this problem.

LCD

The advantage of LCD screens is they have next to no problems. You can play games, watch movies and TV on it and get no burn in effect. You can leave it on for weeks at a time and still be able to use it as though it were new out of the box.

There are 2 disadvantages of LCD screens, heat and pricing. LCDs get very hot to touch while in use and for a while after use. This is not good if you have people touching it (such as kids). The biggest fall of LCDs is the price. They are expensive for their size compared to Plasmas.

Now you know the advantages and disadvantages of both LCD and Plasma screens, you need to ask yourself those questions again and decide what best suits your lifestyle. After you’ve decided what you’re getting you need to choose whether to buy it online or in a store. When buying online be careful to choose companies that are trustworthy, for example have both a massive selection of products and perhaps give you the option to use a service such as PayPal. The majority of people still rather purchase bigger electrical goods in stores and therefore need this piece of advice. Do NOT listen to the salesman try and sell you what you don’t want, whether it is LCD or Plasma. You went in there to buy one thing and should not end up walking out with something you don’t really want. A good salesman can sell you anything and therefore will probably try to sell you old stock, a one of a kind item or something they get extra commission on. By all means listen to their advice and ask them any questions you have, but just remember it’s your money the salesman’s after.

The best piece of advice I can give you is stick with a name brand such as Samsung or Sony, they have been around for years and have a really good reputation with both their LCDs and Plasmas. I would try and stick with a middle sized LCD, as they are more multifunctional and even though it may not be as big as a Plasma and costs a little more, at least the image won’t burn in. If you’re never home and just watch the occasional movie or TV, then get the biggest Plasma the budget can afford! Hope these few tips help you decide what you’re going to purchase.

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