This is a researched review and article for those who are trying to understand todays HDTV technology. Read on here: http://plasmavslcdvsled.net

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Difference
Between
Plasma
and
LED
When it comes to shopping for a High Definition Television [HDTV],
shoppers ask themselves an important question!
Should I go for a Plasma TV or an LED TV? What's the difference
between plasma and led? What is the technological difference
between plasma and led? If you are one of them, then, yes, you are
on the right page. Today, I will talk exactly that.
Plasma
TV.
Plasma TVs uses a plasma display panel [PDP], and is a flat screen
TV. It is usually used on large screen TVs.
Behind the flat screen of the TV, there are millions of tiny dots, or
technically called pixels or cells. Each cells have three sub cells
within it, one sub cell will be coated with phosphor that glows red
when photons strike, the other is coated with phosphor that glows
green when photons strike and the last one is coated with phosphor
that glows blue. These cells contain a mix of xenon and neon gases
with a tiny amount of mercury. When an electrical charge is applied to
the cells, the gas within each cell forms a plasma. While electric
current flows through each cell, the loose electrons moving through
the plasma, collides with the mercury molecules. This collision greatly
spikes the energy of the molecules and the excess energy is diffused
as ultraviolet photon. The phosphor coating inside the cells, when
struck by the photons creates different colors of light. The color
produced depends on the phosphor type coated inside the cells.
The cells we talked above are usually a teeny-weeny neon lamp,
containing the gases and phosphor coatings.
Depending on the video signal coming into the TV, these different

2. colors orchestrate to create the all-embracing color of the cells and
thereby form the whole colorful images on the screen.
Talking about the resolution, the plasma TV today, usually has a
typical native resolution of 1080p.
Plasma TV resolution is not an important factor to the overall picture
quality compared to other factors like contrast ratio.
The top three important factor that governs the picture quality is
contrast ratio, color saturation and color accuracy.
Here area some of the pros and cons of Plasma TV
Pros.
• Produces deeper blacks and therefore excellent contrast ratio
Contrast ratio is the difference between the illuminated and darkest portions of
an image. Higher the contrast ratio, sharper the picture.
• High refresh rates and therefore less motion blur
Refresh rate: means the number of times in one second, the display draws the
data/image.
Motion blur: means when showing moving images, the television has to draw
images in pixels, so quickly that the human eye cannot detect. If the refresh
rates are less, then the moving images will cause a blur.
• Viewing angle is much more wider than LCD.
In LCD, if you view your favorite programs or shows from an angle,
the picture degrades.
Cons.
• Screen burn. There are technological advancements to reduce
screen burns but still don’t prevent it.
when a non-moving image or text is displayed for a prolonged time, can create
permanent ghost-like image of these images or text.
• Power consumption is more than LCD

3. • Can cause buzzing noise when used at high altitudes.
this is because of the pressure difference between the gases inside the cells
and air pressure at high altitudes.
LED
TV.
Light emitting diodes [LED] are illuminated by the free movement of
electrons through a semiconductor. LED is a semiconductor.
Semiconductor means, a material, which has a varying ability to
conduct electricity. The material used to construct LED is aluminum-
gallium-arsenide.
LED TV is in fact just an LCD TV, which uses light emitting diodes
[LED] as the light source to light up the screen, unlike LCD TVs,
which use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps [CCFL]. An LED is
basically a teeny-weeny light bulb. Unlike the regular light bulbs, it
doesn’t have a filament to burn out. LEDs have a really long life span
compared to a regular light bulb or fluorescent lamps.
This is one of the main differences between Plasma and LED TV.
LEDs can be laid in different configurations behind an LCD screen
and uses either white LEDs or RGB [Red, Green, Blue].
Full
Array
LED
TV.
[With
local
dimming]
In this configuration, a full array of LEDs is arranged behind the entire
screen. Certain zones of LED behind the screen can be locally
dimmed or brightened. So if the picture on the TV demands certain
areas to be dark and other areas bright, the LEDs will be dimmed in
dark areas of the picture and brightened in brighter areas of the
picture. This results in an increased contrast ratio, and therefore
sharp picture. Two types of LEDs are used in full array, White and
RGB [Red, Green, Blue]. TVs with RGB LEDs are capable of a wider
color range..

4. Pros.
• Can produce deeper blacks and therefore higher contrast ratio
and sharper picture than Edge-lit models.
Contrast ratio is the difference between the illuminated and darkest
portions of an image. Higher the contrast ratio, sharper the picture.
Cons.
• Slightly thicker than Edge-lit LED TVs
Edge-­‐Lit
LED
TV.
[With
local
dimming]
A very few hand select models are available in this model from Sony,
Samsung and LG. Edge-Lit LED TVs have LEDs arranged along the
four sides of the TV, instead of the entire screen. A special light guide
is used to spread the light uniformly across the screen. In this model,
local dimming is possible in certain zones of the screen without
placing LEDs behind the screen. Picture is sharper than the Edge-lit
model without local dimming but not at par with full array models.
Pros.
• Can produce deeper blacks and achieve higher contrast
ratio than Edge-Lit models without local dimming.
Contrast ratio is the difference between the illuminated and darkest
portions of an image. Higher the contrast ratio, sharper the picture.
• Thinner profile than full array model
Cons.
• Picture is not as sharp as full array models.
Edge-­‐Lit
LED
TV.
[Without
local
dimming]
This model is same as Edge-Lit with local dimming except that local
dimming is not possible.
Pros.
• Thinner design than full array models.

5. • Weighs less than full array models.
Cons.
• Contrast ratio is not as good as full array, because local
dimming is not possible.
Contrast ratio is the difference between the illuminated and darkest
portions of an image. Higher the contrast ratio, sharper the picture.
• Lighting may not be uniform across screen
In this article, we talked about the difference between Plasma
and LED TV. The materials used in construction of each and
the pros and cons.
Hope the information provided will help you in your HDTV
shopping.
==== ====
For more interesting reads, check this out:
http://plasmavslcdvsled.net
==== ====