Trends in big screen TVs: Plasma or LCD?

Doharto J. Simatupang, Contributor, Jakarta

While the domestic TV market is still dominated by flat TV sets measuring 21 inches and 29 inches diagonally, larger-screen TV sets have started to become popular, particularly among the moneyed classes.

Large-screen TVs now available on the market use a variety of technologies, including cathode ray tube (CRT), projection, plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD).

Certainly, large-screen TVs have more to offer to viewers compared to smaller-screens.

There is a different sensation watching a program on a TV with a big screen. Take, for example, a football match. If you watch the match on a big screen, you feel as if you are in the stadium. Another example is nature programs. The animals featured in a program can be viewed in much greater detail.

It is now common to see television sets with a large-size flat panels hanging in airports and hospitals. These televisions are used as a means of conveying information to the public. Plasma and LCD TVs are now increasing used in conference rooms in offices. The thin LCD monitor is now often used with computer systems.

A plasma TV uses a technology that injects gases (neon and xenon) to create a reaction to bring out colors and pictures. As the movement of a gas is faster than that of a liquid, it may be concluded that a gas (plasma) is more suitable for use as a large-size monitor screen.

Plasma TV technology is now quite advanced. Take, LG, for example. This South Korean manufacturer has developed a technology called the XD engine, in which a low-resolution analog signal can be transformed in such a way that it becomes close to being a high-definition signal. This technology comprises six different processes to help enrich lighting, details, accurate colors and noise reduction. Besides, LG also provides its plasma TVs with Double Life (DL) technology, in which the life span of the plasma panel may be increased to 60,000 hours, or, in other words, non-stop operation for seven full years. An example of a LG plasma TV is MT-42PX10.

Physically, a plasma TV generally has a 42-inch diagonal and a wide screen with a ratio aspect of 16 to 9. In addition, a plasma TV is only 5 cm - 10 cm thick. Light and compact, a plasma TV can be easily placed just about anywhere and will take up only a little space. Thanks to this feature, a plasma TV is highly suitable for use with home theaters.

Pioneer's plasma TV is made with its Deep Waffle Rib Structure technology, which makes sure that the color of one cell will not mix with that of another cell, therefore ensuring that only proper colors will appear. In addition, Pioneer also claims that its Plasma TV HDG434, just like a Fujitsu plasma TV, can reproduce 1 billion color cells. It is worth noting that a Pioneer plasma TV can also be operated for a full 60,000 hours at a stretch.

The weak spot of plasma TVs is that they cannot tolerate the freezing of a picture for a long period, let's say about 7 - 8 hours. Long freezing results in a burn-in, in which the plasma layer, which is light-sensitive, will leave on-off traces in its phosphorus cells. If you have a Samsung plasma TV and use it with a 4:3 format, you can be rest assured that your TV is provided with a Screen Burning Protecting facility. In Fujitsu TVs, this facility is called White Screen. JVC Plasma TVs (GM-V42S type) and Pioneer plasma TVs are also provided with an automatic on/off timer that may be used to refresh the screen and therefore prevent the phosphorus from experiencing burn-in.

It is clear, therefore, that plasma TVs are not quite suitable for use in airports or railway stations as a means through which flight and train schedules are communicated. For this purpose, an LCD TV with a durability of 50,000 hours to 70,000 hours is more suitable. In terms of colors, a plasma TV is superior when presenting moving objects, while an LCD TV is superior when displaying stationary objects. Another weakness of plasma TVs is that they use a large amount of electricity.

Not all plasma televisions are High-Definition (HD) TVs. To be a HDTV, a plasma TV must have 720 horizontal lines. If you want to buy one, make sure that you opt for a plasma TV with a high level of contrast ratio and brightness. A Panasonic TH-42PW6, for example, has a 4000 to 1 contrast ratio, probably the world's highest. The higher the contrast ratio becomes, the more solid and thick the colors presented.

At present, competition in the market for plasma TVs with screens measuring 42 inches diagonally is the stiffest with TV manufacturers generally devoting most of their attention to this category. In addition, the market is now saturated with Chinese products offered at highly competitive prices such as the Changhong PT4206, Sanex SXT-4211 and Akira PLT-42SE.

Another type of large-screen TV is a projection TV. This type of television is vulnerable to lighting, particularly in comparison with CRT TV, LCD TV or plasma TV. In a room where there is excessive lighting, a projection TV will usually suffer from significant degradation in color. Another weak point of this television type is that it is large in size and takes up a lot of space.

The weaknesses of projection TVs is compensated for by a DLP (Digital Light Processing) TV. A DLP TV can maintain the sharpness of pictures and colors in brightly lit rooms, and they are not bulky in size. An example of a DLP TV is Samsung's HL- P5063W.

An LCD TV is a type of television set that uses liquid crystal to produce pictures. The superior features of an LCD TV is that it is thin and light and reproduces colors excellently. Also, it gives sharp pictures at original resolution and does not produce a burn-in effect on the screen such as happens with plasma TVs. Besides this, it is also electrical power-efficient and is way less expensive than a plasma TV. A Vitron ChD-W300C6 (30 inches), for example, is sold for Rp 10 million!

However, LCD TVs are not without weaknesses. In this type of television, the resolution is fixed while the contrast ratio is low. It is also difficult for an LCD TV to produce deep black.

Sharp has now brought out a LCD TV with a screen measuring 60 inches diagonally. For the Indonesian market, however, Sharp has launched released its 45-inch LCD TV, for example, the Sharp Aquos LC45G1M with a 800 to 1 contrast ratio. Compare this with LG's L4200A, which has a contrast ratio of 1000 to I, the highest in the world. Also available on the LCD TV market in Indonesia is a product by Toshiba, namely, the 32WL36P (32 inch) with a contrast ratio of 500 to 1 and a brightness level of 450cd/m2.

Of all these types of wide-screen TVs, the first to be introduced on the market uses CRT technology. Still produced today, these televisions have a maximum screen of 38 inches diagonally. Of all the types of wide-screen TVs (CRT, projection, DLP, LCD and plasma), CRT TVs are the most inexpensive.