Plasma TVs work with inert gases like xenon or neon, which are excited by electric pulses from specialized cells called pixels. This makes the gases glow. These glowing gases, in turn, produce the correct blend of red, blue and green light on the pixels. The pixels are illuminated by a fluorescent light bulb, which is driven by semiconductor software on the motherboard.

LCDs are actually thin film transistors (TFT), which contain liquid filled crystals between two plates of glass. LCDs work by blocking out unwanted light. When the signal hits the TFTs, they contort to a required angle, thus allowing only the requisite amount of light to pass through. A lamp behind the screen or a thin LCD bulb provides illumination to the TFT.

LCD TVs and plasma TVs have their individual strengths and weaknesses. Plasma TVs show better contrasts. Contrast means the ratio between the blackest black and the whitest white. A plasma TV can produce contrasts of even 3000 to 1, which is very high by LCD standards. LCD TVs can provide contrasts up to 900 to 1. However, in LCD technology, even a low contrast ratio can produce much better images.

Plasma TVs produce colors by addition of red, blue and green while LCD TVs produce colors by blocking unwanted light from the spectrum. Hence, plasma TVs produce colors by additive principle, while LCD TVs do the same by subtractive principle. That’s why plasma TVs are much better at producing colors than LCD TVs.

Plasma TVs also have wide viewing angles, as much as 160 degrees. Since LCD TVs produce images by an LCD lamp behind the screen, viewing angles aren’t wide. LCD TVs produce differently colored images when viewed at higher horizontal angles.

Though plasma technology wins over LCD technology in color, contrast and brightness, LCD wins hands down when it comes to the functionality. LCD TVs have greater longevity. Most LCD TVs can last up to twice the lifetime of a plasma TV. LCD TVs are also better suited to usage at higher altitudes or while traveling, because LCD technology does not use any gases, and is not subjected to air pressure.

LCD TVs are also energy efficient, as they require less voltage. This helps in reducing electricity bills.

Earlier LCD TVs were priced much higher than plasma TVs. But due to stiff competition, their prices have come down drastically. According to their current standing, LCD TVs cost only marginally more than plasma TVs.

The question always asked when buying a LCD TV is, why not go for a cheaper brand if it provides the same quality for a $1000 less? The purpose of a LCD TV is to produce high quality images. Newer brands (read cheaper brands) force themselves in the market by lowering their prices, but their quality is rarely up to snuff. They may not be able to compare with the images produced by, say, a Sharp or a Sony. There are many nuances in pictures like contrast ratios, intensities, etc., which cheaper TVs do not provide. However, cheaper sets compensate for their flaws in quality by sleeker designs and other peripheral features. If you are not too keen on image quality, but the price cut matters to you, then you may go for a cheaper TV.

Cheaper brands might also skimp on after-sales services and warranties. There are exceptions, though. Yet, a bigger brand with more experience at after-sales service may be more trustworthy.

The price of an LCD TV depends on the panel, which is the image display. The prices are drastically falling. Thirty to 32 inch panels now cost under $500. Even the prices of the most popular size, 42 inches has come down to $2500, which is significantly less than what it was last year. A complete 42-inch TV from a new brand would cost approximately $3000.

Cheap TVs are constantly being advertised extensively on online portals such as Costco and Best Buy. Sale of cheap TVs online is higher than that of bigger brands, illustrating the fact that people are opting for the technology itself rather than the quality it provides. It is expected that prices of TVs may slump more in successive years. But whatever the case, even the price of the cheapest LCD TV will remain higher than the price of other technology TVs.

When LCD TVs were first introduced, their major competition was the plasma TV. LCD and plasma televisions coexist and compete even today. Each has its own merits and demerits. LCD TVs cannot produce as much color or contrast as plasma TVs, but their overall picture quality remains better than a plasma TV. They can produce better resolution per square inch of their surface than a plasma TV.

Initially LCD TVs suffered from problems related to viewing angles. They could not be viewed from extreme horizontal angles. But now, LCD TVs are so designed that even at angles as wide as 160 degrees, they can be viewed with clarity.

The brand leaders in the LCD TV market are Sharp, Sony, Philips and LG. Sharp TVs have been consistently the best and they provide the best black to white ratio. Early LCD TVs were designed in a small screen format, but today they are available in screens as wide as 52 inches or even more. However, smaller screens can provide better picture clarity than wide screens.

LCD TVs can also be used as computer monitors. In fact, the technology was originally designed to manufacture laptop monitors. High definition LCD televisions are SVGA adaptable and they can be used to enjoy extreme graphic games on monitors.

The basic advantage of LCD televisions is their flatness. Even a widescreen LCD TV will be no more than a couple of inches thick. This also makes them lightweight. LCD TVs can therefore be fixed to wall mounts with supports. Due to this reason, one finds LCD TVs in hotels, airports, hospitals, discotheques, bars and wherever TVs can be mounted.
LCD TVs are the most expensive television technologies in the market. Their problems are diminishing, as more and more companies are spending millions of dollars on researching better technology. It won’t be long before prices spiral down and they become the best value for television technologies.