Marshall Brain's Blog

I have a friend who is wanting to buy a "hang it on your wall" type of HDTV. His question is, "which should I buy - Plasma or LCD?"

I saw an article talking about differences in LCDs, plasmas and a new technology called SED. The article is not available online, but here is what it says:

"In one demo clip there was a swinging metal pendulum engraved with words. On the LCD the letters were almost too blurry to make out. On the Plasma you could pretty much make out what it said. On the SED you could make out the font of the engraved letters. On the plasma, and even more so on the LCD, anything with motion doesn't have the detail that static images do. On the SED all is clear and sharp."

You can see in this quote two things. First, LCD is not as clear as plasma on moving images. Second, there is a new technology called SED that is "just around the corner" (isn't that always the case?) and is better than both. SED won't be available until next year.

This online article compares LCD to Plasma and says about the same thing:

Plasma VS LCD

LCD has a smearing problem because the pixels cannot react fast enough in moving images. Plasma has a bit of a lifespan problem, and is subject to burn in.

Here is a quick introduction to SED technology if you would like to learn more:

Large, Slim Displays with Image Quality on Par with CRTs

It should be here as early as 2006 in mass-produced quantities by at least one manufacturer.

The other technology that has been "just around the corner" for years is the OLED. This technology seems to be moving on a slower track when it comes to large displays. Here is an intro:

OLED Displays

It is not clear when large OLED displays will be available in mass quantities - perhaps not before 2007.