Dispelling the Myths About Plasma Displays

Fact or fiction? Sort it all out here.

By Keith Yanke

With the increasing popularity of plasma displays both for commercial and residential use, many questions have begun to circulate about the technology -- particularly when directly compared to LCD monitors. Keith Yanke, product specialist with NEC, dispels myths and finds truth concerning plasma displays. While both technologies offer many advantages, Yanke supplies the truths and facts behind the most commonly misunderstood perceptions about plasma displays.

The plasma display market continues to experience explosive growth and skyrocketing unit volumes. Research by the major display tracking services predicts that plasma sales will grow exponentially over the next few years. According to IDC, the plasma market will average 74% growth per year through 2007, offering resellers selling plasma a great opportunity to grow their businesses.

With the increasing popularity of plasma displays both for commercial and residential use, many questions have begun to circulate about the technology - particularly when directly compared to LCD monitors.

Below are some of the more common misconceptions about plasma displays.

It is CRITICAL that light is shed on these truths so end users truly understand the advantages of plasma displays for virtually any large screen display
application.

MYTH
PLASMA DISPLAYS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN LCD MONITORS.

TRUTH
Currently, plasma displays are offered in larger screen sizes at lower price points.

Plasma displays have become increasingly affordable and feature-rich since their introduction nearly a decade ago. The growing demand of plasma displays, combined with advancements and efficiencies in the development and production of the technology have resulted in larger, higher performing products offered at prices that start at under $3,000.00. LCD's by comparison, start at $5,600.00 to $5,800.00 for similarly sized models.

MYTH
PLASMA DISPLAYS WILL "DIM OUT" IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.

TRUTH
Gradual loss in brightness is the nature of any image-displaying device, LCD monitors included! Many plasma displays currently have "half-life" ratings as high as or higher than LCD monitors at up to 60,000 hours, which is equivalent to 20+ year of use at 8 hours a day/365 days a year.

MYTH
PLASMA DISPLAYS HAVE PERMANENT IMAGE RETENTION.

TRUTH
Image retention is possible with any image-displaying device, including LCD monitors. In fact, many users for LCD monitors specifically caution that image retention may occur depending on use.

Many plasma displays incorporate built-in phosphor protection measures with operating modes such as inverse RGB selection and programmable orbiters that can dramatically extend their lives. It is also critical that the proper content is used with a plasma display. Ultimately, however, responsible use is the best way to maximize the life of any plasma display.

MYTH
LCD MONITORS HAVE HIGHER BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST THAN PLASMA DISPLAYS.

TRUTH
For many applications, plasma displays have essentially equal brightness and a significantly higher contrast ratio than LCD monitors, although the comparison is not "apples-to-apples" since the technologies are different.

Brightness and contrast ratio play vitally important roles in displaying an image with clarity and definition. Contrast is also very important when displaying video images or playback because without them, there is no depth to the image or video being displayed.

 

MYTH
PLASMA DISPLAYS TAKE UP MORE SPACE THAN LCD MONITORS.

TRUTH
While plasma displays offer a "larger-than-life" image with screen sizes up to 60+ diagonal inches, they also provide a thinner and smaller footprint than any technology available for large screen applications, with depths just over 3"!

To date, the largest commercially available LCD monitor is 40" with the smallest footprint at 3.4".