Consumers prefer plasma to LCD TV Panasonic research claims

Stan Beer
Sunday, 20 May 2007 12:40

Opinion and Analysis

According to a new survey, a whopping 69% of Australians prefer large screen plasma TVs to LCD. However, given the research was commissioned by plasma maker Panasonic, the sample size was tiny and the findings were skewed towards comparisons where plasma still has recognized advantages, the result is hardly surprising.

When plasma technology advocates start using surveys commissioned by a global plasma manufacturer based on a "massive" sample of 344 people in an attempt to establish superiority over fast rising rival LCD, you just get the feeling that they are desperately worried.

Looking at the key findings for plasma as expressed in the media release - more natural colour, better for fast moving images, better contrast, better reproduction of black, better for very large screen sizes - all advantages over LCD are well known and also known to be fast disappearing.

What the release didn't talk about was the significantly better viewing experience of backlit LCD TVs in brighter rooms as would be the case during day time viewing.

The release also didn't mention power consumption, with the hot running plasma TVs recognised by most sources to use at least 10-30% more power than equivalent LCD screens. The plasma crowd tries to defend the indefensible by claiming that plasma TVs only light up each pixel as required while LCDs have their backlights burning constantly. This may be true and is probably the reason that the power differential isn't 300% instead of 30%.

The release also didn't mention the notorious screen burn-in problems of plasmas from static images such as TV broadcasters' watermarks, computer use or video game use, although this is reportedly much less of a problem on newer model plasma TVs.

There is also no mention of the generally acknowledged greater lifespan of LCD over plasma, although most independent sources will say this is irrelevant because both plasma and LCD technology provide superior lifespan to CRT.

To top everything off, the release made no mention of the fact that LCD TVs are significantly less fragile, lighter, thinner and are acknowledged to be easier to install than their plasma equivalents. Plasma screens, judging by independent observations and feedback by store sales staff, will often require a professional installer while lighter LCD TVs can usually be self installed.

It made indeed be true that large screen plasma TVs are still better in terms of image quality than their LCD competitors. However, if this is truly the case, it would be helpful to have some meaningful genuine independent research using a reasonable sample size to show us why.