Plasma is one of the most popular and used displays for flat panel televisions, so is LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Two layers of gas made of tiny cells within the display produce light and images when electricity converts the gas to plasma. Some of the benefits of Plasma screens are among many things, bright picture, rich colors, and a higher level of contrast than LCD Televisions. Plasma televisions are more appreciated when used to watch programs and films with a lot action and motion, based on the good contrast and pixel response time.

Contrast ratio is a measure to compare the darkest black with the whitest white. Plasma TVs score well on this parameter with a contrast ratio of up to 3000:1. LCD TVs have a contrast ratio of up to 1000:1; however, this metric is calculated differently for LCDs so it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. Plasma TVs, in general, offer a better contrast than LCDs.

Older models of Plasma TVs can suffer from burn-in produced by static images. After extended periods, stationary images ‘burn in’ the screen and produce an after-image ghost which remains permanently on the screen.

LCD TVs do not suffer from burn-in. However, it is possible for individual pixels on an LCD screen to burn out. This causes small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen.

Plasma TVs are capable of displaying deeper blacks. Improved black levels help render better those difficult-to-define quality attributes like picture depth, scene detail – especially in television and movie scenes where lots of dark and light content is shown simultaneously, and color richness. Indirectly, a better black level also leads to better rendering of picture contrast.

In comparison, the nature of LCD technology – where a backlight shines through the LCD layer – makes it hard for it to achieve true blacks, i.e. true absence of light. There is always some light leakage from adjacent picture elements in an LCD panel.

LCD Displays reproduce colours by manipulating light waves and subtracting colours from white light. This makes it more difficult for maintaining colour accuracy and vibrancy. But, LCD TVs have colour information benefits from the higher-than-average number of pixels per square inch found in their displays.

In plasma TVs, each pixel contains red, green, and blue elements, which work in conjunction to create 16.77 million colours. Colour information is more accurately reproduced with plasma TV technology than it is with any other display technology, including LCD TVs.

Plasma TV displays refresh and handle rapid movements in video about as well as normal CRT TVs. LCD TVs were originally designed for computer data displays, and not video. Refresh rates are therefore not as good. But LCD TVs are fast catching up.