The average person looks forward to relaxing in front of their TV after a hard day’s work. For many people this relaxation can now take place in front of a plasma TV. To decide which of these TVs is best for you will need to look at the difference between plasma and LCD televisions.

The main criteria that you will need to look carefully at are screen size, television thickness, viewing angle and burn-in. These issues will help you to understand the difference between plasma and LCD TVs better for making an informed choice.

In the screen size you will find that a LCD screen can range from 13 inches to 46 inches. This is set to change as there are bigger sized LCD’s about to come onto the market. For the plasma TV the screen size is from 32 inches to 60 inches.

Here the difference between plasma and LCD is that plasma TV’s are currently larger sized but the technology of LCD’s is making the large screen for LCDs a reality. For the thickness issue you will not find too much of a difference as both the LCD TVs and the plasma TVs are both manufactured to similar sizes of thickness. In general the flat screen TVs are about 1 to 2 inches in depth.

This slim style allows you to hang or place your plasma and LCD television anywhere that you want. The other factor you will need to look for in the difference between plasma and LCD is the viewing angle.

Generally LCD televisions have a fixed angle of viewpoint. This means that once you have placed your LCD television on a stand or in a TV hutch you will need to physically change the direction of the TV to see the picture.

With a plasma TV you have the option of placing your TV in a place where you can see it from any place in the room. For the optimum viewing pleasure your plasma TV you should sit at a reasonable distance so that you see the picture clearly but you will not see the individual pixels.

The same is true for LCD TVs but here there is a slight advantage for the LCD televisions because the screen resolution in terms of pixels is clearer. In a LCD TV you will receive a smooth looking image, much more than you would with a plasma TV. For this reason you will find the screen resolution difference between plasma and LCD only ends at the large end of scale for both of the TVs.

The difference between plasma and LCD TVs is not that much when you look at the various issues. You should however remember that these issues are only one way of selecting a plasma TV or a LCD TV.

You may not realize it, but you probably use an LCD device every day. If you own a laptop computer, a microwave oven, a modern thermometer, a CD player, or a digital watch, all these are LCD technology. LCD stands for “liquid crystal display.” Look at the numbers displayed on your microwave oven; do you see how crisp and clear they are? How about the dials and numbers on your digital watch? LCD technology beats the traditional cathode ray tube and projection TVs in clarity, resolution and sharpness. Not only is it virtually impossible to mount a clunky cathode ray tube TV on your wall, but tubes wear out quickly and the picture quality of projection TVs is notoriously poor.

For home entertainment purposes, most people are especially interested in LCD televisions. When LCD technology was first introduced, the prices of these TVs were typically very high. But in the past few years, LCD TV prices have dropped as the technology became widespread and affordable. Try this simple experiment: go to a large electronics store and ask the sales staff to show you an LCD TV and then a traditional cathode ray tube TV (if they even have one!). You’ll notice the picture superiority of the LCD immediately. Plus, LCD TVs are thinner, lighter, and use less power than cathode ray TVs. LCD TVs come in high definition (HD) compatible models that create an even sharper image, in thin, flat panel models, and widescreen models. Each type of these LCD TVs have specific advantages. For example, if you want an LCD TV in your bedroom but don’t have a lot of wall space, a flat panel model will serve you well. But in your living room, you’ll most likely want a TV that has high definition and a wide screen to set up your home theater components.

When you decide to buy an LCD TV you have many models, sizes, and pricing options to choose from. Consumer guides and customer reviews rate the “best of 2008” LCD TVs as:

- The Samsung 52-inch 1080p HD TV
- The Sony Bravia 52-inch 1080p  HD TV
- The Panasonic 50-inch 1080p HD TV
- The Sharp Aquos 42-inch 1080p HD TV
- The Samsung 32-inch 720p  HD TV

You can find the LCD TV that meets all your space requirements, including 19, 37, 46, 61 and 65-inch TVs. You can also find great prices on LCD TVs locally or on-line. One thing is certain: cathode ray tube televisions are rapidly becoming obsolete in comparison to LCD HD TVs. Projection TVs are no longer manufactured. Also, LCD technology tends to be cheaper than plasma technology for televisions and computer monitors. The best buying strategy is to specify what kind of equipment you need, the size of the TV you need, and what type of TV system you can afford.

All of us are now acquainted with objects containing liquid crystal display. We frequently use them in our lives. They are preferred over other display technologies. The words liquid and crystal seem absolutely opposites of each other. The molecules of solids on one hand are closely packed to each other and have fixed position while on the other hand; liquids can move anywhere. But there are some substances which can subsist in odd circumstances that are a kind of fluid and a kind of solid. It means that crystals in LCD s are neither solid nor liquid.

LCD TV uses liquid crystal display technology to display image. Prior to the invent of LCD TV, televisions had various shortcomings like improper display of speedy actions, one can view the screen by sitting just in front of it or at a minor angular distance because the light thrown by it used to focus in straight line. These problems don`t persist anymore, as LCD TVs, with plasma displays, have overruled the old cathode ray display televisions.

LCD equipment is based on the properties of polarized light. LCDs are not completely opaque to light; however, some light will always go through the darkest LCD pixels. Two transparent electrodes and two polarizing filters contains individual pixel in such a way as if a sheet of tiny particles is associated among them. The axis of broadcast between these polarizing filters is set at 90 degrees angles without any liquid crystals, so that the second polarizer block the light passed by the first filter.

Advances made in this field have enabled it to defeat technologies offered by its opponents. Formerly it was believed that this technology is best only for small-sized televisions. But now it can offer some performance as plasma technology. Although ghosting was a problem when LCD TV was launched but now the producing companies have been able to solve this problem to a large extent.

LCD technology still has a few drawbacks. Attempting to run LCD panels at non- native resolutions, usually results in the panel scaling of the image which introduces blurriness and blackness. Consumer LCD monitors had to be more fragile than their CRT counterparts. Many LCDs are incapable of displaying very low resolution modes due to the scaling limitations. Some LCDs have significant input lag. If the lag delay is large enough, such display can be unsuitable for fast and time-precise mouse operations. LCDs and plasma displays are no doubt superior to other display packages but are still less in use than cathode ray tubes.

Important factors to be kept in mind while evaluating LCD monitors are: the distance between the centers of two adjacent pixels; the smaller the dot pitch size, the less granularity is present, resulting in a sharper image; the vertical and the horizontal size of pixels; the minimum time necessary to change a pixels color or brightness; the size of an LCD panel measured on the diagonal; whether the matix type is active or passive, how many types of colors are supported etc.

Manufacturers have decided to spend any amount in this field in the near future with television expecting to be the main market and computer monitors with LCD displays as the other main market. With advancements in LCD technology, producers are offering televisions with many advantages like lighter weight, lower prices, and high resolutions and above all burning up lesser energy.