The Basics: What's the Difference Between LCD, LED, and Plasma?
The three technologies are vastly different, particularly how each the screen is lit. In plasma HDTVs, the phosphors that create the image on the screen light up themselves, and don't need any backlighting. For LCD HDTVs, however, the liquid crystal screen does not illuminate, requiring a separate light source. That's where the difference between "regular" LCD screens (also known as CCFL-backlit LCD) and LED-backlit LCD screens (also known as LED-LCD, or just LED screens) come in. Traditional LCD HDTVs use cold cathode fluorescent lights (CCFLs) to illuminate the screen. CCFLs are similar to the fluorescent lights you might see in your lamps and overhead light fixtures. They use a charged gas to produce light. LED-LCD screens, like their name implies, use light emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the display.
The tech behind it. They both display your image in 1080p, and the advances in the technology is making the differences in the picture quality negligable. Better darks in plasma, not reflective screen on lcd/led, image burn in and so on.
Image Quality
How good the picture looks, especially if you're a videophile or a cinema fanatic, is the most vital aspect of any HDTV. Specifically, peak white and black levels determine how detailed a picture can look on a screen. Poor white levels mean fine details can get washed out in bright scenes, while poor black levels mean shadows swallow up parts of the picture in dark scenes. A very wide gamut from dark to light lets the HDTV show the tiniest details, regardless of how bright or dark the movie gets. In our tests, we measure white and black levels by luminance using a chromameter. A mediocre HDTV might produce black levels of 0.05 to 0.07 cd/m2, while an excellent HDTV might offer levels of 0.01 to 0.03 cd/m2. Historically, plasma HDTVs have produced the best black levels, specifically the now-defunct Pioneer Kuro HDTV brand. The Kuro's screen got so satisfyingly dark that it remained a popular HDTV for enthusiasts long after Pioneer stopped making the sets. The domination of plasma in this field, however, is over. Our current Editors' Choice HDTV, the LED-based LG Infinia 47LW5600, puts out only 0.01 cd/m2, the best level we can measure. That any LED-backlit LCD can get that dark shows how far the technology has come.
White levels don't matter quite as much as black levels, because it's more difficult for screens to show fine details in shadows and easier to crank out very bright whites with backlighting, but they can still matter. At this, LED backlighting again triumphs. The Panasonic TC-L42E30 reaches a staggering 473.50 cd/m2 white levels with modest 0.04 cd/m2 black levels. It completely (and literally) outshines the Panasonic TC-P50ST30, its plasma HDTV cousin that puts out only 107 cd/m2 peak white while offering a slightly better 0.03 cd/m2 black level.
Here is the article.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387377,00.asp
My comments and opinions are exactly that, my own. Although I do work for the Geek Squad, I am in no way speaking for, or representing Best Buy as a company.
