Can't decide plasma vs LCD?  Here is a short guide on what you can expect from both technologies to help you make your pick:

Want size?  Pick the plasma.

Plasma televisions can get as big as 63 inches wide.  Most LCDs are only at 52" – so far.  There are a few brands, however, which might make it possible in the near future to find 60+-inch LCDs available.  Sharp has already produced a 65 incher.

Prefer sharper pictures and truer blacks and shadows?  Go with the plasma.

LCD televisions are quite capable of displaying truly sharp pictures but they don't always perform as well as plasmas when it comes to displaying black against shadows or light-coloured objects.  Plasmas also minimize blur a lot, perfect if you like watching a lot of high action movies and sports.

Don't want burn-in issues?  Take the LCD.

If there's one thing that turns would-be buyers off plasma flat panel televisions it's that they have burn-in issues.  If you keep the TV on too long at a certain channel or play a certain video game for hours and hours on end, static images can burn into the screen and stay there even after you change to another channel.

Although newer plasma models try to minimize these risks with new features, the burn-in issue has never really been truly eliminated.  With LCDs this is not a problem.

Want to go green?  Get the LCD.

LCD TVs do not require as much energy as plasma TVs.  If you calculate the energy savings on either one over, say, a year's use, you'll find that LCDs won't cost you as much.

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