LED, LCD, Plasma - What's the Difference?

I would NOT buy a plasma TV - they are overpriced and over rated...if they get turned sideways in transit - they can get screwed up. yes, they can offer better views and color - however - IN MY OPINION are not worth the price

Plasma TV has a sheet of individual plasma cells, which get activated when electricity is passed to the TV...thus causing better color and viewing..as they can lighten and darken themselves...because of this - the Plasma TV drains more energy - yes - it's like an XBOX left on - sucks the energy and makes electric bills go through the roof.

LCD - Liquid Crystal Display - there is liquid crystal between the display panel of the TV, which gets activated when an electric current is supplied to it.

LED - Light Emitted Diodes - this TV offers the least in energy consumption, best price and picture (if not rated against the Plasma).

Tell your sister in law to go to Consumer Reports.com and find the best TV that fits her family and budget....they can walk her through the best and the worst of all three types.

I have an LED and LCD (we had a plasma and got rid of it- cleaning is a bear as well - the screen is ULTRA sensitive). I like the LED the best.

Our last purchase was a Panasonic Plasma and it is AWESOME. It blows AWAY our old LCD. I had been told by many, even techie types, LCD was better, and the salesman explained that it USED to be true, but NOW certain models of plasma are way better. He had nothing to gain by lying, since he was also selling some more expensive LCDs. Check Consumer Reports to find best brands and models for your desires. We also got an awesome sale price at Sears so it was not more expensive than any of the similar sized TVs. the BIGGEST advantage of plasma for us is the rock hard indestructible screen rather than the fragile LCD screen. With small kids, that would have sold me alone, but the picture is also amazing and so much better. Gorgeous color. It was also highly rated by Consumer Reports for having great longevity. We've had it almost 3 years, and it's going strong, the salesman had his older model for seven years at the time and said it still was showing no signs of trouble. It's also very easy to clean. ALWAYS compare brands on Consumer Reports before purchasing to understand what the strengths are. We had no idea the last TV we bought was very lowly rated because we had not checked. The Panasonic plasma we got was the most highly rated in all areas. I have no experience with LED. Check Consumer Reports for those models and their good and bad traits.

The reason Consumer Reports is essential, is that not ALL plasma or LCD or LED tvs are the same. Different models of plasmas for example, have different issues than other models of plasmas. Our large one puts off no heat, whereas the salesman said some others do. Our old LCD sucked tons of power and died after 2 years, but not all LCDs do. All those issues are broken down on Consumer Reports.

I have a plasma but I find the comments about how wonderful they are hysterically funny. I like mine, don't get me wrong but if I could have bought an LCD or better yet an LED for the same price no way in hell I would have bought the plasma.

First of all the amount of energy they use!!! You can roast marshmallows with the glow that comes off of it in the summer. I swear, I do not allow afternoon viewing in the summer, between the heats effect on my AC bill and the actual usage of electricity I want to cry.

I would have paid the extra for the LED but it was the first year that technology came out, too glitchy. My next TV will be an LED but hopefully not for a while though it seems like every five years I want a new big screen so maybe in a couple years.

ahh yes, Victoria reminded me, plasma TVs are easier to damage. I would never have mine anywhere but mounted on the wall. If they even lay on their side they are ruined, I can't imagine what falling over could do to them.

We have 2 46" Dell Plasma that we paid top price for. One is wall mounted in the large game room and the other is on a stand in the small game room where Wii is mostly played.

The picture is great BUT.... the Plasma TV gets very hot. I've noticed that they are rarely used anymore. When the Wii is being played in the smaller game room, you have to have a fan on because the Plasma puts out so much heat.

BOTH of our plasma's are over 5 yrs, in great working order and we've never had issues with them. That may be because they are not used on a regular basis though. We have the top of the line Dell's.

We have twin TV's in family room Sony Bravia HDTV, flat screens, that we like a lot.. they do not overheat and are not quite so sensitive. We use the Sony's daily.

Just my 2 cents worth.

I haven't read all your responses (just the first couple of lines of JoW's, and she is right on what I was going to say).

I have done my "research" on all things TV both this year and about 4 years ago. Everything I know from both research and practical experience is that unless you are some sort of TV/Techno FREAK , you will not be able to tell the difference when you are looking at them. Doesn't matter what you get, the picture will look equally fine on any of those. What WILL matter, is energy consumption. LCD or LED are both better on energy consumption. There are some minor/fine detail differences between those two, mainly if you, again, are techy and plan to do a lot of "gaming" on the set. But generally there isn't any noticeable difference between them.

I always like to go to a store and look at all the sets they have and compare the image quality. Then, close my eyes, and try to mentally block out all the other TVs except for the crappiest one I can find. If you are ONLY looking at that one (just like you would at home, not comparing a bunch side by side) the picture looks great, every time. Unless the store has intentionally adjusted the picture settings to make the cheaper TVs LOOK like a worse picture. (And yes, I have read that they do that sometimes).

Plasma is what is regarded as the "best" for watching sports and stuff, but we have LCD (which is considered slightly less good than LED) and my husband doesn't bat an eye at what he sees. It all looks great.

And if I remember correctly, Plasma also has a "squishy" screen that can be damaged more easily by touching it....
Unless the TV in your house is less than 5 or 6 years old (isn't a flat screen), then almost ANYthing you buy will be an "upgrade"... so no worries. I would not, however, go with the cheapest brand. I am funny about that. I like my Sharp and Samsung brands. I have heard tales of Vizio buyer's remorse when the set just quit working after 18 months or so. My Samsung and Sharp brands have never quit. Ever. I just bought us a new Samsung for the extra family room, as a matter of fact. The one in the regular family room is 6 yrs and never had a problem.
Good luck.

Plasmas will cost you a LOT more in energy use.. From what I have understood (we just purchased a new TV and talked with a few different sales people that seemed to be knowledgeable) that an LED tv is basically a LCD but it's just a different light source a true LCD will give you a better true color but unless you are super picky the LED will give you a great picture none the less.. We purchased a LG LED TV.. the thing we were told is that you want to look for a 1080p and at LEAST 100Hz (this will affect how the picture refreshes, if you go below that the picture can become choppy)

Plasmas like I said will pull a lot of energy although they are supposed to give you a really good picture.. I have heard if you are on a channel that has a constant picture (like a clock in the corner or a TV logo) that it can actually burn that image in the screen..

We have had a TV for about 2 months and I already notice a difference in our energy bill.. a lot less (I'm a SAHM and I have the TV on most of the day for background noise mostly) I think the picture is great, still getting used to some of the HD shows, looks kinda weird at first.. hope you can find something you like..

LED's are better than both as far as quality and energy usage..... Plasma is the worst of all three.