Plasma And LED Screens - What’s The Difference?
July 24th, 2009. Published under Electronics. No Comments.
The world of technology moves fast and the field of visual displays is one of the fastest moving areas, which can sometimes lead to confusion for those who aren’t in the industry, but find themselves needing to acquire a new screen for a special occasion, such as a trade show or an event at a large venue.
Both plasma and LED screens differ from traditional cathode ray tube televisions in a variety of ways, not least their depth. The CRT TV’s which we typically see in homes are often quite deep and bulky - a large screen suitable for a big venue would be enormous if it were a CRT model, making it a logistical nightmare to install and move. Plasma screens are typically a lot thinner than CRT models and are often found in homes where the user wants a premium viewing experience. They can come in large sizes, but large venues such as music festivals tend to be the domain of LED screens.
LED offers the advantage of a portability which no other range does. Due to the way they are manufactured, an LED screen can be assembled and dismantled in sections, making the process of installing them and removing them at the end of the event a far easier task than a fixed screen would be, which is why the vast majority of screens seen at large venues such as the Glastonbury music festival and particularly big trade shows will be LED.
Technology-wise, LED screens work in clusters of small red, green and blue LEDs, and each of these clusters works like a pixel on a traditional television, flashing the required colour and intensity to provide piece of the picture. This differs from a plasma screen in that a plasma screen works by electrically charging gases which cause them to release light-emitting phosphors.
Although there is confusion about the technology behind the two models of display, plasma and LED screens are commonly used for different purposes. Where a plasma screen will be ideal for either home use or a demonstration in a meeting room or similar, they are not really suited to displays in larger venues such as music festivals, whereas LED displays are ideally suited to these environments as they are the thinnest display model on the market and are easy to assemble and dismantle.
Ultimately, the kind of display you should hire or purchase for your event will depend entirely on your requirements and the size of the venue, but with LED technology being released in smaller televisions, the battle between the two formats is sure to heat up and consequently, the confusion around the ranges sure to deepen.
Anna Stenning is a technology journalist with many years of experience testing and writing about different kinds of televisions and visual displays. Find out more about LED screens at http://www.adi.tv/