Flat screen TVs give a modern, fashionable look to your home. Although flat screen TVs give high definition and crystal clear pictures, not all flat screens are equal! Generally, flat screen TVs come in two different varieties: LCDs and Plasmas. When buying a flat screen TV, you will choose between a plasma or an LCD television.

Plasma TVs take advantage of a fairly old technology but in a new way. They give a crystal clear picture that is high definition and they do it through tiny tubes that are filled with neon and xenon gases. This new use of neon gives plasma TVs their amazing picture clarity.

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) uses an older pixel technology. LCD TVs create their clear picture by placing pixels in front of a reflector or a source of light. LCD technology is not only used in flat screens, its popular in portable devices because it only needs a small amount of battery power.

When it comes to buying a flat screen TV, both plasma and LCD technologies have their pros and cons. Which one you choose depends on your own situation and how you anticipate using your television. LCD technology has some screen size limitations. Plasma technology allows for much larger screens than LCDs. So, if size is a factor for you, a plasma TV would be the way to go.

You can potentially have a very flat screen with both LCD and plasma technology, especially in comparison to traditional televisions. However an LCD TV can go the flattest. LCD TVs can be as thin as 2 inches, they tend to weigh much less than plasma televisions and require only about half the electricity of a plasma.

Plasma TVs have delicate, vulnerable screens. They can easily sustain damage and are expensive and, at times, impossible to repair. LCD televisions have much tougher screens which have a longer lifespan overall.

One of the most significant differences between a plasma TV and an LCD is their response time during fast action sequences. LCD screens have more of a process to go through to create an image onscreen. Therefore, they can have a slight blur during fast, action scenes. On the other hand, LCDs offer more clarity on still pictures.