Plasma Monitors

Plasma monitors begin at 32-inch screen sizes. Anything smaller than that that says it's a plasma display is probably actually an LCD monitor. The two technologies are different although they both offer high resolution, clear pictures.

Plasma Is Emissive, LCD Is Transmissive

On LCD monitors, a liquid crystal display solution is sandwiched between two sheets of glass that make up the front panel. A bulb behind the glass lights up the display whenever a current is passed through the LCD solution. Plasma screens also have two sheets of glass but between them is a layer of phosphor pixels. When UV rays strike the pixels, they gas in them glows. Essentially, each pixel is its own fluorescent light bulb.

On large TV screens, such as those in the 60 to 63 inch range, plasma monitors outperform LCD displays. You would think that such a large display would have its quirks and with other technologies, that is the case. However, plasma monitors display bright, crisp images even at large sizes.

A major selling point and advantage to both types of monitors is their thin, flat size. This not only reduces eyestrain, it also takes up less space. Both types offer micro-thin monitors that can fit in smaller places than CRT monitors can. Some CRT monitors also come with flat screens, but they still have to hold cathode ray tubes, and therefore cannot be anywhere near as thin as plasma monitors or LCD monitors.