Six of one, half a dozen of another. I say “tomayto,” you say “tomahto.” A monitor is a monitor whether it’s an LCD or a plasma.
Whoa! Not so fast. True, the differences between LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma monitors are becoming less and less, but when you’re looking at commercial applications, where and how your monitor will be used can make a difference in which technology you choose. 
Lighting
Take lighting, for instance. In normal or low-light situations LCDs and plasmas are equally good, but if you are in an environment with sunlight coming in or maybe spotlights shining down, you may want to think LCD. Plasma monitors have a sheath of glass over the front that can reflect light into viewers’ eyes and, overall, LCDs are easier to see in conditions of bright ambient light.
By the way, what type of lighting do you have? Fluorescent? Reflective? Filament? Your type of lighting can affect how you perceive the color coming from your monitor. Most plasma and LCD monitors now have internal controls that let you adjust for your specific type of lighting.
Bigger is Better?
Size is indeed a big deal. And the big deal is about ensuring you have the right size. Having people sit five feet from a 50" screen – well, it just doesn’t work. In fact, the Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends that people be no closer than five times the width of the screen. That’s not to be confused with the diagonal screen size. A 42" monitor is 42 inches diagonally from the bottom left to the upper right corners, but only about 36 inches wide at the base of the screen. This means that a person should view a 42" monitor from a distance of 15 feet. 
And speaking of size, it would be difficult to find plasma monitors smaller than 37". Even though LCD monitors are steadily increasing in size, the biggest monitors will still be plasmas. But, at the end of the day, if you need to go REALLY big to account for the distance between the viewers and the screen – a projector may be your best solution.
Image Quality
The image shortcomings historically attributed to the respective technologies are today negligible. However, what you are showing on the screen does make a difference. People tend to find PowerPoint and similar presentations clearer and easier to read on an LCD. Moving video still tends to come out better on a plasma monitor. For those who do a lot of both – when all other considerations are equal – the tendency nowadays is to opt for the LCD.
Today’s technology virtually eliminates the risk of image burn-in (an image that is on the screen for an extended period of time remains even when the picture changes) on LCD monitors and greatly reduces it – although it is still possible – on some plasma screens.
When LCD monitors were first introduced, the image quality would degrade significantly when the image was viewed from an angle. Today, there is excellent clarity at a viewing angle of up to 140 degrees. However, whether plasma or LCD, do not get a resolution less than 720p (720 lines of vertical display resolution using a progressive scan). The next step up is 1080p, and you may soon see 1440p. Still, for those with a critical eye, the plasma will be seen as providing more true color and a higher contrast ratio.
Durability
The near-universal axiom that “you get what you pay for” applies to the world of monitors as well. Quality assembly of quality component parts is generally reflected in the price tag. Axioms aside, for applications where monitors will be used on a 24/7 basis, LCDs are rated at a useful life of 60,000 hours (nearly seven years of continuous 24/7 operation), as are the ratings by the top manufacturers of plasma monitors. In larger installations with continuous monitor use, consideration should be given to power consumption. A study by NEC/Mitsubishi Electronic Displays found that with comparable-sized monitors, on average, LCDs consumed 36% less power than plasmas. Over three years of continuous use (based on $.10/kilowatt hour) a 40" LCD monitor would save approximately $354 over a 42" plasma.
If the monitors are expected to lead a mobile life, being moved to multiple locations rather than permanently mounted to a wall, consider LCDs. The plasmas’ glass screens have been known to crack from time to time while in transit.
Added Features
A monitor is just that—a monitor. If you need it for anything other than viewing images or video, you need to start looking at adding features. Want to display TV broadcasts? Your monitor will need to come with a tuner. Sound? For smaller environments, the easiest solution may be monitors with their own amplifier and built-in speakers. An “audio out” port(s) will be important if sound will be played on an external audio system. Virtually all systems have standard video and s-video ports. An RGB-HV video port can also be important. Having a multiplicity of these ports will be helpful if you want to hook up multiple video/audio sources without having to manually switch them. If you need to have sophisticated levels of control over the functionality of the monitor, it will be important to ensure your monitor has a control port (RS-232 port) that will let you attach a third-party control processor.
Oh yes . . . one last thing. While technology is enabling monitors to grow larger and lighter, it doesn’t mean the monitors are necessarily light. Whether the monitor is an LCD or plasma, a sturdy wall or stand is in order. A 40" plasma will weigh approximately 100 pounds, compared with 75 pounds for a 40" LCD monitor.
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