The ($599 MSRP) is LG's entry-level plasma, limited in features but adequate enough in many areas of performance. The drawback, though, is the ill-fitting 1024 x 768 native resolution, which created a number of problems for picture sharpness.
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The remote control that ships with the is similar to the remote that comes with many other LG TVs, and yet of a lesser quality. In fact, there are a lot small but puzzling discrepancies between this entry-level plasma and the LK330, the entry-level LCD we just reviewed. The LK330 has beautiful menus and a high-quality remote made from excellent materials. The PT350 has what looks like a cheaper duplicate of that menu and a remote that seems identical, but on closer inspection is made from uglier materials. It works about as well, but it just doesn't look as good.
The has a black level of 0.12 cd/m2. As you can see in the chart below, this is identical to the black level of the next-step-up LG plasma, the PV450. However, comparably priced Panasonic and Samsung plasmas had much deeper blacks. More on how we test black level.
Like many plasma TVs, if you display a huge patch of black, the black level will be much darker than if you displayed a tiny patch of black surrounded by bright white. I.e., the shadows of a cave would be nice and dark if you were shooting from within the cave. If you shot the mouth of the cave surrounded by white snow, the cave would look brighter. This is one of the weaknesses of a plasma TV that LCD owners never have to worry about. More on how we test tunnel contrast.
We were pleasantly surprised to see that this entry-level plasma TV from LG scored better than some of the best LG plasmas. For some reason, most of the LG plasmas we reviewed this year showed a dramatically uneven RGB response curve, wherein there was a sharp spike in luminance halfway through the signal range (clearly evident on the LG 50LV450). No such problems here.
While plasmas enjoy a wide viewing angle, they often suffer from a reflective screen that can cause problems in a sunny room. Plasmas have glass in the front, unlike the plastic in LCDs. More expensive plasmas often benefit from anti-reflective technology that tries to minimize the problem, but we're not seeing much evidence of that here. When hit with a strong ambient light, there's a huge glare on the 's screen that significantly reduces the already weak contrast ratio.
The more expensive PV450 series exhibited serious color performance issues that plagued many of the LG plasmas we tested this year. For whatever blessed reason, the PT350 was spared, and scored better in these tests.
The ($599 MSRP) is a better entry-level TV than others we have seen. This plasma TV has a reasonable price matched with a reasonable performance in many areas. The color scores were good and there are a number of useful connectivity options to satisfy all types of users, even high-end enthusiasts.
However, we cannot overlook a number of shortcomings that seriously dampen our good feelings towards the TV. The most significant issue is the 1024 x 768 native resolution. As it does not match any standard TV broadcast, everything must be re-sized to fit the screen, which created a number of sharpness problems. The motion performance, too, is inadequate. Even the black level, something that plasmas should have no trouble excelling at, was far less impressive than entry-level plasmas from Samsung and Panasonic.
Both models in the PT350 series share the ill-fitting 1024 x 768 resolution. If the sharpness problems looked this grave on the 42-inch we reviewed, we can't image how they'll look when they're scaled up on the 50-inch version. There are very few differences between these two. This entry-level plasma series is surprisingly well-equipped with ports, if nothing else.
The PN6500 is similar to the PN4500, except that it features Full HD 1920 x 1080p resolution instead of standard HD 720p resolution. The PN6500 is available in either a 50-inch or 60-inch model. All of the other features listed above, regarding the PN4500, also apply to the PN6500. Both models also feature dual 10W stereo speakers, Virtual Surround technology, Noise Reduction technology, and 3D Sound Zooming.
TVs have evolved over the years, and different technologies have come and gone. The TV market in the 21st century has been defined by large technological advancements. While Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) and rear-projection TVs were popular in 2000, they were soon overtaken by plasma as the most popular TV technology. However, not long after, plasma suffered the same fate as its long-forgotten counterparts. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TVs have held the market share of sales since 2007, and companies stopped manufacturing plasmas altogether by 2014.
However, you're probably wondering what the differences between LCD and plasma TVs are and why LCDs have taken over the TV market. This article explains the difference between plasma, LCD, and LED TVs. You can also learn about how plasma and LED TVs work here.
Plasma TVs contain tiny pockets of gas, and when a voltage is applied to them, they turn into a plasma state. The voltage then strikes the mercury within the plasma to emit ultraviolet (UV) rays, which pass through phosphor cells to produce an image. Each pixel in the TV contains three phosphor cells: red, green, and blue, and these three colors combine to produce a color. Essentially, plasma TVs don't require a backlight, and each pixel is self-emissive as it produces its own light.
Unlike plasma TVs, LCD TVs use a backlight. Initially, LCD TVs used Cold-Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) as their backlight. These are long tubes that are placed horizontally across the screen behind the LCD panel. When the light is turned on, it applies a voltage to the pixels, which makes them rotate a certain way to allow light through and produce an image. When it wants to display black, the pixels are rotated to create an opaque screen so that light doesn't get through. This is what makes them different from plasma TVs because each pixel isn't self-emitting.
Plasma and LED TVs each present their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of picture quality, price, build, and availability. It's generally thought that plasma produces a better picture quality due to their superior contrast ratio, but LED TVs became more popular because of other factors, like a lower cost and greater availability.
Below you can see the differences in picture quality between two older TVs from 2013. It's clear the plasma was better at the time, but LED TVs have also gotten better since then, so picture quality has greatly improved.
Contrast ratio was one of the main advantages and selling points of plasma TVs. Since each pixel emitted its own light, it simply turned itself off when it wanted to display a black image. This allowed the TV to display very deep blacks, but because there was always a bit of charge left in the plasma, it still wasn't a perfect black level.
On the other hand, LED TVs can't achieve a perfect black level because the backlight is always on. However, technology has evolved to greatly improved the contrast of LED TVs, even to the point where it's also as good as what plasma once was. There are two main types of LCD panels in TVs: Vertical Alignment (VA) and In-Plane Switching (IPS). VA panels produce a better contrast than IPS, and high-end TVs also have local dimming features that turn off certain zones of the LED backlights. Still, you won't get a perfect black level, but most modern LED TVs produce such deep blacks that even in a dark environment it looks like perfect black levels. For reference, plasma TVs had a max contrast of about 4,000:1, according to DisplayMate.com, but some recent LED TVs can reach a contrast of over 20,000:1 with local dimming enabled, like the Samsung QN90A QLED.
LED TVs are a clear winner here, and it's one of the reasons why they surpassed plasmas in terms of popularity. LED TVs get significantly brighter, so they can fight glare from light sources easier. Additionally, plasma TVs had to use glass on their front panel, which caused intense glare if you had any lamps or windows around the TV. LED TVs can use a coating on their glass panel to help reflect and diffuse light, making it a better choice for well-lit rooms.
Plasmas were designed for dark-room viewing, but since most people don't have dedicated home theater setups and often watch with a few light sources around, they weren't that useful. As you can see below, the plasma TV had pronounced reflections, to the point where it's even hard to see the image, and instead you're watching yourself watch TV. Reflections are still noticeable on an LED TV, but at least you can see the image.
Pixels on plasma TVs emitted light in all directions, creating extremely wide viewing angles, much better than most LED TVs. This means that the image remained accurate when viewing from the side, which was great for watching sports or a show with a few people. Out of the two main panel types for LED TVs, IPS has wider viewing angles than VA panels, but it's still not as good as plasma.
TV manufacturers have tried different technologies to improve viewing angles on VA panels. Samsung has an 'Ultra Viewing Angle' layer, and Sony uses their 'X-Wide Angle' technology to increase the viewing angles, both at the cost of a lower contrast ratio. It's still not as good as plasma, but they're wide enough for watching TV in a fairly large seating area.
Below you can see the differences in viewing angles between a plasma and a VA panel. These TVs were tested on different test benches, so you shouldn't directly compare the videos, but we included them to give you an idea of how each technology affects the viewing angle.
In terms of refresh rate, plasma TVs had a higher internal refresh rate, up to 600Hz, while LED TVs tend to be 60 or 120Hz. However, the refresh rate depends on the content, and since most content doesn't go past 120 frames per second, having a higher refresh rate TV isn't very useful. 2ff7e9595c
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