| Until not to long ago, ambient light was the main | | | | objects in the room. In this situation your eyes get |
| argument you had in choosing LCD over plasma. With | | | | more light from the environment and less from the TV |
| today's models, though it remains a factor that helps | | | | itself. So when you watch TV in darkness the picture |
| you decide which technology to choose, it is not as | | | | quality looks better because your eyes capture all the |
| decisive as it was before. The light can affect the | | | | light from the TV and you perceive a better contrast, |
| picture quality in two ways. | | | | luminosity and saturation - which are the most |
| First of all, if the screen material is highly reflective a lot | | | | important factors that affect picture quality. When you |
| of light will bounce from it. In a real life scenario this | | | | watch TV in a well lit room the ambient light will |
| happens in a sunny day when a lot of sunlight enters | | | | overlap with the TV light and it will make it look more |
| the window and hits the screen from an angle that | | | | washed and the colors will be less intense. |
| makes it reflect directly into your eyes. In this situation | | | | Generally Plasma TV screens are more reflective |
| the screen acts as a mirror and instead of seeing | | | | than LCD screens. At the same time, a plasma TV |
| what it is displayed on the screen you see that | | | | tends to offer better picture quality than LCD TVs in |
| annoying light that reflects from it. This happens | | | | an environment with controlled lighting (a dark room). |
| because the amount of sunlight that hits the screen | | | | Because of these characteristics of plasma and LCD |
| and bounces from it is much higher than the amount of | | | | TV, they are recommended generally for different |
| light the screen produces. Depending on how reflective | | | | situations - plasma TVs for people who watch TV |
| the screen is and the angle from which the sunlight | | | | with lights turned off or dimmed and LCD TV for |
| comes, this effect can be more or less disturbing. | | | | people who watch TV during daytime and have a lot |
| Same effect appears from other powerful light | | | | of light in the room. If you have an averagely lit room |
| sources - like your light bulbs - but it is less disturbing. In | | | | then both TVs perform similarly. |
| most cases the light from light bulbs is very weak | | | | There are exceptions however. Technology is evolving |
| compared to sunlight so this effect is either invisible or | | | | and plasma TVs now have an ace in their sleeve. To |
| almost unnoticeable. | | | | find out what is the plasma TV feature that makes |
| The second way in which light affects the picture | | | | them perform in a well lit room at a level comparable |
| quality has to do with your eyes not the TV. Your | | | | with LCD, follow the link titled Plasma vs LCD TV at |
| eyes are built in such way that they adapt to the | | | | the bottom of this page. The guide you will reach |
| amount of light around. When you watch TV in a dark | | | | through that link has much more useful information |
| room, most if not all light that enters your eyes is | | | | about plasma vs LCD TV subject and can be a very |
| coming from the TV. In a well lit room a lot of the light | | | | useful resource if you want to understand which is the |
| that your eyes capture is ambient light coming from | | | | best HDTV for your particular needs. |
| the window, light bulbs or reflected by the walls and | | | | |