It's Not The Size That Counts

From the music world to the world of cars, throughout history there have been debates and sales wars over products that are similar and that are determined to win the race of generating more custom. It can be something as important as a better design in looks or a better price tag or sometimes just a general pervading attitude that descends on the population with no rhyme or reason.

We've had a divided nation over whether or not the Beatles are the best thing since sliced bread or The Rolling Stones - both great groups but with a completely different type of groupie. We had the debate over whether or not Snickers or Marathon were best or biggest. Exactly the same product but with different fans.

Today is no different. Now we have the plasma or LCD TV debate. The confusion was non-existent to start with according to people like Panasonic. Plasma was the way forward, it's bigger, clearer and cheaper. Oh great, now we all want one. What they failed to tell us was that it destroys our atmosphere with its greedy energy consumption. But hey, it looks nice!

Then we have people like Bravia with their commitment to LCD TV's only. They have never ventured into the plasma market but maintained their integrity to the LCD. They have continued to advance their technology until what we see today as the LCD TV that is just as big as a plasma, that has a much more competitive price tag, that is just as clear, visually and audibly, as a plasma but with one big difference.

Energy consumption for a Bravia LCD TV is remarkably low. In fact, it is so low it sits nicely beneath the new EU regulations that govern the power usage of TV's and this is the biggest downfall of plasmas at the moment. Manufacturers like Samsung have become so confused they've withdrawn from the TV market altogether!

So, which side of the fence will you come down on? The side where you get a great TV at a great price with a great picture and a great sound? Well, if that's what you are looking for then the world of electronics is your oyster. You could pretty much pick any plasma or LCD TV on the market as technology has come to a point where these standards are expected but will you do the right thing as far as the environment is concerned?

Do you want a TV that encourages the equivalent of an electrical force field around your house with all the untold health scares that critics claim this can cause or do you want to just get on with your TV viewing and not have to worry about such things?

Granted, plasma TV manufacturers are doing what they can to bring their product in line with EU regulations but where are their morals? Why did they not do this before? Would it have meant loss of revenue to wait that little bit longer or were they just not sure that plasma could match LCD without the extra size? Do these people not know that size doesn't matter?