Statistics show that Americans watch TV on average for four hours a day, whilst Europeans watch three hours, so it's not surprising that consumers are saying that as they spend so much time watching TV, that they might as well look at something that looks good! But it's not just the viewing statistics that are impressive; the economic statistics are also looking good, with the market for thin-screen TVs worth $21 billion in 2004. Plasmas are taking the biggest slice of this market, especially for screens of 40 inches or more where they have an 88% slice of the market. LCDs are also selling fast, but relative to plasmas the growth rate is slower.

LCDs, on the other hand, win hands down in terms of weight, slimness and flexibility - they can be as little as 4cm thick (Toshiba 20VL56) compared to 8-15cm for plasmas, they are more durable and weigh considerably less than their plasma equivalent, and can also be easily wall-mounted. Over the life of the product, a strong case can be made for the cost efficiency of LCDs, as they have a life expectancy of 25 years (that's at least 10 years more than plasmas) and will cost you far less for extended warranties -three-year warranties on plasmas typically start at $400 whilst for LCDs the equivalent screen size model would cost you around $150.