https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_displayEach cell on a plasma display must be precharged before it is lit, otherwise the cell would not respond quickly enough. This precharging means the cells cannot achieve a true black, whereas an LED backlit LCD panel can actually turn off parts of the backlight, in "spots" or "patches" (this technique, however, does not prevent the large accumulated passive light of adjacent lamps, and the reflection media, from returning values from within the panel). Some manufacturers have reduced the precharge and the associated background glow, to the point where black levels on modern plasmas are starting to become close to some high-end CRTs...