LCD vs Plasma

[ep11300 0]

I have noticed there are LCD, Plasma, DLP, etc flat screen televisions on the market. I am looking at getting a 60", but I don't know which way to go. If anyone has gone through this process recently, I could sure use some guidance. Thanks.

[BillyVance 34]

Ask Bigway... I believe he has posted threads on his experience...

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[TheCaptain 2]

http://bestbuy-cnet.com.com/4351-12658_7-6583301.html

There really is no correct answer to this question, however, I believe Plasma for the most part edges out ahead of LCD.

[normiss 620]

personally I'm a major fan of Plasma...I think they're much sharper for less money....to get near their level of clarity on LCD, you gotta spend lots more money.
Keohi is an awesome source of info.

Plus, you're going to want full surround sound....so get your money out!

[Shepp 0]

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I believe Plasma for the most part edges out ahead of LCD.

Unless you move up to the crazy-expensive category (like $5000 and up), that is true. My roommate has a 52" Samsung plasma ($1700) that outperforms some of the $4000-$5000 LCDs he looked at. And believe me... he spent 3 MONTHS sitting in Best Buy watching two tv's side-by-side

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Accidents don't just happen. They must be carelessly planned.

[TheCaptain 2]

My comment was meant to say plasma is a little better than LCD

[Shepp 0]

I understood what you meant - my reply just was not very clear (I agree). Sorry!

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Accidents don't just happen. They must be carelessly planned.

[skydemon2 0]

I just got the panasonic 50 inch plasma and love it, the panasonic 42 and 50 inch were both tv's of the year. The picture is a little below the quality of the pioneer elite, which is like 2 to 3 times the price. Two main things I saw that were different, the LCD seems to do better in brighter light and they have less reflection on the screen than the plasmas. Other than that picture quality is great on both, X-Box and Blue ray look amazing, regular TV...... about the same as any other tv. These are built for hi def so unless you have it dont expect to get anywhere near the quality of the picture you see in the stores.

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone!

I like to start my day off with a little Ray of Soulshine™!!

[turtlespeed 212]

You can sell plasma for jump money

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[akurtom 0]

plasma use 4x more energy than LCDs. Something to consider wehn you are looking at your electricity bill.

Blue Skies

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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I have noticed there are LCD, Plasma, DLP, etc flat screen televisions on the market. I am looking at getting a 60", but I don't know which way to go. If anyone has gone through this process recently, I could sure use some guidance. Thanks.

Rear projection sets are much less expensive, although some DLP implementations cause headaches/eye strain in some people. Obviously the light path requires a lot more space than a flat panel. Digital projection systems either block (LCD) or selectively reflect (LCOS/DLP) light so there's always some leakage and black can't be black. The bulbs wear out too and cost hundreds of dollars to replace.


Some plasma sets are extremely susceptible to burn in and asymetric wear. Even after setting the contrast to a reasonable 65 I have "pause" burned into my Samsung 5054 from the few minutes the DVD player has been left in that mode and having watched 25%? 4:3 content the center is dimmer than the edges. Other plasma sets are supposed to suck less. The plasma cells need to be pre-charged which gives them a little bit of light emission and poor black levels.

LCD blocks light from the rear with some always leaking through so black levels are poor, although computer controlled back lights can fix this. Unlike phosphor based (CRT/plasma) and DLP displays the LCD is always "on" which results in motion blur unless you buy a more expensive 120Hz set.

IOW, they all have problems. You really need to go down to a store (home theater) which displays the sets under reasonable lighting conditions so you can figure out what offends you least.

A smaller TV for daylight viewing and bigger screen + projector for serious movie watching may be a better choice. Even a 60" TV isn't big enough to provide an immersive cinematic experience if you're going to sit more than 7 or 8 feet away.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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plasma use 4x more energy than LCDs. Something to consider wehn you are looking at your electricity bill.

It's more like 60% more. With 100W more energy consujmption and average electricity costs of 10 cents/1000 Watt * hours each hour of operation will cost you a penny more than an LCD.

When you're spending thousands on a TV that's not enough to matter.

[ianmdrennan 2]

The burn in is a primary reason why I went LCD (42") in my bedroom and DLP (48") in the livingroom.

If you play any games, at all, on a plasma - get ready for burn in. Likewise, if you watch a decent amount of tv that has tickers on them- those burn in too

My fav is the DLP, honestly, but the LCD is great quality and wasn't a bad price at all considering the same size plasmas (it was $1399) for a Samsung.

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[Hambone 0]

I have an HP Plasma and have had if for over a year, I have played a fair amount of Games on it, as well as watched alot of sports and news (both are very ticker heavy). My set came with a White Wash option, when you see burn in happening you White Wash the set and it will clear the screen. It will have an image that persists if the screen goes black, but that is the nature of Plasma, as it has done that since it was delivered. I couldn't be happier, it has a great picture, but if I were buying a TV for a part of my house that was going to have Sun shinning on it i probably would have gone LCD because of the limited reflectivity of the screen.

Thats just my Two Cents.

Yeah...You need to grow up. -Skymama

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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I have an HP Plasma and have had if for over a year, I have played a fair amount of Games on it, as well as watched alot of sports and news (both are very ticker heavy). My set came with a White Wash option, when you see burn in happening you White Wash the set and it will clear the screen. It will have an image that persists if the screen goes black, but that is the nature of Plasma, as it has done that since it was delivered. I couldn't be happier, it has a great picture, but if I were buying a TV for a part of my house that was going to have Sun shinning on it i probably would have gone LCD because of the limited reflectivity of the screen.

Thats just my Two Cents.

There are two classes of problems:

1. Image Retention, a lighter left over image. This goes away by itself.

2. Wear. The phosophors permanantly dim with use, with the amount of dimming dependant on how hard you drive them and an initially higher rate of wear.

2.1 Uneven wear. Normal but uneven wear (from watching letter and pillar boxed sources) will even out with white washing as you get past the initial brightness drop out and the percentage of time with non-uniform output drops.

2.2 Burn. Local areas of high contrast can cook off enough phosphor that you'll never catch up with white washing. That "Pause" or ESPN logo is going to stay.

[AggieDave 6]

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I just got the panasonic 50 inch plasma and love it, the panasonic 42 and 50 inch were both tv's of the year.

That's why I'm sitting in front of my 42" Panasonic plasma. Its really nice to watch and looks great hanging on my wall.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[duroejc 0]

I have both in 42". The plasma is in my opinion crisper and has darker blacks- best for HD viewing/DVD etc. The LCD is fine quality as well- there is less glare from the screen if you have a viewing area with lots of natural light.

Energy usage is not a huge difference as posted above it is more in the 60% more for plasma (not 4x)

[skydemon2 0]

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I just got the panasonic 50 inch plasma and love it, the panasonic 42 and 50 inch were both tv's of the year.

That's why I'm sitting in front of my 42" Panasonic plasma. Its really nice to watch and looks great hanging on my wall.

Ill admit I was leary spending that much on a TV but it was a good choice I really like it!! And my old one the whole screen was green colored, so it was time!

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone!

I like to start my day off with a little Ray of Soulshine™!!