HDTV: Plasma or LCD ??

[Steve F]

Any boob tube addicts out there who know their stuff on TV technology? My 9 year old standard TV just went down for the count so I guess it's time to spring for a HD set. I've been hearing various different opinions about what's better, plasma or LCD. Almost as passionately as an oil thread. Please throw your opinions at me. I'm looking for a set between 50 and 60 inches.

Damn, I just bought the FZ and my wife's part of the bargain was new dining room furniture. Now this....more bills.

Thanks !

 

[Jman]

LCD...hands down.

 

[Botch]

Most of my coworkers have sprung for a large LCD in the past year, and swear by them.
That being said, Consumer Reports still gives the "best picture" ratings to the larger plasma sets.
If I were you, I'd go to the local big-box store, watch as many sets as possible, and note the following things (easily forgotten during a shopping trip):
1. Look at overall picture "sharpness"
2. How black are the blacks?
3. How far away from dead-center can you stroll and still see a good picture?
4. How much glare from side windows/lights does the set reflect?
5. Grab the edge of the sets with your hand. Are some noticably hot? They probably consume more power.

Hope this helps. Myself, I'm still watching a 27" picture tube, and with CNN Headline News going down the toilet, and the Food Channel just doing cake frosting competitions, I'll probably never replace it.

I like books.

 

[reiobard]

ok, as i dawn my flame suit, i write my response...

Backgroung:
I have a 42" plasma HDTV and My Wifes parents have a 40" LCD HDTV

the difference is negligable until you get into some action shots such as sports of high motion movies where LCD still leaves some trails, although slightly, they are there. I am not sure if i would notice them if i didn't have a plasma that does not have them with high speed motion.

On the other hand plasma uses 30% more electricity and creates a good bit of heat. some experts also say that LCD is brighter than Plasma, but i don't see a difference with The brightness.

Good luck in your decision, but i am a fan of and prefer plasma myself...

 

[keira]

Plasma if you're a sports fan....and also the general rule is that anything over 40" should be plasma, anything under that should be LCD to help save you ome running cost.

Personally, I love my plasma, but we have a 15" LCD in the bedroom that does fine for what e need it for in there.....

I think it depends on the size and the usage.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

What ever you decide, make sure it's 1080p so you can get the High Def Picture.

LCD is a better choice if you are planning to watch in a room that has a lot of daylight. There is no glare on LCD's vs Plasma, where it's works best in a dark room.

As mentioned before, LCD doesn't put out as much heat and uses less electrictiy. Also LCD will last longer vs plasma.

LCD's usually comes in 46" and 52" size screens, Plasma comes in 42" and 50".

LCD's are usually much lighter in terms of weight vs Plasmas.

The newer LCD's, like the Sony Bravio XL's have a quicker reaction time so there should be no trials as far as watching fast action pics.

Make sure you get a High Def Cable box so you can watch everything in High Def, or a High Def Direct TV box. Once you have watched things in High Def, you never want to watch the regular pics again.

 

[reiobard]

What ever you decide, make sure it's 1080p so you can get the High Def Picture.

LCD is a better choice if you are planning to watch in a room that has a lot of daylight. There is no glare on LCD's vs Plasma, where it's works best in a dark room.

As mentioned before, LCD doesn't put out as much heat and uses less electrictiy. Also LCD will last longer vs plasma.

LCD's usually comes in 46\" and 52\" size screens, Plasma comes in 42\" and 50\".

LCD's are usually much lighter vs Plasmas.

The newer LCD's, like the Sony Bravio XL's have a quicker reaction time so there should be no trials as far as watching fast action pics.

Make sure you get a High Def Cable box so you can watch everything in High Def, or a High Def Direct TV box. Once you have watched things in High Def, you never want to watch the regular pics again.

Also good advise, but my mom and stepfather have a brand new bravia and still get trails, less than my mother and father in laws, but still get them.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Also good advise, but my mom and stepfather have a brand new bravia and still get trails, less than my mother and father in laws, but still get them.

Depends which Bravia you get. The new latest and greatest Bravias made by Sony shouldn't. By the way, Sony only makes them in LCD's.

I have a Sony 46" LCD, it was a toss up between the Sony Bravio or the Sharp Aqua. I ended up getting the Sony, but it was not the newere XL version. But still a great pic.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

One thing, you have to get is a HDMI cable which will run about a $100 in order to receive High Def. The longer the cable, the more expensive it is. It's used to run the cable from the HD box to your HD set. You will also need one if you decide to hook up a High Def Blue Ray DVD Player.

 

[reiobard]

i don't know what one they got, but my stepfather is an optometrist and bought the "best" they had to offer, price was no object. so i assume that they get the best of the best. I know he is fairly upset that my TV looks better than his and i got mine free

one of the perks of my old position at my company, i was in sales and won 2 of these tv's. traded one for an x-box360 and a 4-wheeler.

 

[MisterX]

Personally? Plasma. Why? Earlier this year when I went shopping for a TV, I decided to go with a 42", based on both size and price. At first, I wasn't too sure which was better, LCD or Plasma. Luckily, there was one of each sitting side by side at HHGregg. Both sets looked fantastic and delivered a great picture. However, upon closer inspection, I personally felt that the Plasma had a crisper, and a more richly defined picture.

Granted, I am definitely not an extremist when it comes to TV's and picture quality. The previously mentioned is based on personal preference alone. I'm sure that had I chosen an LCD, I would have probably been just as happy with it in my living room as I am with the Plasma.

X

 

[hunterfz6]

i read a recent article in consumers report. they were chronicling the evolution in tvs since they have been around in power consumption. the very first tvs were of course, very inefficient and they gradually got better and better at the electricity. believe it or not, plasma tv's consume as much electricity as the very first tv's in production, with LCD tv's being the most efficient made today. Dunno if plasma has a better picture, but if you were watching tv on a old CRT screen with a tube, and you went with LCD, you would have an overwhelming better picture on your programs, you would save a few bucks on your bill. Just something to think about.

 

[Raid The Revenge]

I have some hieroglyphics here, written on a napkin from Raid. He’s got something to say:

LCD vs. PLASMA

Both televisions have been evolving at the same rate. They are capable of displaying the same resolutions and color streams. There are a variety of ports on both models, but again, they are capable of accepting and emitting the same signals. The biggest difference between each type is resistance.

LCD’S require FAR LESS electricity than PLASMA.
LCD’S are immune to screen-burn.
LCD’S are more likely to be cheaper than PLASMA.
LCD’s are safer than PLASMA.
LCD’s are easier on the eyes than PLASMA.
PLASMAS have a faster refresh rate than LCD.
PLASMAS are brighter than LCD.
PLASMAS can be “screen washed” if their screens burn-in (no permanent damage from this).
PLASMAS cannot have “dead pixels,” where LCD’s have that chance (unless from a high quality brand name).
BOTH TV’s have variable shelf-lives, depending on their brand names and design.

Overall, the average lifespan of a TV that’s treated fairly is 5 years +. (Mine’s lasted 5 years and it’s still strong).
As time goes by, the brightness will slightly decrease on both TV’s, but PLASMAS are more susceptible to this.
BOTH TV’s require special hardware to run High Definition. If you want HD, you’ll have to pay extra for special hardware.

WHICH TV SHOULD YOU GET???
It all depends on how much money you’re willing to spend. Since you mentioned earlier that your budget was tight, you should consider the LCD for initial and usage value. You want the highest refresh rate, resolution and number of ports available for the price. Here’s an LCD I would buy (only because it’s red):

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-ln52a650/4505-6482_7-32887597.html?tag=mncol;lst

 

[wing8872]

I did neither. I went wide screen dlp projector and a 106 inch screen to display it on. Talk about movies, sports, gaming. all I can say is, WOW!

:rockon::cheer::cheer::cheer::rockon::thumbup:

 

[Thorpiticus]

I just got a 32" Vizio Plasma and love almost everything about it. My only issues are the channel-changing speed and initialization time. I like to surf between programs and it takes a few seconds to go from one channel to another. As far as the initialization time, it just takes about 5-10 seconds for the TV to actually turn on.

That's all something you can look at in the store, though, so go shop! As far as glare and angle, the TV is great! Also, Vizios are much less expensive than the other brands but are great quality TVs. Enjoy the TV and tell the wife to deal with a card table and some folding chairs for a while!

 

[Wolfman]

If you like watching action movies and Sport, true high definition plasma poops all over LCD. IMHO.

:thumbup:

 

[Chris]

If you're going to use it for watching movies and sports etc, get the plasma. However, if you're also going to be playing games (PS3, XBOX etc) or using it with a computer, get the LCD.

-Chris

 

[grommit]

Go and see it at the dealers, take your favourite DVD and see if they will let you see it running. Quality varies from one manufacturer to another. Peoples expectations also vary.

Make sure it has plenty of inputs, you can never have too many.:thumbup:

 

[brad81987]

One thing, you have to get is a HDMI cable which will run about a $100 in order to receive High Def. The longer the cable, the more expensive it is. It's used to run the cable from the HD box to your HD set. You will also need one if you decide to hook up a High Def Blue Ray DVD Player.

If you are paying that much, you are getting royally screwed. HDMI is a digital interface, as long as 1s and 0s get through, that's all that matters. You can send a digital signal through salt water if you wanted to. I get all my cables from here
HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!
HDMI Cable
I use their premium 24AWG and it works just fine. Even their pro ones won't break the bank. I'd challenge anyone to buy one from there and then drop $100+ on a Monster Cable and compare the two. I promise you'll hardly, if at all, notice a difference.

 

[brad81987]

Plasmas also tend to have better contrast (the difference between pure, no color black and all out white). LCDs use essentially mini flourescent light tubes as their light source, this cannot be turned off. As a result, even when the picture is black, some of the backlighting still bleeds through and makes dark seens look more dark grayish. Plasmas different backlight technology allows for more true blacks. Sony for one is currently working on LED backlit technologies for LCDs. This way they can individually turn off the backlight in portions of the screen to make it truly black. The problem is all the LEDs have to be exactly the same brightness and LEDs are prone to variation. If they vary at all, you'll see a ripple across the screen. Last I read Sony had people hand-picking the thousands of LEDs needed for each TV. I'm sure once it takes off they'll have machines to do it but for now LED LCD TVs are uber expensive.