For a new TV, Plasma or LCD???

For a new TV which is better?

  • Plasma

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • LCD

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
mykulmorris

mykulmorris

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Jul 8, 2007
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1,690
The wife and I are getting a new widescreen in a couple weeks, but whats better/ Plasma or LCD? One salesman says PLasma but another says LCD... Opinions? Where to find the best info??


Thanks for your help!


-Michael
 
Get a plasma.

Much higher contrast ratio - more colors, richer picture.
600Hz - makes a huuuge difference with sports, games, anything fast on the screen
About 2/3rds the price - cheaper to make.

Plasma got a bad rap when it came out due to some issues with how long they last, and screen burn. That's really been fixed now (especially if you go Panasonic). They will last just as long as any other TV now.

Spend what you save on getting it calibrated for your home (makes a huge difference with your picture), a blue ray, and a decent HDMI cable :)

That being said - if you have your tv in a bright room, you may want to consider LED (or LCD if you budget insists), as they are less prone to glare - LED's get a brighter picture so there will be even less glare then LCD, but there will always be some amount of glare and plasmas really aren't that bad - it's something you'l have to compare at the store.

Something to consider about contrast ratio, if you are comparing TVs. Each TV manufacturer has their own system for measuring contrast ratio and it varies so much that you can not use the number compare between brands, only within brands. Look for how dark the blacks get (more important if you watch tv/movies in a darker room, then a lighter one), it's a sign of how much contrast you can get.

You also want to consider where people are telling you this information. I believe people at Sears and Fry's are on commission and will want to sell you an LCD because they are a bigger sale, whilst most other places (like Best Buy) are not on commission and will generally try to sell you the best for your needs (plasma!:)).

Hope I helped,
Matt.
 
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i am still on the LCD side of life. I am not trully convince plasmas are the new and improved versions. time will tell on that one.
 
For a simple comparison, the life span of plasma tv's are rated higher then CRT monitors (Tube), the higher end brands almost double. It's been like this for quite a few years now. Plenty of time for rigorous testing. :)
 
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LCD. Burn in can still happen on plasmas, even in this generation. If you get a TV, it should be for viewing (DUH!); you should not have to be concerned with making sure you don't watch channels/shows that have black bar masking. LCDs do not suffer from burn in. Having said that, LCD TVs are still on the expensive side, whereas plasmas have gone down in price.

Having said that, I have a plasma TV but only for the interim and because I got a steal on it; it's an LG 60 inch that we got for like 800 bucks brand new. Once LCDs get cheaper, we will get an LCD.

Of course, if you ask me, I'd rather spend that money on a home theater projector system. I speak from experience having a 110 inch screen and a 1080p projector in my home theater room. If you have the room, you could easily get a 1080p projector for the price of a good plasma/LCD tv.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Projector + 110 inch wide screen + 7.2 surround system + Xbox 360 + Nintendo Wii = damn good times.
 
The projector isn't a bad idea, but generally you need very low lighting to get a good picture (basically no light in the room) which is fine for games, but casual TV watching isn't so hot in that situation.

If you go LCD make sure you find a good 120Hz unit, the 60Hz units drive me insane with motion blur, which would point me towards Plasma, but I do feel better about LCD.

Now they are coming out with laser projection TVs or some such, which promise amazing vivid picture and insane response time.
 
LCD..... Best Buys are just trying to get rid of plasma now that's why they're around half the price of LCDs. Don't be fooled, LCDs are better.
 
i wasnt fooled. it will take a few more years for me to be comfy with plasma. but thats just me. i am overly cautious with expensive purchases.
 
120 Hz, 240 Hz, 600 Hz- not to hijack the thread because I think this is useful criteria- but what is actually available from the source, say your average cable or broadcast channel?

You can say 600 Hz, but if the source is only providing 60 hz worth of information the rest is just made up, no?
 
I've had a big (50") LG plasma for over 3 years now, and I couldn't be happier with it. Plasmas seem to have a much wider viewing angle than LCDs do- which is important if you have a long, narrow space for a living room (which we do). You can see the picture on a plasma perfectly from any angle, not so much for LCDs.

The only complaint I have about my plasma is that the thing puts out some HEAT! Sitting in front of it playing video games- you might as well be sitting in front of a space heater. Nice in the winter- not so nice in the summer.
 
As far as Hz goes - plasma is going off of a different scale and doesn't need higher then 60 hz to avoid the motion blurring that LCD has. So it's really 60 hz, but the equivalent of a 600 hz LCD, which is why it is marketed as 600hz.

Burn in is really almost a non issue with plasma nowadays with all of the countering features they have. Sure you can get a burn, but not really with normal use.

Best buy selling off their plasmas? Where did you hear that? :p

Moonwilson: You might want to consider having someone out to calibrate your TV. It'l turn down the intensity, brightness, and contrast in relation to your ambient light to give you more colors, less heat, and more real picture whilst using less electricity and giving your tv a longer life.
 
Just to confuse things a little more, look at LED tvs. They are the new technology. I think in about a year, they will be the rage.
 
LED TVs are just LCD tv's with an LED back light.

The LG ones look quite nice though, as they have an LED panel (instead of having them shine in from the edges like Samsungs) so it's able to switch off LEDs for individual pixels. So in theory the LG's are able to produce blacker blacks and a higher contrast rating, it's why plasmas have higher contrast - they don't need a back light. :)
 
I have seen burn ins on the plasma screens that the OR uses!! They are fairly new too. I voted for LCD.
 
I personally prefer LCDs. LED back-lit ones are definitely preferable if you don't mind spending extra.

I've fallen asleep while playing a game or watching a movie late at night - wouldn't want to do that with a plasma. Having to worry about screen savers is so 90s. :D
 
I have a PIoneer Plasma 3 years old 1080p. A Sony LCD 120hrz 1 yr old and a Samsung Led new. I've been gaming Xbox live on the Plazma the who time afte breaking it it. The Pioneer is far superiour to both the LCD and the Led in PQ. All my tv's are calibrated. But I don't know who good the new Plasmas are and Pioneer isn't making them anymore I believe. Plasmas are being phased out but that doesn't mean Led or lcd are better. IMO just get what you like. Your probally not going to tell unless you compare them side by side. But I'm an AV nut
 
Plasma's dead/ dying technology. LCD is the way of the future. I know because I used to design and market them for a major OEM manufacturer. Samsung makes the best LCD panels.
 
We decided on an LCD after much research. Aside from the reasons mentioned above, the kicker for me was the glare that the screen has on plasma TVs. Glare always drives me crazy, so I wasn't about to have that be a nuisance every time I sat down for a movie. YMMV - I know it's an idiosyncrasy on my part. :o

- Mark
 
Hold out for a laser projection TV. Wave of the future:thumbup: Colors so true and vibrant, it'll burn your eyes out.
 
I/WE:D have a 50 inch high end Panasonic plasma and love it looked at both(lcd) as has been stated if you want to view at any angle over@ 35 degrees lcd is "NOT" good!!! glare can be problem but he-- that is what shades or curtains are for, and for the money saved you can buy alot of curtains;)!!
 
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