Plasma vs LCD

eloplayspolo

So i'm working on getting my tv... 37" - 56" all depending on the price, and i cant help to see that plasmas are so much cheaper than LCDs right now. the LCD i want is the 40" W series Sony, best price ive seen is 1099.99, I'm seeing 50" Samsung plasmas for 750.00 right now.... i know plasmas have burn in.... but on todays plasmas how bad is that? i would like to use it as a PC monitor and for gaming.

Any thoughts?

leroyjr1

I also was debating this a while back and end up going with the Samsung 850 and 650 series lcd tv. LCD's are good for gaming and using it as a pc monitor. The thing I didn't like about the plasmas are they aren't as reliable, they have a glass covered screen which is bad in sunlight because of the glare. The industry is now leaning more toward lcd's and the plasmas are slowly fading away. I've heard plasmas are much more expensive to repair because of the gases in the panel. The plasmas colors are more deep while lcd's give you a more natural picture.

mrbigbluelight

I think that it is generally agreed that a GOOD plasma screen will have a better picture than a GOOD LCD screen.

But, that being said, everything else points to LCD.

manman

todays plasmas don't have bad burn in issues- but I'm wondering what 50" lcd's you are seeing for $750? Are they 1080p as well?? The best plasmas are still pretty expensive (as are the best LCD's)- but for top of the line I thnk they are both around the same price. I am a fan of LCDs, but personally I wouldn't say they have a more natural picture. They are a lot brighter, blacks aren't as black (except OLED) and the color seems more saturated, so it pops well but they look slightly less natural to me in that way. Overall I think LCDs are better for watching in brightly lit rooms, but plasmas ultimately have a better picture and are good for watching in low light.

One thing I've noticed (just my opinion) is that I've seen more mid level LCDs that look better than mid level plasmas though. If I could afford to pay top dollar for like a pioneer kuro PRO-151FD or 111FD I'd go with that over something like the XBR8, but at a mid level I'd go with an LCD personally.

But after all that... I actually ended up going with a 60" Sony xsrd rear projection (KDS 60A3000). The picture is fantastic IMO and I have 60" where 50" would have cost me a few thousand more with an lcd/plasma. That's where my budget was at the time, and after living with it I've never wished I had a smaller screen flat pannel.

apphd

IMHO early plasmas did have burn in problems that led to the increased popularity in LCD when the technology hit a point that LCDs could be produced in larger sizes (>21"). Initially the modest size LCDs (say 32") could be produced much lower than a 32" plasma, so lots of sales. As LCD technology advanced to larger sizes people still bought them because of the old stigmas plasmas had, even as the price gap closed between the two. Now even though for the most part > 42" LCDs cost more to produce, so more to buy. But people's fears still generate lots of sales, so they keep producing them and expanding the size, and improving them. But burn in is NOT an issue in real life use with today's plasmas, a lot has been done to address the reflection properties of that big piece of glass to where it is no more of an issue than it was with our old 19" CRT tvs (remember those).

In my opinion at normal viewing distances an up to 50" 720P plasma is the way to go, great picture, best price.

Motzart

I looked at Plasma as well and found.....
Plasma after being on for awhile gets very hot!
Then there is the glare from the screen.

My main concern was the heat generated....maybe it's just being paranoid but I didn't like it.

SEH

If this is going in the bedroom mentioned in your sig, then I'd lean to the plasma. Go look at some LCDs in a dark room and see what you think, but the gray blacks drive me crazy.

RutgersFTW

Plasma all the way. A lot of the negatives can be exaggerated - anti-gare screens cut down on reflections, image retention is all but solved (if you didn't have it on a CRT, you won't have it on a plasma), and the latest models by Panasonic use a lot less electricity than their forebears.

Furthermore, almost all of LCDs disadvantages are performance related: grey blacks, worse contrast, backlight bleed, blurry motion/unnatural 120hz look, more expensive inch for inch... LCDs can have better PQ than plasmas, but I haven't seen a modern plasma with BAD PQ. YMMV.

highlander30

I'd go with the lcd, best veiwing in all kinds of light conditions. Also lcd's don't normally have many repair problems. I recently bought a sony kdm46w4100, and could'nt be more pleased. The picture is amazing, and in HD the picture looks almost 3D. I would recomend this Sony to anyone.

Conradicles

I have had about 7 HDTV's:
37" sharp LCD 720
50" Sony RPTV 1080
42" Samsung Plasma 720
50" Samsung Plasma 1080
50" Hitachi Plasma 1080
50" Panasonic Plasma 720
Pioneer Kuro Plasma 720

Hands down the Pioneer looks better than them all. Don't get fooled by the 720 / 1080 crap. You can tell no difference on these smaller screens. If you go larger than 50", get a 1080.

IMHO regardless of pixels or LCD/Plasma/RPTV I would rate them from best to worst:
1. Pioneer
2. Panasonic
3. Samsung
4. Sony
5. Sharp
6. Hitachi

The Pioneer sets are amazing...and so is the price. But I was never pleased until I got my Pioneer. Trust me, Plasmas have a better picture quality, but I can see why many people go for LCD. Has a lot to do with Marketing.




and my Pioneer Kuro Plasma blows them all away.

Fongolio

I'm at a year and a half on my Hitachi Plasma and no image retention, no service issues, no complaints period. It's a low end Plasma but I still think it looks better than most LCD's as far as picture quality is concerned. It does get a bit warm though.

MrNightly

This is a great thread!

I have been looking at the Sony 52" XBR5 that is being clearanced out. I haven't found a picture that looks as good. Of course, I have only seen it at big box stores in the middle of 400 other TV's.

If you compare the Sony and the Samsung side by side, I don't think there are any comparisions. Of course, isn't TV like Audio? It's all in the eyes?

I will have to look up the Pioneer now, that it was rated so well by Conradicles. Thanks for throwing a kink in my plans man!

Conradicles

MrNightly wrote: »

This is a great thread!

I will have to look up the Pioneer now, that it was rated so well by Conradicles. Thanks for throwing a kink in my plans man!

Check Cnet, ultimateAVmag, soundandvision, HomeTheaterMag, etc.
They all do a good job of reviewing all of the TV's we have mentioned in this thread.;)

P.S. Good luck on your new Pioneer:)...just kidding.

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Willow

We had an LCD 32", then bought a 42" Panasonic Viera Plasma and could not be happier (maybe a 50" ) I love the colors and non colors black and whites on it as well. I can play PS3 for hours on it and no burn in, watch movie marathons 3-5 movies in a day with black bars and again, nothing. I find the colors more real on our plasma then on our lcd, no issues what so ever with motion blur. If I had to do it again, I'd go plasma. The heat from it, no big deal. We sit about 10-11 ft away and 720p is just dandy! Yes it took me about 4 days of calibrating to get it the way it is now, but well worth it.
Now all this said, we did buy a 19"lcd for one of our guest rooms as well it's the TV my neplews use when they come over to play on my xbox, I bought lcd cause plasma doesn't make them that small.

Fongolio

Any hi-def needs to be calibrated properly or the sets full potential is lost. An avia disk is a very good investment.

thsmith

It all depends on your room light conditions, if it is a bright room and will be watched with a lot of light then LCD, if its lower light then go Plasma. No matter which one you go with you will need to tweak the settings to get best picture. LCD right out of the box will blind you :-)

gdb

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/compare-reviews.php;)

Motzart

highlander30 wrote: »

I'd go with the lcd, best veiwing in all kinds of light conditions. Also lcd's don't normally have many repair problems. I recently bought a sony kdm46w4100, and could'nt be more pleased. The picture is amazing, and in HD the picture looks almost 3D. I would recomend this Sony to anyone.

I agree I like the Sony HDTV's best but I couldn't afford one at the time.
Reason for my Vizio.....which I've been happy with so far!

dragon1952

I've had a 42" Panasonic plasma for about a year, and just got a 32" Samsung LCD for the bedroom. The colors on the plasma blow me away every time I watch it. The LCD sucks in comparison.

apphd

dragon1952 wrote: »

I've had a 42" Panasonic plasma for about a year, and just got a 32" Samsung LCD for the bedroom. The colors on the plasma blow me away every time I watch it. The LCD sucks in comparison.

+1 I had a Panny 32" LCD which when I bought it I compared to a Sony of equal size and felt the Panny had an = PQ at a lower price. After about 2 years moved that to the bedroom and picked up a 42" 720P Panny Plasma and have had that a little over a year and nothing but trouble free great viewing. I would say my living room has average lighting, and don't have any reflection issues. I guess if you have a VERY bright room maybe it could be a problem, others say so, so must be, I just haven't seen it.

eloplayspolo

pacific sales had a 1080P 50" Samsung Plasma for 799.99. thats what made me ask this question.

How are plasmas for PC connection? my laptop has HDMI out.... i may use it for some gaming.

Conradicles

eloplayspolo wrote: »

pacific sales had a 1080P 50" Samsung Plasma for 799.99. thats what made me ask this question.

How are plasmas for PC connection? my laptop has HDMI out.... i may use it for some gaming.

On my 50" Samsung Plasma 1080 that I had in the past I used it with my PC and it worked great.

I did have to make some tweaks for the best image, but it worked great.

eloplayspolo

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TH-42PZ77U-1080p-Plasma-HDTV/dp/B000V5DK2O/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1231038508&sr=1-29


deals like this are easy to find.

Airplay355

Can you use plasmas as a computer monitor? We're going to get a large TV soon (42 to 48 inches) and I'm not sure whether to go LCD or plasma. Plasma prices are better but I'm nervous about burn in with using it as a computer monitor and someone who may leave the screen on. I'd be worried that menus and icons would burn in.

We're looking to spend around 1300 +/- 200. Anyone have some suggestions? So far samsungs look like they are the best but every friggen store around here had no tvs in stock!

Conradicles

Airplay355 wrote: »

Can you use plasmas as a computer monitor? We're going to get a large TV soon (42 to 48 inches) and I'm not sure whether to go LCD or plasma. Plasma prices are better but I'm nervous about burn in with using it as a computer monitor and someone who may leave the screen on. I'd be worried that menus and icons would burn in.

We're looking to spend around 1300 +/- 200. Anyone have some suggestions? So far samsungs look like they are the best but every friggen store around here had no tvs in stock!

You can use a plasma as a CPU monitor. I used my old Samsung 42" plasma as one and everybody thought is was way cool. No burn in. Just make sure you turn on the "orbiter" feature that prevents image retention.

But...I would go LCD if you will be using it as a computer much of the time. That way there are no worries.:)