Plasma or LCD TV?

[lovemygoofy]

Thank you all for the great responses!! We have started checking all ads in Sundays papers and getting comparisons....now, back to the store(s) for some serious TV watching to decide which picture we like

When you go back to the store to do your comparison, stand back exactly where you would sit from your tv at home. This really does make a difference and think about the windows and lighting situation in the room of the tv.

Don't forget to measure where the television will go. We have a 50inch plasma and had to find an entertainment center big enough to go around it. Not as easy as you'd expect.

If you are going the HD way, don't forget to price out how much the HD cable, if you have cable, will cost for an upgrade. In addition to the new tv and the upgraded cable, we also upgraded our TIVO to the hd so we can record in HD.

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

Thanks for the reminders of where to stand and the lighting! We are having UVERSE installed tomorrow, so DH is chompin' at the bit to get a nice TV.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Thanks for the reminders of where to stand and the lighting! We are having UVERSE installed tomorrow, so DH is chompin' at the bit to get a nice TV.

We have a panasonic plasma television that is just now a year old. We love to watch movies and tend to watch television in the dark. The color is gorgeous. It's like being at a movie theater really. Of course then you have all the hd upgrade stuff and then you hear "honey, we should get the surround sound now to have the hookup" Always something with those boys I tell ya!

When you are looking and comparing televisions, look at the color black. Apparently true black is difficult to create on these kinds of television and the best color black in a sign of a good television.

 

[czycropper]

After lots of research, we got a plasma and it! My neighbor bought a LCD at the same time and everytime he comes over he comments on how much nicer & true colors our TV is compared to his (BTW-we both have the 52").

Also, don't know where the Best Buy guy came up with the plasmas are not good for room that has lots of windows - we have ours in a room with a few windows and have never had a problem.

 

[lovemygoofy]

After lots of research, we got a plasma and it! My neighbor bought a LCD at the same time and everytime he comes over he comments on how much nicer & true colors our TV is compared to his (BTW-we both have the 52").

Also, don't know where the Best Buy guy came up with the plasmas are not good for room that has lots of windows - we have ours in a room with a few windows and have never had a problem.

I think it depends on the placement of the tv and the windows. We have about 10 windows in the rooms where our television is and there can be a glare in the morning light from the windows directly in front of the tv. We just hung curtains with a liner to filter the morning light.

 

[rickybobby13]

LED is the new trend

 

[blanq]

Oh! I forgot about LEDs, but those do look really good. Of course last time I checked their price point was still significantly higher than the others and I'm not sure they seem better enough to warrant the added price.


I'm glad they've fixed the burn-in issue on the plasmas - that was a pretty major issue for anyone who was into games (or liked to leave the TV on a news channel for long periods of time).

I have a Samsung LED TV and it is amazing and worth every penny I spent. At close to $3K it was not cheap, but I don't regret the purchase one bit. When you compare an LED side by side with a plasma or LCD, there is no comparison in terms of picture quality.The price of LED technology is coming down, and I think that it will become the technology that will outsell plasmas and LCDs in the future. Also, LEDs are energy efficient which is a plus.

 

[bicker]

I'm really interested in reading are reports from anyone who might have gone

• from LCD to plasma, or
• from plasma to LCD or LED.

Does anyone fit into either of those categories?

 

[seashoreCM]

How obtrusive glare from windows is depends on the screen surface. Plasmas are more likely to have polished surfaces that make glare more obtrusive. LCD's are more likely to have matte surfaces that reduce glare.

Deeper black is generally achieved by tinting the outer layer of the screen. You cannot see this directly, all you can do is compare the picture with other nearby TV sets. There are also other black enhancements that are different for LCD and plasma.

For plasmas, keep the contrast no more than halfway up the scale to prevent burn in. You may need to adjust the contrast separately for each input e.g. Video 1, Video 2, Broadcasts.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[tedhowe]

I'm really interested in reading are reports from anyone who might have gone

• from LCD to plasma, or
• from plasma to LCD or LED.

Does anyone fit into either of those categories?

Hi Bicker,

I don't know if this fits into your category, but we have both and love them both.

We have a 42" Panasonic Plasma (purchased in late 2006) in the living room/main viewing area - we watch from a distance of about 12 feet. We LOVE the Panny plasma for the great viewing angles, great contract, vibrant picture. The room is pretty easily light controlled so glare is not a big deal and is very manageable. We paid $1100 for it in 2006, but the comparable 720p Panasonic plasmas today go for around $500.00.

In the bedroom we have a 32" Panasonic LCD - the viewing distance is about 10-11 feet. This is a current generation 720p set - we got it in January during pre Superbowl sales for a bit under $300.00. For that price, I cannot believe how good the picture is. The viewing angle is not as wide as the plasma, but it is easily wide enough for our bedroom setting... LCDs have gotten much better at off-axis viewing in the last 4 years.

The short answer I give anyone asking about Plasma vs. LCD is "it depends".

Plasmas excel at viewing angle and contrast, but struggle with glare and reflections if the room conditions are harsh.

LCDs excel at color and are much better in difficult lighting decisions, but are not as good at wide viewing angles.

But the reality is that each is a fine choice... manufacturers of both types of sets have worked very hard to address the shortcomings of their respective technologies in the last few years, and have largely been successful in doing so.

My advice is to go see the sets in person. It was very good advice above in this thread, to make a choice to try to view the set in the store from the same distance you will using at home... a big part of the confusion of HD TV buying is the set resolution - both of our sets are 720p - because for those screen sizes, from the distances that we view them, 1080p sets would be overkill - there is just no apparent difference from normal viewing distance.... most people will look at a set from 1 to 3 feet away in the store, and that blatantly exaggerates the difference between 720 and 1080 sets.

Ted

 

[bicker]

Hi Bicker, I don't know if this fits into your category, but we have both and love them both.

That's better than my category! Thanks for the insights.

A couple of notes.

First, you mentioned that you seemed to indicate that the LCD was better for "color" but said that the plasma was "vibrant". I've read about plasma being "better" for "color"... can you comment a bit more about that? Could it just be that you're comparing a 2006 plasma to a 2009/2010 LCD?

Second, I've read a bit about glare in this thread, LCD versus plasma, attributable to the finish on the screens. For this year's models, at least, there doesn't appear to be any difference: Both LCD/LED and plasma sets are all glossy this year.

My advice is to go see the sets in person.

With some provisos. First, how, and where, the sets are setup makes a big difference. We went into a big box store and there were big differences between sets that we could plainly see. Then we went into a very high-end television-specific retailer, looked at the same sets, and they were all just about identical to each other. What is clear is that when the sets are setup correctly, there are practically no detectable differences, so that the differences we see, if we see any, in a store can almost always be attributed to poor work by the salespeople.

a big part of the confusion of HD TV buying is the set resolution

I've posted these references several times. They're invaluable.

Viewing Distance when Resolution Becomes Important

Optimal Viewing Distance/Optimal Screen Size