Plasma or LCD TV?

Hello Jana,

First off, $45 more per month extra is way off based on the usage you are talking about. An LCD is certainly more energy efficient than a plasma, but at 10 cents per kilowatt hour, a 50" 1080p plasma running 2 hours a day wouldn't crack $45 a year TOTAL.....

I logged on here tonight because it's time to replace my 2004 Pioneer plasma, which has logged around 6,000 hours and still looks fantastic, but I need a bigger set for my new space.

LCDs have come a long way, but I still prefer the blacks that a plasma provides, as well as the smoothness of the picture. 

The only LCDs that I have seen that get close to what the good plasmas are doing are the sets with LED, local area backlighting, 240hz, and usually a pretty hefty price tag....

Jana,

No matter which technology you're interested in, there are always folks ready with a bunch of arguments why it's either the best option for you, or whether the other is better.

In recent years, most of the arguments against plasmas have become moot issues:

- As Lanny indicated, they don't suck nearly as much power as they used to.  Most are very energy efficient and won't make a sizeable dent in your utility bill.

- Burn-in is not nearly as prevalent an issue anymore.  Most purists recommend a 100-hour "break-in" period, but others assert that as long as you don't leave the set at factory levels (i.e. use "movie" mode or it's equivalent) and better yet, get a calibration disc like Avia or Digital Video Essentials and properly calibrate the set, you'll be fine.

- Plasma's price point has come down dramatically in recent years and is very competitive with LCD.

- Lifespan - Plasma TVs will last plenty long enough for you - we're talking tens of thousands of hours.

There are a few universal "truths" to plasmas that still ring true:

- They are much heavier than LCDs, so wall-mounting a plasma is more involved and requires a bit more care.

- They are thicker than many of the newer LCDs - a few inches rather than the ~1" thick that some of the newer LED LCD sets boast, but that "thinness" carries a whole slew of problems along with it, too...

- Their screens tend to be much glossier and prone to reflections than LCDs.  This fact alone, IMO, is the single biggest factor in deciding whether you should go plasma or LCD.  If the TV will be in a position where it recieves a lot of direct sunlight or will reflect lamp lights to the viewing location it may not be the best solution for you.

In terms of actual picture quality, a lot of it is subjective, but to me at least, plasmas tend to have better/deeper blacks, and more vivid colors than LCDs.

If I were in the market for a flat panel, I would focus my search on plasmas (and this coming from a guy who 3 years ago was about as "anti-plasma" as you could get, but that was due mostly to the price premiums they used to carry).

Best of luck to you in your shopping!

Jana,

Jason said it all, it's about light vs. dark rooms.

Plasma is great in a theater room, or anywhere at night, with all lights out.

Any other conditions.....daytime viewing, lamps on at night, etc you'll prefer LCD.

So when you watch and where is what matters most.

Good luck!

there is also this calibration disc. I would highly recommend.

Jacob

Spears & Munsil

I've had two Panasonic Plasmas (one was stolen after just 2 months of having it) and both in pretty bright living rooms.  I have to say that I'm extremely happy with the picture quality despite being in such bright spaces.  Of course, the only other "real world" experience I've had viewing an LCD is at my in-law's house with a Sony Bravia.  I'd say they have a brighter room than I do, and the TV is exceptional as far as brightness is concerned. However, not so much that I would choose LCD over Plasma.

When it comes to color, and nowadays even brightness, I'd still go with a Plasma with no hesitation.  The biggest drawback that I think still exists is the amazing thinness of LCD's now compared to Plasmas.  I mean holy crap! You can get an LCD that you can hang like a picture they're so thin and lightweight.

Nice. Don't forget to calibrate, as has been mentioned, even if it's just a basic do it yourself with a test disc..

To me, the best reason to get an LCD boils down to size.  You can get a great LCD that is super thin, super light, and that is super affordable.  If those are the qualities you're looking for than Plasma doesn't stand a chance.  But, if you want something that is better at reproducing color and visual clarity, plasma will always win (right now).  It may change in the future, but right now, I'm very happy with going with plasma.

LCD's TV's are producing rich colors and black levels that are very acceptable.

Not exactly like Plasma but very close.

To me I always boiled it down to what you mostly use your TV for... Movies.Blurays & DVDs then Plasmas the way to go.

Multimedia: Gaming,PC connection or HTPC then LCD televisions are the way to go.

This is my outlook and everyones likes and dislikes will vary as to why they prefer different types of TV's.

 So choose what fits your needs and budget.

Only thing you may want to stick to as I do is make sure if you go plasma you stick with the top Plasma screen producers same with LCD.

I do not remember the names for each camp but can easily be found by searching google.

Off hand I remember

Plasma

Panasonic

LCD

Philips

Sharp

Quote:

Originally Posted by DellaStMedia 

To me, the best reason to get an LCD boils down to size.  You can get a great LCD that is super thin, super light, and that is super affordable.  If those are the qualities you're looking for than Plasma doesn't stand a chance.  But, if you want something that is better at reproducing color and visual clarity, plasma will always win (right now).  It may change in the future, but right now, I'm very happy with going with plasma.

I beg to differ on the affordability claim.  Here's a listing of 40-49" flatscreen TVs at Best Buy sorted from highest price to lowest price: Best Buy 40-49" Televisions.

Where does the first plasma come in?  Page FOUR!!!  It's a 46" Panasonic plasma priced well below a number of 40" LCD sets.

Comparing even larger sets, you can get a 65" top of the line Panasonic plasma for $1700 less than a top of the line 60" Samsung LCD.

Edit: Upon deeper review, I can see that Best Buy does not carry many of the higher-end plasma models (the LCDs are the "in" sets, I guess), so the price differentials in the above link are not truly representative of "comparably equipped" models.  A quick glance at MSRPs on Panasonic's site suggests that plasma still has a slight advantage over LCD in price when doing a more "apples to apples" comparsion.

The price and affordability argument against plasma simply doesn't hold weight like it used to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by safesinger 

To me I always boiled it down to what you mostly use your TV for... Movies.Blurays & DVDs then Plasmas the way to go.

 

Multimedia: Gaming,PC connection or HTPC then LCD televisions are the way to go.

What is your reasoning here?  What difference should it make if I play a Blu-Ray from a standalone Oppo player or on a Blu-Ray drive on my computer if both are hooked up to the TV via HDMI?  Same for DVDs?  For gaming, the slow response rate of an LCD is going to be a problem to folks used to playing games with very high frame rates - moreso than the danger of burn-in which has been greatly reduced in recent generations of plasma display.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Charlton 

 

 

I beg to differ on the affordability claim.  Here's a listing of 40-49" flatscreen TVs at Best Buy sorted from highest price to lowest price: Best Buy 40-49" Televisions.

 

Where does the first plasma come in?  Page FOUR!!!  It's a 46" Panasonic plasma priced well below a number of 40" LCD sets.

 

Comparing even larger sets, you can get a 65" top of the line Panasonic plasma for $1700 less than a top of the line 60" Samsung LCD.

 

The price and affordability argument against plasma simply doesn't hold weight like it used to.

My bad.  I never go to Best Buy (or any other mass market chain store) to get my equipment, so I don't really know their pricing. Stupid, I know, but it's one of my idiosyncrasies.
 

Oh, don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything , and in fact, in YOUR defense, after that last post, I did a bit more research and discovered that the plasma models at Best Buy are far from "top of the line"... (I edited the post accordingly), so the price differential is not as severe as it seemed.

I think once all is said and done, plasmas offer similar or perhaps only slightly better value than truly comparable LCD sets.

My main purpose in revisiting this topic is really just to try and illustrate that as these technologies have matured, the differentiators have gotten to be rather small and, in fact, for most people the choice of one technology over the other will have more to do with aesthetics and viewing environment rather than the technology itself.

As much as I hate to think it, there ARE people out there for whom a set that is 3" thick is completely unacceptable and nothing thicker than 1/2" will do.  For them, the choice of one over the other is made simple, albeit for reasons that may seem silly for those of us who place a priority on video quality and performance.

In the end, it's about trying to be as informed a consumer as possible, something that a lot of folks in this forum really take to heart, and something that is REALLY hard for folks who don't frequent places like HTF to achieve.  If all we had in life were commercials and Best Buy "sales people" at our disposal, we'd really be screwed! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Charlton 

Oh, don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything , and in fact, in YOUR defense, after that last post, I did a bit more research and discovered that the plasma models at Best Buy are far from "top of the line"... (I edited the post accordingly), so the price differential is not as severe as it seemed.

 

I think once all is said and done, plasmas offer similar or perhaps only slightly better value than truly comparable LCD sets.

 

My main purpose in revisiting this topic is really just to try and illustrate that as these technologies have matured, the differentiators have gotten to be rather small and, in fact, for most people the choice of one technology over the other will have more to do with aesthetics and viewing environment rather than the technology itself.

 

As much as I hate to think it, there ARE people out there for whom a set that is 3" thick is completely unacceptable and nothing thicker than 1/2" will do.  For them, the choice of one over the other is made simple, albeit for reasons that may seem silly for those of us who place a priority on video quality and performance.

 

In the end, it's about trying to be as informed a consumer as possible, something that a lot of folks in this forum really take to heart, and something that is REALLY hard for folks who don't frequent places like HTF to achieve.  If all we had in life were commercials and Best Buy "sales people" at our disposal, we'd really be screwed! 

Agreed!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Charlton 

 

What is your reasoning here?  What difference should it make if I play a Blu-Ray from a standalone Oppo player or on a Blu-Ray drive on my computer if both are hooked up to the TV via HDMI?  Same for DVDs?  For gaming, the slow response rate of an LCD is going to be a problem to folks used to playing games with very high frame rates - moreso than the danger of burn-in which has been greatly reduced in recent generations of plasma display.

While Plasmas do not burn in like they used to they still do burn in.

Any Stagnant image from a computer desktop is not good for a Plasma TV.

I was not referring to using a PC as a BR player I was referring to if you use your PC on your TV as a desktop PC Surfing the nets..regular PC use.

People have been using LCD monitors for thier PC's for quite some time now trailing isn't a issue any longer. I have played games on my PC and consoles on my LCD TV and monitor and do not see trailing at all.

As I stated this is my opinion and outlook on LCD televisions being better for multimedia use.

And Todays LCD TV's aren't anything like they used to be and Burn-in would take weeks maybe months of the same image in place to cause a spot.

"All phosphor based display systems (CRT direct and rear view and plasma) are susceptible to image retention also known as "ghosting, image shadowing, image burn in." This is due to physical properties of phosphor and how it reacts to light and electric impulse."

Plasmas on the other hand.

Do have colors that are rich and the black levels still can not be matched by any LCD TV... LED or not.

This to me makes for a great Movie watching experience.

I do favor the LCD over Plasma personally but I do not dislike Plasma technolgy.

Why do I favor LCD because I am a multimedia user.

But LCDTV's now produce colors and black levels that are great maybe not exactly like a Plasma display but damn close.