looking to add a tv to my house,haven't bought one for several years. I am thinking one in the 30 inch range will be big enough. I don't want to break the bank buying it,just want a decent picture. So on that note,what are the advantages/disadvantages of the three different types,plasma/lcd/led? thanks for any suggestions!!

 

Plasmas are hot and use more power than an LCD, and are also much heavier. Some people prefer the picture (used to have better black levels, not as much of an advantage now). Personally, I never cared for them, and I think that they're on their way out (say, 5-10 years).

LEDs are actually LCDs--it's just that the backlight is comprised of LEDs instead of fluorescent lamps. They probably used even less power than the fluorescent-backlit LCDs. They're also thinner and the lightest of the bunch.

Jason

 

I have a plasma and it does throw a significant amount of heat. Plasma TV's may be cheaper right now though, IDK.

Remember, the TV measurement is a diagonal measurement so a 30" TV will be a fairly small screen.

 

The 240hz LED TVs are the only thing comparable to a good plasma. The contrast and color of plasmas is still the best IMO. If you have HD programming available, go for 1080p. You should have the unit for years, so take that into consideration for size and quality. Try to avoid anything DLP. They have expensive lamps which don't typically have a very long service life.

 

I just got my first one at Christmas. I was thinking a 42 inch to fit the entertainment center. Then we decided we needed new furniture. Ours was pretty old and wearing thin.
We bought a tv entertainment table with our furniture. Getting that huge old center out of the living room really opened up the space and height of the wall.

That said, I bought a 55 inch LCD. to go in the space and love it.

I knew nothing about the tv's and shopped a couple of different Best Buy stores to see what the different sales peoples views were.

Get the 1080p resolution. Most television programs are only filmed in 720 resolution, but movie watching is much better in 1080p. (Just got Blu-Ray, and it is really cool.)

Plasma uses more power, but has the best picture. It also can burn an image into the screen if a game or program is paused for a period of time.

LCD is good for rooms that get glares or reflections because the screen is kind of matte finish. Electric usage is less than plasma also.

LED tends to catch glare and reflections because the screen is glossy finish. It uses the least amount of electricity.

I went with a 55 inch Insignia LCD. I read the customer reviews online and saw the highest satisfaction with this one. The sales people also told me that samsung makes insignia and that the internals were the same. Samsung only offers a 1 year warranty, where Insignia offers 2 years parts and labor.

I saw the tv's side by side with the others and found they all started to look alike. I found these two articles online the other day and it helped to really dial in the tv.

How to Calibrate a Hi Definition TV | eHow.com

LCD TV Calibration: Learn to Calibrate the Picture Settings your LCD Television

I am glad I did not go any smaller and the wife even approves the set.

 

Plasmas--- lots of heat, glass screen so it shows reflections from behind i.e lights or windows
LCD--- matte screen no reflections, less heat very sharp picture (this is what I have 46" Sony Bravia
Led---- no heat great picture but does have glare on screen (my daughter has Vizio)

 

Thanks for the replies. My current tv is a vizio 26" LCD. It works fine,but will be moving to my bedroom when I get a bigger one. I noticed when i lay down on the couch to watch tv,the colors are different on the LCD tv. Everything is darker,and can't really see scenes that are in the dark. Will an LED tv solve this problem or is it just because my LCD tv is a cheaper brand name?

 

That may be because of the polarized filters they put in those things - if you angle the TV so you look more directly at it, you shouldn't have any problem. I'm not sure about the LED TV but I think they also use those filters...