Plasma or Lcd?
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Elder User
Joined: May 2003
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From: Dixon, Il
Plasma or Lcd?
My wife and I went looking for a new tv and we're not sure what kind to get. We have heard pros and cons of both and different stores talk up each one. Looking to get one 47" to 52". What should I look for?
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Lake of the Ozarks, MO
If you want 50" or bigger, you will have a very hard time finding an LCD, the biggest you see regularly is a 47" in LCD. There isn't a whole lot of difference anymore between the quality of plasma and LCD, either one will do just fine, and last for about the same time. I would go for what fits your budget. Prices will be going down towards the end of the month as we get nearer to the super bowl, that always brings the price down.
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From: Where's my map???
Originally Posted by Oval_obsessed
My wife and I went looking for a new tv and we're not sure what kind to get. We have heard pros and cons of both and different stores talk up each one. Looking to get one 47" to 52". What should I look for?
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Princeton, MN
I just bought a Toshiba Regza LCD and I love it. I researched the crap out of these things (I always over analyze) and came to the opinion that Toshiba and Samsung seem to give the best picture for the money. Other tvs offer more technology nuggets packaged into one tv but it doesn't seem to translate into better picture. Those 2 companies seemed to just seem to pick the features that make the best tv and only charge for that.
I thought the Samsungs I saw were slightly clearer than the Toshibas but were a few hundred more and Toshiba takes the whole market on color.
FWIW
I thought the Samsungs I saw were slightly clearer than the Toshibas but were a few hundred more and Toshiba takes the whole market on color.
FWIW
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: northern Michigan
Plasma has a short life expectency, usually around 5 years before you can expect failures to occur. LCD will last longer and still give an adequate picture inprovement over picture tube tv's. I would go with the LCD in digital HD.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Leamington, Ontario
To be honest I don't think that there is a proper answer to this question it's really what you see with your eyes and what you think has the better picture. With that said I've got a Sony Bravia LCD and I love it.
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Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Peoria, IL
Where are you going to be placing it? A room with a lot of windows or lights will cause a lot of reflections on the screen of a plasma. Also, what is your viewing distance (distance from the tv to your normal seating position), what kind of programming do you watch, how many hours on average do you watch it, will it be mounted or placed on a stand, etc.?
A lot of those items will help influence what kind of TV you get.
Go to a good high end store with employees working off of commision. They will know a lot more than your average employee at Walmart, Circuit City, etc., and be able to help you make a better choice. Otherwise feel free to ask more here, or on another forum I frequest,
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9
If you let the guys at AVS forum know information like I asked above, and how much you are looking to spend I am sure they can help you out tremendously.
BTW, life expectancy and burn in was an issue with the early plasma TVs but it is really a non-issue with newer sets in most cases.
A lot of those items will help influence what kind of TV you get.
Go to a good high end store with employees working off of commision. They will know a lot more than your average employee at Walmart, Circuit City, etc., and be able to help you make a better choice. Otherwise feel free to ask more here, or on another forum I frequest,
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9
If you let the guys at AVS forum know information like I asked above, and how much you are looking to spend I am sure they can help you out tremendously.
BTW, life expectancy and burn in was an issue with the early plasma TVs but it is really a non-issue with newer sets in most cases.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: SouthWest Ga.
My wife and I bought a 50" Panansonic Plasma HD for Christmas and Love it, the only down side which really isn't, is that for a 50" as the charts say you must be a certain distance for the best picture because up close the picture isn't nearly as clear and crisp. There are charts available with Pic. size and distance while viewing so heed them. Other than that after looking at both size and pic. type (LCD vs PLASMA) it all comes down to personal peferance, We picked ours up at Circuir City for $1699.oo right after Thanksgiving and they price matched Sears at that price because CC price was 1995.00. I preferred CC for their sextended warranty, which was better. Any time I spend that kinda money on electronics of any kind I but and Ext. warrenty.
Posting Guru
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^^^^Beerstalker has some good advice. I personally went with an lcd for the reason my room has alot of light. I like the bright picture an lcd offers plus you can find 50" and bigger rather easy now...the new Aquos by Sharp has a 65" lcd and it looks fantastic.
A plasma does really good in a basement where there is little natural light and the deep blacks are awsome.
Good hunting
A plasma does really good in a basement where there is little natural light and the deep blacks are awsome.
Good hunting
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Hawkeye Country
I picked up a 40 inch Samsung LCD for Christmas, 720P with a 4000:1 contrast ratio. Bought it on sale at Best Buy, with a 4 year warranty, for 799 bucks.
One thing to look at when choosing a HDTV is the picture contrast ratio. I looked at a couple different models that had crappier 600:1 and 800:1 ratios, the picture wasn't terrible until I compared it side by side with the Samsung.
Another thing to look for is the input selection on the back of the set. If your planning on keeping the TV for awhile you'll want to find one with HDMI inputs. Blueray players, HD-DVD players, and other future mediums make use of the HDMI inputs. They offer a much crisper HD signal over the conventional analog RCA and component inputs. Most of the sets I looked at had HDMI inputs, only a couple didn't, just something to think about.
I went with a LCD because I play a lot of video games, burn in still is a issue on plasmas, its gotten better but the threat is always still there. Burn in is not a problem with a LCD set.
One thing to look at when choosing a HDTV is the picture contrast ratio. I looked at a couple different models that had crappier 600:1 and 800:1 ratios, the picture wasn't terrible until I compared it side by side with the Samsung.
Another thing to look for is the input selection on the back of the set. If your planning on keeping the TV for awhile you'll want to find one with HDMI inputs. Blueray players, HD-DVD players, and other future mediums make use of the HDMI inputs. They offer a much crisper HD signal over the conventional analog RCA and component inputs. Most of the sets I looked at had HDMI inputs, only a couple didn't, just something to think about.
I went with a LCD because I play a lot of video games, burn in still is a issue on plasmas, its gotten better but the threat is always still there. Burn in is not a problem with a LCD set.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Clearwater, Fl
Originally Posted by stormyrider
Plasma has a short life expectency, usually around 5 years before you can expect failures to occur. LCD will last longer and still give an adequate picture inprovement over picture tube tv's. I would go with the LCD in digital HD.
plasmas had issues like that when they first came out, thats not even talked about anymore
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Calgary, Canada
http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-6485_7-168-110.html
Check that out for reviews.
On Boxing Day, I had a look at a Samsung tv that was using Organic LED backlighting and the picture was amazing. However, it doesn't seem to be getting great reviews yet... and it's pricy.
Check that out for reviews.
On Boxing Day, I had a look at a Samsung tv that was using Organic LED backlighting and the picture was amazing. However, it doesn't seem to be getting great reviews yet... and it's pricy.