Wife and I were out looking at 42" TV's and I was wanting an LCD as there are more available in that screen size....but I have to say that after looking at the TV's side by side the 42" Panasonic 1080P plasma picture if far better than most LCD's I saw....and am now leaning towards a plasma...

Any opinion from owners on either side?

I have a couple of LCD TV's now and have not been too impressed with their pictures...

 

I have a samsung 50" plasma and it's fantastic. The picture quality is far better with a plasma. The only downside is that sometimes when you're watching a show that has graphics in the same spot (any sport or news channel) then sometimes you will get a little bit of a ghost image for a few minutes after changing the channel. In earlier plasma TVs this could actually become permanent, but the technology today is so much better that this isn't really a problem except in extreme circumstances where you leave the same image up on the screen for hours at a time for days on end.

In other words, don't let other people scare you about the screen burn-in problem because it isn't really a problem.

Go for the plasma TV you won't regret it.

 

Thanks Andy....Not worried about burn in at all, new sets have pretty much cured all that....not used for games or PC duties either..
Yup, I think plasma may be the way to go...

 

I went through this a year ago when I got my 42" I went with the 42" Panny and later found they are rated the best aside from those Pioneer Kuro's that cost twice as much. Plasma's are much brighter BUT they have a glass front that will reflect some sun light, so if you have a very well lit room you could have some glare issues.

If you get the Panny and decide to wall mount it check ebay out for the mounting brackets, I got mine off ebay for around $50 brand new, any big box store will want 2x-4x that much for them.

 

Pricing is favorable on the plasma sets as well...I can get the 1080P version for $999.99 but I am sure there will be some pretty good discounts as the holidays come upon us..no hurry ...

Chris..

 

i have a 42 panny 1080i, i bought last year, cant complain, only i wish it were a 1080p...if you can really notice....combined with my toshiba 1080p dvd player its phenominal


people buy lcd because its alot lighter that a plasma tv,from what im told

 

lighter as in weight?


I've got a 50" plasma (720p LG) on the livingroom wall I've had no problems with it.
I've got a 32" samsung lcd on the bedroom wall , i've had no probs

At this point, i think the lcd vs plasma war comes down to personal preference.

I would def. not skimp on the mount if you hang it.
Not saying go to the box store, but buy a name brand, like peerless And mount the thing to 2 studs....

 

When I bought my LCD, I was fully prepared to buy a comparable plasma, but then I saw them side-by-side. It could be a personal preference, but an LCD also uses half the power a plasma does.

Do research online to compare features and prices, but then go to stores and look at them all. It also helps if you can play with them, as most of them have a "torch" mode for in-store use that makes them look real pretty under the store lights, but shortens their life and may be very different from what is required under your normal home viewing conditions.

Jason

 

I faced the same dilemma recetly and went with a Sony Bravia LCD...40". I vacillated back and forth for quite a while before settling on LCD. The deciding factor was where the TV is placed...and lighting conditions when and where I watch. In my case...the TV is in a pretty bright spot...in front of 3 windows...and I usually have lights on when watching. Under these circumstances...the LCD outperforms the plasma...at least in my opinion. They also run cooler and are less expensive to operate.

 

LCD vs Plasma? well I love my plasma cutter, but never tried an LCD cutter. who makes them?

 

this may or may not help, I copied it from an email from computer geeks



Understanding HDTV Resolutions
By Bryan Lambert- Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Tale of TVs
With February 17, 2009 looming and prices for flat panel televisions falling, even in these hard economic times, people are still looking to purchase an HDTV either by choice or by necessity. When looking at High Definition televisions you may have heard about the 720 and 1080 standards, but sometimes there is a bewildering amount of information to take in when choosing “just the right” television for your needs. Let’s look at some things to look at when purchasing a HDTV, particularly at what is called “the glass.”


The Glass and an Account of Resolutions
In the computer parts or consumer electronics industry, it all starts with the “glass” – this is the name that the LCD or Plasma panel is commonly called - this is the heart of the HDTV. In this Tech Tip, we’ll concentrate more on different aspects of the glass (which for simplicity sake, I’ll refer to as the “panel”), particularly the resolution.


The quality and the resolution of the panel used makes up a large part of the quality of the picture that ends up on the television. One thing you may notice very quickly is, no matter the size of the television, that a very common panel used for HDTVs has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Unfortunately, the two most common HDTV resolutions are 720 (1280 x 720 pixels) and 1080 (1920 x 1080 pixels). It doesn’t take a math major to see that 1366 x 768 doesn’t quite “fit” into either 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080.



Another thing that you may see is that many HDTVs that use a 1366 x 768 pixel panel are often advertised as 720p/1080i televisions. Why is that? Well, usually, these televisions will accept a 720p signal and scale it up to a 1366 x 768 resolution or a 1080i signal and scale it down to a 1366 x 768 resolution. Is this a bad thing? Not really. The reason is that most scaling chips work very well, and the resulting picture is usually pretty good. If the television is getting a 1080i signal, it will actually get more information than it can use, but the resulting picture will be very much on par with a 720p signal – and truthfully many people cannot really differentiate between the two.




Now, a quick note about those lower case letters after the resolution. The lower case i simply stands for “interlaced” and p for “progressive”. This has more to do with the type of high-definition signal coming into the TV rather then the actual playback (HDTV panels do not play back in interlaced mode, like old style analog televisions, just in progressive scan).



Full High Definition – it’s alive, IT’S ALIVE!
A panel that is a true 1080 resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels – usually advertised as 1080p) will usually provide a better picture then a television with a 1366 x 768 panel since it is a true pixel to pixel representation of the information coming into the television. Currently, only high resolution products such as Blu-Ray players or the now defunct HD-DVD players could take advantage of 1080 resolutions in “progressive scan” mode (1080p), as television stations do not currently broadcast HDTV 1080p signals. To differentiate televisions with this higher resolution capability, many manufacturers advertise these televisions as “Full HD” or “Complete HD.” A 1080p television using a 1920 x 1080 panel will usually look better than a similarly sized television using a 1366 x 768 panel (really any panel size under the 1920 x 1080 resolution.)


The question may arise: “why is there a wide price disparity in 1080p televisions?” A lot has to do with such things as contrast ratio (expressed as x:1, the larger the x is, the better the contrast ratio) and brightness of the panel (expressed as x cd/m2, the larger x is, the better – note that this spec is usually not included), how fast it refreshes (expressed in milliseconds, usually x ms – the lower x is, the better), what kind of television tuners are included (none, analog, digital, etc), the “electronics” surrounding the panel, what kind of features/connectors are offered (such as HDMI), if any extras are built in (speakers, DVD player) and whose name is on front of the TV.


For many, really the best way to shop for a HDTV is to see the picture in person. If you’re buying a television without seeing it in person, then you may want to rely on the listed specifications of the television as well as product reviews so that you can make an informed decision (some good sites for reviews are CNet (http://reviews****et.com), HD Guru (Hdguru.com tells you everything you need to know about HDTV displays, high definition content, high def disc players, high definition reception and reviews on high definition products, blu-ray and), and of course, the ever popular Amazon (Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more).


Yes, There’s Lots More – But Not Today
Once you scratch the surface on HDTVs you find out there is a lot to learn – much more than could be crammed into just one Tech Tip. In fact, there is almost a confusing over-abundance of HDTV information available! So, if you do find yourself looking for an HD television, stick to the basics: does the picture look good; does it fulfill my needs; is it within my budget? However, always remember: it all starts with the glass.

 

YO!

Do me a favor and start feeding in PRICES here, otay?

One other thing - look at "DIGITAL PROJECTORS" that can throw an image up on a wall from the output of a DTV or NOTEBOOK and think about the way game play on PC's would be impacted (especially with helicopter sims)

I always was thinking in projector terms, but if you watch TV so much it wears out the bulb it's time to turn it off anyway.

(The bulbs last 500 hours last I heard, and cost a bit)

Digital Projectors throw out an image with the highest screen definition your computer can handle, and it is normally above movie projection standards

With a wide screen width - people tend to fall over or catch themselves if an aerial shot leans to one side in a turn...
(Periferal vision is the main influence there, I assume...)

 

If the room you are going to put the TV in has windows you will need good curtains to block the light, or else you will have bad glare on the screen of a Plasma TV.

Also, how do you get your TV programming? If you use satellite or an antenna ignore the rest of this paragraph. If you use cable I would recommend waiting a little while longer until they start putting the new Tru-2Way tuners in the TVs (should be a few out by christmas, and a lot by the Super Bowl). This is the new tuner that cable TV is going to start using. With it you won't have to have a box hooked up to the TV in order to get all of the channels. You will just have to rent a small card from your cable company and put it in the TV.

 

last time i checked all tv's have glare from the sun

 

Plasma's are worse for glare because they are a smooth glass panel. LCD's have a polymer screen with a matte finish to it--much, much less glare. Light from the side on an LCD is at most distracting. On a plasma the same light can render the picture unviewable.

Jason