lcd vs plasma

[prospector]

i need a new tv...can anyone, please, explain the difference to me..
the one i have now carries an image of whatever channel i was watching to the new channel for 5 or so minutes..like the little ticker on the stock market channel...it'll show faintly on the new station for up to 5 minutes.
thanks if you can..

[cj's dad]

I know this - I bought a 36" LG brand tv a month or so ago and the picture is beyond anything I could have imagined. It's an LCD

[BillW]

Here's a site to look at:

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Learn/Article/GroupMenu.aspx?g=260050&tp=26

This article in particular may help:

http://www.crutchfield.com/learn/learningcenter/home/tv_flatpanel.html

[Grits]

Mine are Samsung LCDs. I was told to never by a plasma screen tv by an owner of one. And this was told to me, once again, when I went to Best Buy to purchase.

This may help:

http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions/

[GameTheory]

i need a new tv...can anyone, please, explain the difference to me..
the one i have now carries an image of whatever channel i was watching to the new channel for 5 or so minutes..like the little ticker on the stock market channel...it'll show faintly on the new station for up to 5 minutes.
thanks if you can..Plasmas will do that, especially the budget ones. But the newer/better ones minimize it, although any plasma will be somewhat subject to image retention.

[serp]

The best lcd's are going to be better than the best plasma but not all lcd's are better than all plasma's. Cheap plasmas have problem with dark color contrast and cheap lcd's have light bleed. They both can have problem with visible angles.

There are good options in both but I wouldn't buy a tv myself without checking it out in person first. Look at it with both light and dark scenes, standing off to the sides, in a dark and light room. Just decide what is good enough for you and your wallet in these areas.

[fast4522]

Prospector
Both LCD and Plasma will give a great picture if you have a HD box or picking up HD from a antenna. The plasma screen will give a slightly better sharpness to the LCD at a cost of 4 time the electricity used. I have a LCD and love it, yet there is a third now out which is LED and is a tad sharper than plasma.
Steve

[bigmack]

The battle now is more between LCD and LED. LED offers the best picture but it is a bit more pricey though it uses almost half the amount of energy as an LCD which can amount to $100/yr. difference.

LED's are mercury free & have a thin design but as mentioned, they cost more.

[schweitz]

Guys, LED is the new way of lighting an LCD tv. I have a Samsung LCD with LED lighting and the picture is fantastic.

[BillW]

LED's are mercury free & have a thin design but as mentioned, they cost more.

The so called "LED" TV's are actually still LCD TV's. The difference is that the backlighting is LED as opposed to the older Fluorescent lighting hence the mercury free thing and more efficient power usage.

[redshift1]

i need a new tv...can anyone, please, explain the difference to me..
the one i have now carries an image of whatever channel i was watching to the new channel for 5 or so minutes..like the little ticker on the stock market channel...it'll show faintly on the new station for up to 5 minutes.
thanks if you can..

AVS forum is one the best sites for this information, check out the number of posts per thread. They break down the fine nuances of all the flat screens.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9/

[prospector]

thanks guys...50 inch lcd it is..
with the size of my living room it'll look like a movie screen..
i appreciate all the info and links..youse guys are da best..

[bigmack]

thanks guys...50 inch lcd it is..
with the size of my living room it'll look like a movie screen..
i appreciate all the info and links..youse guys are da best..
One last ting, Pro. Although size does matter, (at least that's what chicks tell me) if your room is dinky a bigger screen can be tiresome on your eyes as you have to 'drink-in' the whole screen and your eyes go from side to side. Like in this post. :eek:

For a smaller room a 42" will cut the mustard.





"Cut the mustard" :confused:

[Zydeco]

Bigmack is right. You can get a TV that is too big for the room. Tell the sales person how far away from the TV you will be sitting most often to watch the TV. He should know what size would be good. If he doesn't, he is probably trying to sell you the biggest set. Also, LCD has a longer screen life than plasma.

[delayjf]

From the research I did on this very subject, I concluded that the Plasma still had the better over all picture. Like Gametheory said, there was once a problem with screen burn in, but newer Plasma's have technology that takes care of that problem. It was mentioned earlier that LCD last longer, but the sources I read said that plasma's have closed that gap - both set should now last at least 10 years. LCD are still subject to blurred image in fast action sequences. Plasma have a wider viewing angle and I believe do better in darkly light rooms. LCD's are best for gaming if you have a x-box.

The biggest bang for the buck, if you have the room is a DLP - you can get a 63 inch for less than 1500.

[prospector]

the room is about 16' x 24'
which puts me about 10 feet from the tv..so 42" probably is best..

[delayjf]

Here's the source for my previous post.

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasma-vs-lcd.html

[Rookies]

Mine are Samsung LCDs. I was told to never by a plasma screen tv by an owner of one. And this was told to me, once again, when I went to Best Buy to purchase.

This may help:

http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions/

What will help even more is THIS: http://forums.cnet.com/7723-13973_102-402160.html

For the record, I have a wonderful picture on a 2 year old 46 inch HD Samsung LCD screen. But once again, a large free marketer has tried to pull a fast one with some very small, shoddy components. I am up to about a 5 minute wait until the gd thing comes on!:mad:

I have not contacted Samsung yet, but as you can see, consumer experience has not been positive.

Any Consumer Net search today for any product of some cost, should look at BOTH sides. That is, by all means do a 'Best'/ 'Top 5 Buy', but also associate the brand and the product with searches for 'problems', 'issues' etc.

[PaceAdvantage]

And I've always held Samsung LCDs in high regard, although for the record, I'm not happy with my most recent monitor purchase...perhaps they are slipping?

[johnhannibalsmith]

I've got a (1995?) Phillips 19" something or other without any acronymic letters and it is the size of a motorcycle and the weight of a semi-truck. Turns on immediately, remote still works, and it even has buttons that you can find right on the front of it. Kicks ass. I'll sell it to you for $116.88 (Caldor-style) FREE Shipping within 50 miles of Maricopa County.

:)

But I did figure out voice mail last year.

[JustRalph]

Don't forget to shop the "Club" stores

BJ's, Costco Sams Club etc

They sometimes run some incredible deals.

Here's a great source for HD Tv stuff........watch a couple episodes for info

http://revision3.com/hdnation/colorwheels

[HUSKER55]

I bought a Sharp Aquos and the picture is very very good. I never thought that extra pixel would make a difference but it does.

Check it out for yorself before you buy.


JMHO

[Grits]

And I've always held Samsung LCDs in high regard, although for the record, I'm not happy with my most recent monitor purchase...perhaps they are slipping?

I hope they're not. Televisions, pc monitor are all Samsung. This past week, after looking at smart phones since last October, reading reviews, looking at screen qualities, learning what each phone could do, etc, I purchased a Samsung Droid.

Over the years, I've had products by Sony, Motorola, Panasonic, and LG--but neither have had the picture quality of Samsung. As far as the tv goes, I learned the DPI was the factor to be most concerned with.

I DID go to Sam's Club when looking at the televisions, I priced them and they WERE less expensive. But each model they had in the store was from the prior year. Not the most recent model available, so I didn't purchase there.

Anyway, I hope these products all continue to hold up well. I really don't like buying things twice--in short periods of time. It's upsetting.:lol:

Rookies, you're a big guy--I'm amazed you haven't put your TV in the back of a truck and taken the thing back to your retailer--and told 'em where they could put it.:lol:

[Track Collector]

I have had good experiences with Vizio so far. Purchased 2 of them at Sam's Club and saved money vs. the other name brands. I guess it remains to be seen how long they last.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Sooner or later I'm going to have to break down and upgrade significantly so this thread has learned me quite a bit. My question for the more sophisticated followers of this kind of technology is sort of the same as why I never seem to break down and buy a new computer (even though the thing needs to increase memory paging just load the browser lately)...

Is this advice/information going to be useful in summertime, for example?

Is the technology moving so quickly that what I buy today will be half the cost six months from now?

Is there new technology on the immediate horizon that will render LCD/LED/etc in its current form obsolete?

I get stuck in a trap with buying new gadgets, which I once loved to do, only because of the rate of advancement leaves me unsure whether to buy the last great thing at a lower cost and perhaps shorter relevance span - or buy the newest great thing and pay top dollar...

When my video card finally screeched to a near halt around this time last year, I priced them and found something good for around $275 or something like that. Because I tend to be extremely busy in the summer, I just let it slip away and forgot about it until the fall. I went to go look for the same one and ended up buying it for around $125 - then realized I could have gotten it cheaper with some effort. But, already, it's gone from recommended hardware to minimum hardware - The catch-22 thing just keeps me at bay until I have no choice anymore.

[GameTheory]

I bought a very nice Panasonic Plasma a year or so ago that was about $1000 cheaper than equivalent LCDs. Still loving it.

As far as future-proofing, plasma will be the one to go away as LCDs have matured and are getting cheaper and cheaper. (Plasmas are heavy and use much more power, so now that the LCDs can put out as good a picture then plasmas will die off.) Personally I'd get an LED one as the backlight on the regular LCDs will often fail after a few years. LEDs should last quite a long time, and I think will be the standard for the next decade. Naturally what comes out this year will be cheaper next year, but that's always true.

The other main enhancements are 3D (if you want to watch all those newer 3D movies in 3D at home) and the various forms of internet integration -- Google TV, etc, although you can always just get a separate box for that.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Thanks GT - I'm not much of a TV watcher beyond History Channel, NatGeo, news type of stuff - so I'm mostly preparing for the day when I need to get something that's quality, but fairly simple, and won't need a converter box or something in five years to be used.

:ThmbUp: :ThmbUp:

[Mike at A+]

I bought a Sharp Aquos and the picture is very very good. I never thought that extra pixel would make a difference but it does.

Check it out for yorself before you buy.


JMHO
I bought a 32" Sharp Aquos about 3 years ago for my bedroom and am very pleased with it. My living room TV is a 53" Hitachi hi-def projection (big heavy unit on wheels) - got it about 8 years ago and it has held up well except for a recent $250 repair job.