LCD or LED or Plasma

[Ron]

Time for an upgrade on the ol tube. What is better?

 

I can get a Sony or Panasonic 40" LCD for 999.99 or I can get a Panasonic 42" Plasma for 850.00.

 

I have no idea on what I am looking at other than price. Any help on this TV guru's would be appreciated. I don't spend a lot of time watching the tube (or what we use to call them anyways).

 

A wise man once told me, happy wife, happy life. (She is getting tired of watching Days of our Lives in red).

 

Thanks!

 

Cheer, Ron...

[Guest gbfisher]

LCD will run you $200 plus for a buld every two years depeneding on how much TV you watch. LED and plasma last a bit longer.

A tube can last for YEARS.....lol...

[basskicker09]

dont get plasma if you play video games buy a rear projection tv if you want it to last

[JohnF]

I recently got a 46" Panasonic Viera (plasma) and it's great. I had been saying for years I thought the new tv's weren't worth the money but now that I have one i gotta eat those words. Hockey in high def on a big screen is awesome.

 

JF

[ColdH20guy]

I was in The Source the other day and they had some new LED's..beautiful picture even compared to plasma and LCD..little pricey but seem to be the way to go these days....

[Ron]

Thanks guys,

 

We only use the TV for movies and such. No video games, very seldom do we watch sports. If I had time to watch TV myself, I would have time to fish!

[lew]

I'll also be buying a new TV in the near future Ron and everyone I've talked to has said Samsung is the way to go.

[DRIFTER_016]

Thanks guys,

 

We only use the TV for movies and such. No video games, very seldom do we watch sports. If I had time to watch TV myself, I would have time to fish!

 

 

You need to think of how you watch TV as well.

Do you like to watch in the dark or a well lit room?

Do you watch sports?

Plasmas do better in a darker enviroment due to the gloss front while the LCD's shine in a brighter room.

Plasmas tend to have better blacks than LCD TV's

If you watch sports get a plasma or an LCD with a 240 hz refresh rate.

The so called LED TV's (they are actually LCD with LED back lighting) produce better blacks than the CCFL (normal LCD units).

 

For me the best fit is an LCD (LED back lit) 240 hz refresh rate TV.

Now I just need the $$$$$ to buy it!!!!.

 

If you watch sports Buy the 240 hz refresh rate LCD or you will be disappointed.

[tjsa]

Hey Ron, if you can wait a day, I can get you the specs on the recent LG plasma we bought for work at Future Shop. It is a 50" unit, full glass surface, 2 HDMI inputs, video input, VGA input, composite input, cable input, and component input, and for the low low price of $999.99.

 

It's lovely. It might have been a sale item, cannot remember. We need them with VGA inputs for our use, lots of either LCD, LED, or Plasmas are now coming out without that input. But, you can buy adapters to convert VGA to HDMI, you just usually lose the audio, and have to supply audio separately. I am sure there are dongles or adapters out there to solve that, you would just have to route the audio to your home stereo system instead of to the flat screen.

 

One guy at work purchased a Samsung 46" for his wife last Christmas, based the size on the room he was going to put it into and the viewing distance. The 50" would have been overkill. And Samsung says their units will last for 60,000 hrs. That's a long time if you only use it evenings and weekends.

 

We have Sony plasmas around campus that had been running 24/7 since August of 2003. The units are failing now, but not because of any bulb or flourescent failure, it is power supply and input board issues. Replace for $1,000.00, or repair for $700.00, you do the math.

 

And we are of the opinion, it does not matter which major brand you chose, since we took apart one of the Sony's, and found an LG board inside it, lol!!

It all depends on your use. Viewing angle is still better with plasmas vs. LCD, no idea about LED, we haven't used one yet.

 

Also, we have not used any DLP displays yet, so I cannot say anything about them.

[Muskieman]

This past June, we picked up a 52" LG Palsma @ Costco for 899.99... I love it.especially WFN.. well worth the $$

 

The old set I retired is in the basement ...35" 1997 Sony Trinitron I paid 999.99 back then... and still works great....

I fact the old set will probably outlast the new one.

 

 

RFS

[bow slayer]

well the best picture is still a plasma. If you will not be playing any video games and can control the light in the room than go plasma best picture. I did a ton of research both on line and talking to sales people at at about 6 different shops. The answer was always the same for my interest (sports,movies,no video games) controlled lighting.plasma. The most reccomended brand was Samsung ,Panasonic was a distant second.

[JohnF]

well the best picture is still a plasma. If you will not be playing any video games and can control the light in the room than go plasma best picture. I did a ton of research both on line and talking to sales people at at about 6 different shops. The answer was always the same for my interest (sports,movies,no video games) controlled lighting.plasma. The most reccomended brand was Samsung ,Panasonic was a distant second.

 

I did a ton of research too and it told me that Panasonic was the way to go. Then when I went to the biggest non-box store in the area and asked the salesman who I've known since he was a kid (and he grew up in the biz) which set is best regardless of price he said without hesitating Panasonic Viera. I may just be trying to justify the money I spent but I've not seen a set with a better picture and when I had a minor issue that required service Panasonic was excellent. The service guy came to the house the day after I reported it and fixed the issue plus taking the time to show me a few setup tricks to avoid weird picture distortion. I have a great picture now regardless of the transmission. Hockey and Nascar are phenomenal in HD.

 

JF

[ecmilley]

the viera has a 20 year span don't hesitate to buy it, I have the 46 it is a great tv and once you watch a fottball game or haockey in hd it tough to go back.

As for quality i have neigbours with samsung while they have a good pic there 53 has been in for warranty a couple times the same with other friends who have lg's

if your tv will be in a bright room lcd is a brighter pic and no glare the plasma's have a glass screen over them that can make viewing tough with direct sunlight.

generlly the plasma is better for sports as they have a faster response rate but it all depends on $$$$$

[NAW]

The wife and I just picked up an Samsung 46" LCD for $950. It's a great TV from what I can tell. I would have liked to fork out the extra dough, and get a LED. The LCDs are about half the price though.

 

I don't have HD cable, so for watching TV, I don't see a huge difference in picture quality from my last TV. But when you watch Blueray, WOW,, it's amazing.

[JohnF]

The wife and I just picked up an Samsung 46" LCD for $950. It's a great TV from what I can tell. I would have liked to fork out the extra dough, and get a LED. The LCDs are about half the price though.

 

I don't have HD cable, so for watching TV, I don't see a huge difference in picture quality from my last TV. But when you watch Blueray, WOW,, it's amazing.

 

HD is a whole nuther world. Hockey in HD is awesome. I can hardly sit thru a game in regular resolution any more.

 

JF

[Canuck]

Costco has some awesome prices these days. The older technology 720p sets are pretty cheap. HD Cable is only based on 720p anyway (1080i, not 1080p) so you don't "need" 1080p unless you watch BlueRay and even then I am not sure the difference is that important. I have a 720p Pioneer plasma and a Samsung 1080p LCD and I like the look of plasma a lot better. The new Samsung LED LCDs are pretty nice though. Too much money right now, but really nice.

[SBCregal]

im pretty sure the plasmas are starting to be phased out. they get real hot, and they consume much more power than an lcd or led tv (apparently alot dont get an energy star rating). that being said...the picture tends to be a bit nicer on them (i find)

 

also the plasmas come with a glass front which is bad for glare if you have any lights/windows that can be reflected in the screen.

[bigfish1965]

I bought an LG LCD. At the casino all of our TV's are LG LCD and they are on 24/7 and so far (5 yrs) only a few have failed...like was said earlier it was power supplies that went on them...not the screen.

I don't know but seems like leaving them on all the time may cause them to last longer.

[cram]

Ron,

 

You only need to know a few things....

 

- if the TV is on a main floor (or anywhere it'll get sunlight) and you plan on watching when the sun is up, you'll ABSOLUTELY need an LCD or LED. Plasma has WAY too much reflection and glare for anything other than a closed room or basement. You'll find in some tv stores that the plasmas are always in a back corner where there's little light.

 

- if in a basement, you will be fine with either. Plasma has an arguably better picture, but it also gets hot. LCD isn't quite as nice for high speed stuff (like sports), but the delta between the two is closing fast. Plasma is pretty much on its way out.

 

- I don't know plasma but if you get an LCD samsung and LG are pretty good value buys (i just got a 50 inch LG a month ago). I could not see a difference in the picture btwn these and the more expensive Sony...maybe someone can, but not me.

 

- if you get LCD, an important spec that is often under-valued is refresh rate....the speed by which your screen "refreshes". Whne the rate is slow, faster moving objects look blurry (they're moving faster than the picture is refreshing). I forget the different levels (something like 60 megahertz/second, 120, or 240). The highest level likely doesn't matter unless you watch nascar or LOTS of sports. Get the middle (this is what i did). Do NOT get the lowest one.

 

- when you do buy, do NOT let them sell you on their expensive cables (usually called monster cables)....its Bull. The lowest quality HDMI or component cables will generate just as good a picture.

 

- same goes with set-up or installation service....they will try to sell you a service to come and "fine tune" your tv, and will likely show you a tv that has been "tuned" to see the difference. Its Bull. You can tune yourself with your eyes, and or look up generally preferred settings for each model online.

[SRT8 smoker craft]

I have had my cheapo lcd for 5 years with no problems so far but pic quality is not as good as samsung or LG but it was half the price.

[BillM]

If I could have one TV it would be a Pioneer Kuro Elite... If I couldn't have that, it would be a Panny plasma..

 

Now, if I was putting this TV in a well lit room, it would be LCD for sure..

 

All depends on where the TV is going to be, what you'll mostly be viewing on it, and what you want to spend...

[bow slayer]

CR ratings for plasma

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electro...gs-overview.htm

[GoneFishin]

LCD will run you $200 plus for a buld every two years depeneding on how much TV you watch. LED and plasma last a bit longer.

A tube can last for YEARS.....lol...

 

You've got it a bit backwards. Plasma tv's you will need to replace the bulb every so often and I wouldn't recommend even considering lol . LCD's you just have to watch out for burnt out pixels but that will most likely only happen if it's physically damaged. And LED tv's are just about the same as LCD tv's except instead of using flouresent lights to light behind the LCD panel they use LED's. Makes for better picture quality and a thinner tv .. lol

[wallyboss]

Where is the tv going Dark or lots of light is pretty well the main thing that should effect the decision of which kind to buy?? The rest is price. The higher the refresh rate for an LCD the better (but the pricier it is) I have a 52" Samsung that I bought last year and it only has 60hz refresh rate and I have seen only a few times when there was a bit of break up but I am not a big sport watching guy. 120hz will run you 200-300 more. 240 hz a lot more. Most Plasma have a refresh rate of 600hz so it would be plasma that I would buy if my family room didn't have 3 huge picture windows and a patio door.

[Garnet]

The 2 best when I bought 18 months ago were Pioneer and the Panasonic 1080p. They were both head and shoulders above the other plasma. The screen update of plasma is wild. In nascar you will see how loose the cars are. When watching movies look at the black suits along the shoulder line good plasma are straight and solid. My living room is very bright and I have no problem with reflection.

 

If I was looking now the LG plasma 1080p would get serious consideration.

 

The Sharp LCD was by far the best.

 

We have rogers and could not go with out the PVR. Any live TV and you miss something just hit rwd need a snack just hit pause. Recording a show is so easy I do it.

 

Get a surround sound you will have a lot less hair when you get it hooked up but well worth it.

 

Garnet