Plasma or LCD?

[Decade]

I need some advice since I'm getting a huge joint graduation gift from my entire family for graduation college:

A Big Flat Screen Plasma or LCD TV (at least 42 inches)

I'm looking at one of the big guys for buying (Probably Sony or Panasonic) and I'm wondering:

Which should I get? Plasma or LCD?

I hear LCD is supposed to be much better quality than LCD somehow and we all already know about how Plasma screens deplet all their gas within like 2-3 years, but has that changed? Which WILL give me the better quality picture?

I'm going to be using it for more than just TV (which may or may not have digital cable), I'll be using it for DVDs, Blu-ray (and maybe hd-dvd if i get a player), a monitor for my comp, my Xbox 360 and PS3 when I get it, so I'll seriously want the best picture.

Any help and advice would be appreciated.

Also, since it's graduation and I'm getting such a sweet tv, I figure I'd blow some cash on a good 5.1 home theater system to go with it, anyone got any recommendation? Should I get a Bose?

[Klilynkun]

if your going to be using it that much just get the lcd

[NERD]

http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/0,39035250,40036500,00.htm

That article breaks it down a lot better than I can.

Personally I'd go for the plasma. They go for 30,000 hours to 60,000 hours, whereas LCDs usually go for 60,000+. Still, that is a lot of hours to go for, imo.

Also, a quality 5.1 home theater system can be had at a fraction of a cost from Bose- as much as I appreciate the sound of Bose systems, they are often twice the cost of a great system, which sound as good as Bose. I'd go for Onkyo SKS-HT530 or Klipsch Quintet III.

[delen]

LCD and not Sony because they are overpriced a lot

[Trump]

Isn't there a new TV technology coming out in the next year or two?

[Osucka]

Isn't there a new TV technology coming out in the next year or two?

Repeat every year or two for best accuracy. :watson:

And to answer your question, go with LCD. They are lighter when you get into the much larger sizes, the life span runs a little longer on average and it's nearly impossible to burn-in an image so if you are a gamer image burn is still a possibility with plasma as it is still a phosphor based technology.

Couple downsides to LCDs, possibility of a couple bad pixels when you get into any new set right out of the box. You can live with it though, believe me. Also image persistence... Gets a little annoying sometimes when a previous image shadow stays on the screen, especially during games. Don't worry, it's not a regular occurance and as soon as you power the TV off and back on it's gone. Will also typically go away on it's own as soon as the "stuck" pixels refresh enough.

[Jay]

Quote of the day. :D

[Trump]

OK fine, I'll figure out what it is called again...

Oh yeah, SED.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/679/679235p1.html

About that year or two thing? Looks like it might finally happen! hehe

[Decade]

SHIT

While the images seemed really bright, those black levels are amazing.

FUCK, this mean i gotta wait? :meh:

[Radiance]

LCD is much better as far as bang for your buck unless you're going to spend 10,000 or more on it. I answer this question every day at work. :x As a note, the newer LCDs have all but eliminated the problem of ghosting, so as long as you're not buying an older model you don't need to worry about it.

[Osucka]

SHIT

While the images seemed really bright, those black levels are amazing.

FUCK, this mean i gotta wait? :meh:

Keep in mind, SED is still phosphor based so image burn is still possible if you play games.

[Osucka]

LCD is much better as far as bang for your buck unless you're going to spend 10,000 or more on it. I answer this question every day at work. :x As a note, the newer LCDs have all but eliminated the problem of ghosting, so as long as you're not buying an older model you don't need to worry about it.

I'm not sure if you were referring to my comment or not but I want to point out, just in case someone is not aware, ghosting and image persistance are two completely different things.

Ghosting is nearly gone with the high refresh rates of newer sets, image persistance continues to happen on rare occassions.

[Radiance]

No I wasn't, I was simply noting a common concern among first time buyers. Sorry, I should have been more specific.

[Osucka]

No I wasn't, I was simply noting a common concern among first time buyers. Sorry, I should have been more specific.

No problem over here. Just trying to get my nerd on.:boggled:

[Decade]

soooo, maybe i should just add a poll to this or something :boggled:

[eMadman]

Also, a quality 5.1 home theater system can be had at a fraction of a cost from Bose- as much as I appreciate the sound of Bose systems, they are often twice the cost of a great system, which sound as good as Bose. I'd go for Onkyo SKS-HT530 or Klipsch Quintet III.
Agreed. Quality and Bose do NOT go hand in hand

As for your tv, if you can live with some depth, go with DLP or LCD Projection. If you want the cream of the crop in flat, check the new Sharp LCD screens. They're currently the only ones that support true 1080i

[Decade]

I appreciate all the advice, but are there any SPECIFIC models (i.e. TV'S or home theaters) you guys recommend? I'm researching, but I'd be very willing and eager to hear of anything specific you guys would recommend me.

[Osucka]

Depends on what you want to do with your system.
Is it for personal use or entertainment?
What size room are you working with?
What is the light control like?
What do you plan on connecting and what is the percentage of time each item willl be used?
Do you consider yourself an audiophile and/or videophile? (By this I mean do you want the best money can buy or the best for your money?)
... Add anything else you can think of.

[SDSUMarcus01]

Honestly it's gotten to the point where you can find decent surround sound systems for pretty cheap. I mean my mom dumped thousands of dollars on several surround sound systems over the years... most recently she got a pretty expensive bose 6.1 set up with a really expensive harmon kardon receiver... and after I did all of the tweaking, it really didn't sound THAT much better than a polk audio set with an onkyo receiver. I dare say that you could probably even find a pre-packaged system that sounds pretty good.

A lot DOES depend on the accoustics and dynamics of the room you plan to use though.

[Decade]

Is it for personal use or entertainment?

...

I'm going to be using it for more than just TV (which may or may not have digital cable), I'll be using it for DVDs, Blu-ray (and maybe hd-dvd if i get a player), a monitor for my comp, my Xbox 360 and PS3 when I get it, so I'll seriously want the best picture.

What size room are you working with?
I'm imagining that I'll find a wall to put it on, it's not going to be difficult

What is the light control like?
Light could be a problem as there's probably gonna be windows near the wall

What do you plan on connecting and what is the percentage of time each item willl be used?
See above, a good 50-70% of the time.

Do you consider yourself an audiophile and/or videophile? (By this I mean do you want the best money can buy or the best for your money?)

Kinda of both, I dont want to spend an extra cent I need to for good quality, but if I really have to shell out extra cash I'll CONSIDER it. :meh:

[whispering]

I bought an LCD, generally Plasmas are good in big sizes (such as you are searching), as far as i know Plasmas have better colours (deeper black) though the newest LCD's are really catching up, Plasma's heat a lot and use much more electricity. Anyway, if i were you id buy a smaller LCD and a projector for the good stuff. As for audio, i would definately NOT get Bose, huge price which mainly is for the design. You can get a lot better with cheaper.

[Kannon]

In my opinion, if you have big bucks to spend and want the best, I'd consider waiting for SED. It just looking amazing (not that you couldn't see that...). If you are impatient like myself, you'll buy a T.V. before SED comes out.

I bought a new HDTV when I got my 360, and I absolutely love it. As far as the LCD to Plasma debate, in my opinion, I say neither. You can argue which has a better picture, which will last longer, etc, but in the end (again, my opinion here) the best bang for your buck will be a CRT. Yes it will be heavy. Yes it will be HUGE. But I've never seen images like what I get from my 360/DVD's HDSat. Simply amazing.

It's a 30' Widescreen set, so it's not huge, but it fills the room nicely, unlike my friends 50' DLP, which takes up the majority of his living room area, along with his gifreakingantic sectional couch. I like room to move about I guess...

Anywho, my 2c, I'd say shop around for a nice CRT if picture is what you are after. If it's more about size convention you'll find the LCDs or Plasmas saving you room, and despite how this post sounds, I do like LCDs and Plasmas, I just find CRTs have better picture, and until I can get the same quality from an LCD/Plasma/SED as my CRT, I'll stick with the brick.

[Osucka]

Decade, actually my personal use or entertainment question meant will it mainly be you viewing it or will you be entertaining others on a regular basis? For example, if you plan to run your game systems in 4 player split screen often then a bigger set may be better for you.

Also, about mounting it on the wall, that's cool... Would still like to know the room size though because truthfully, if you're 20 foot from your wall both a 13" and a 65" would fit on it... But which do you think would workout best?

Haha, just a bit more info if you could please! :innocent:

[Decade]

Decade, actually my personal use or entertainment question meant will it mainly be you viewing it or will you be entertaining others on a regular basis? For example, if you plan to run your game systems in 4 player split screen often then a bigger set may be better for you.
I dont see a lot of 4 player split screen going on since most of my friends will be quite busy, so it'll probably be mostly me.

Also, about mounting it on the wall, that's cool... Would still like to know the room size though because truthfully, if you're 20 foot from your wall both a 13" and a 65" would fit on it... But which do you think would workout best?
I dont know the room size, I dont got the apartment yet, but you can imagine there's gonna be at least one wall where at least a 42" lcd or plasma will be mountable on.

[Osucka]

OK, well, it sounds like you are already pretty much set on 42" or so. For gaming I highly recommend the new Samsung LCD models as their new processor is amazing when it comes to gaming! (Xbox 360 looks great! I hooked it up to multiple sets in the store, played with the settings on them all, and the Samsung blew everything else away.)
Of course arguments can be made for other, higher end TV's (Bravia) but in bang for the buck, I am thinking the Samsungs are good stuff right now.

I have already made my LCD recommendation, but also, I would say for wall mounting, LCDs are a little simpler than plasmas as well as they are not quite as heavy so leave a little more room for error. LOL

[NERD]

Keep in mind that in order to make most of your TV, plasma or LCD, you might want to invest in HD cable/satellite. I know some over-the-air networks offer shows in HD, but the numbers of shows broadcasted in HD is still rather limited. Also, I believe DVDs are only up to 480i, so you'll have to wait for HD-DVD or Blu Ray to take full advantage on your TV. Lastly, I believe more LCDs offer up to 1080i compared to Plasma.

[Decade]

Yea I keep hearing about 1080i and 1080p(? I know there's another one).

What's the difference between these two? I dont understand what they mean by these numbers, is it kinda like dots per inch like in old school desktop monitors?

[NERD]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080i

The difference, and the confusion, over 1080i/1080p seems to have stemmed from the different boradcasting standards in Europe vs. rest of the world. At the moment, the more common broadcasting standard is NTSC, used by US/Japan/whole lot more countries, whereas Europe uses PAL. Interestingly, the difference in broadcasting standards will carry over with Digital Broadcast as well.

You shouldn't be concerned with such anyhow, unless you are deciding to leave US soil after you get your big ass screen tv. Just pick wisely between Blu-Ray/HD-DVD, that you should be more concerned about.

[Osucka]

i vs. p is easy.
I = interlaced. That means that whatever the number is you can cut it in half and it is capable of drawing that many lines at a time. So, 1080i makes 540 lines per pass. odds, then evens.
p = progressive. A 1080p set would draw all 1080 lines in a single pass.

In most cases (especially now) with the way programming is, it's not that big a deal but, until we get real 1080p broadcasts (I won't hold my breath though) and any blu-ray or HDDVDs they want to encode in 1080p you will get just about the same results from either TV.

The biggest difference you will see between an interlaced and progressive signal is in quick movements. For example, were you to take a golf DVD into a store and play it on TVs in interlaced and in progressive scan you will see that, as the ball is hit and is flying quickly it become blockier on an interlaced set and stays more round on a progressive set but really, in most cases many people don't even notice those things as you've been watching an interlaced signal since you were a baby.

[Decade]

1080i then, got it