Plasma TV or LCD TV?

[Azyiu]

I am in the market for a brand new TV, and am leaning toward getting a 42" Plasma. In the meantime, I also want your kind advice as well, feel free to tell me and thanks in advance.

Ok, here is what I am going to use it for. I am mainly going to use it for watching DVDs, video games and live sporting events on TV etc. Based on what I know, LCDs tend to have "ghost" images when displaying fast moving action and all. Besides, colors and contrast are supposed to be MUCH better on a Plasma.

 

[Alpo]

If you get a plasma, make sure that it has a feature that prevents burn-in. Video games especially tend to have stationary objects on screen (health meters etc.) and these can permanently "burn in" to the plasma panel. I believe a lot of modern plasmas have some kind of burn-in prevention.

Other than that, the only advice I can give you is to go look at different TV's. Just make sure that they're all displaying the same picture. At many stores around here, some of the TV's are displaying a DVD-image, some are showing a full-HD demo and others are displaying an analog TV-signal ugh.

 

[JPMDan]

Personally I'm happy with my HDTV but I'd like to get myself a plasma or lcd. I say go for Plasma if you can afford and also heed Alpo's advice.

 

[eelblack2]

I have a 42 LCD Phillips Ambilight and a 50 Plasma Samsung. I like them both equally based on the rooms they are in, (LCD with ambilight in the MBR and Plamsa in the Livingroom.) For your needs I would suggest a Plasma with the burn in protection feature enabled. The colors truly are more vivid particularly if you are in a room with a lot of sunlight such as my livingroom which borders the pool area.

 

[Azyiu]

Hey, thanks guys for your inputs... and I think I am still leaning toward Plasma.

So before I am actually buying it, what do I need to look for? And tips or advice? Thanks in advance again.

 

[Vince]

1080i or 1080p, no less.

Walmart has a ton of cheap plasmas & LCDs, but just about all of them are 720p max resolution.

1080p is the best available resolution. My HDTV is 1080i and I love it. 720p isn't bad either, it's just arguably not as hi-def as the 1080 screens. Some would argue that 720p is clearer/crisper than 1080i because it's progressive scan, but I tend to disagree. 1080p is the best there is right now though, progressive scan 1080 is absolutely great.

 

[Azyiu]

Yeah, agreed.

This is currently one of my top choices, a Panasonic:

Panasonic Hong Kong - TV

But a buddy of mine highly recommended this Sharp LCD TV:

http://www.sharp.com.hk/webapp/eip/ControllerServlet?action=productDisplay&productId=LC-42BX5H

 

[Naren]

Yeah, agreed.

This is currently one of my top choices, a Panasonic:

Panasonic Hong Kong - TV

But a buddy of mine highly recommended this Sharp LCD TV:

http://www.sharp.com.hk/webapp/eip/ControllerServlet?action=productDisplay&productId=LC-42BX5H

And how much it HK $21,800? It better not be anywhere near US $21,800. That's like a whole year's salary for a lot of people. You could buy 4-5 cars with that much money. You could buy anywhere from 11-50 guitars with that much money. I bought my TV for about $150 (about 18,000 yen).

I'm hoping HK $21,800 is like US $2,000 or something somewhat logical like that.

 

[Azyiu]

I'm hoping HK $21,800 is like US $2,000 or something somewhat logical like that.

Don't worry, Eric, HKD $21K is like USD $2.5K or so... it is still NOT cheap, yes, but not too ridiculously expensive either.

 

[Naren]

Don't worry, Eric, HKD $21K is like USD $2.5K or so... it is still NOT cheap, yes, but not too ridiculously expensive either.

Okay... whew... I would never personally spend any more than $400 or $500 on a television, but my best friend's father spent around $3000-3500 on his movie television in the basement. Over 10-15 years, he's spent over $14,000 on the system down there.

$2,500 is incredibly incredibly expensive, but it's only a fraction of $21,000 which would be absolute madness.

It's a relief to hear that.

 

[Azyiu]

^ I hear you, Eric, but I am seriously about upgrading my home theater system, dude. I don't just want to wake my neighbors up at 3am in the morning... I want to wake them the hell up in style!

 

[Naren]

I would get kicked out of my apartment with all my belongings in the street before I knew that anyone had entered my room if I did that here in Tokyo.

 

[Azyiu]

^ those damn Japs...

 

[Naren]

^ those damn Japs...

Or maybe I should start badmouthing your damn country.

[action=Naren]thinks that waking up the neighbors at 3am with extremely loud noise is a very good reason to kick someone out of an apartment.[/action]

 

[Dormant]

Yeah, agreed.

This is currently one of my top choices, a Panasonic:

Panasonic Hong Kong - TV

But a buddy of mine highly recommended this Sharp LCD TV:

http://www.sharp.com.hk/webapp/eip/ControllerServlet?action=productDisplay&productId=LC-42BX5H

I have a version of the Sharp Aquos which is 1080p (the one you indicated is only 720p) and it is absolutely fantastic. However, if I had to choose between the two you indicated the Panasonic Plasma is going to win hands down. Whatever anyone tells you the black levels on an LCD just cannot compare to a Plasma. People will consistently tell you 'my black levels are great on my LCD, better than a plasma' they are blind. It can only ever be dark grey on an LCD.

Just as an aside to what Vince said, I find the differences between 1080i and 720p negligible but I know other people who have had a preference for 1080i.
I would personally say go for progressive where you can because sometimes interlaced pictures can be juddery especially for Sport.

Edit: Sorry just looked properly at that Plasma - if you have any good HD sources i.e - HD DVD, BluRay, PS3 you should really get a TV with a native resolution of 1080p not 1080i/720p like the Panasonic you indicated.

 

[the.godfather]

I'd definitely go LCD. I've just never really been a Plasma fan. Not for any particular huge reason, just that I prefer to use, and the look of an LCD screen. I have two LCD screens around atm, a 28" and a 32", both Samsung. And they are brilliant. Great for general TV watching, great for all sorts of films, great for all computer games too (360, PS3).

A good LCD or Plasma is a very worthwhile investment. The quality is just amazing at times.

 

[Azyiu]

Edit: Sorry just looked properly at that Plasma - if you have any good HD sources i.e - HD DVD, BluRay, PS3 you should really get a TV with a native resolution of 1080p not 1080i/720p like the Panasonic you indicated.

Many thanks. At the same time, this is where I got so confused. All the while I thought the 1080i/720p resolution is the highest / best on the Plasmas, but now you are saying I should just go with the 1080p. Please advice.

 

[Dormant]

Many thanks. At the same time, this is where I got so confused. All the while I thought the 1080i/720p resolution is the highest / best on the Plasmas, but now you are saying I should just go with the 1080p. Please advice.

Hey Paul, I'm no real expert on this but I will give you a quick breakdown of the different TV resolutions available just FYI (Apologies if this is already repeating anything you already know ):

Obviously the number refers to the amount of lines on the TV.

Interlaced(i) - Every other line in a picture is displayed. The diagrams on wikipedia make this quite clear: Interlace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Progressive(p) -All lines are drawn at the same time. Again ... Progressive scan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So ... p is better than i unless the number of lines for i is greater (ie 720p and 1080i are much of a muchness). 1080p is the best picture quality you can get. Terrestrial TV signals will not be 1080p for a long time. The best HD source material you can get terrestrially tends to be 720p. Blu Ray/HD DVD and PS3 games tend to be in 1080p (the best picture quality you can get). Xbox 360 games have not exceeded 1080i in terms of native resolution yet as they do not have direct HDMI input (this will be coming soon).

Hope that makes sense. Like I said I don't know all that much about this but I personally think as Vince said that you should opt for the best native resolution available which is 1080p.

 

[Azyiu]

Hope that makes sense. Like I said I don't know all that much about this but I personally think as Vince said that you should opt for the best native resolution available which is 1080p.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I think my mind is made up and it seems like that Panasonic plasma (which offers 720p and 1080i) I am looking at IS a correct choice!