LCD or Plasma?

[PeteRoy]

Im living at home right now. in a few weeks/months i will be moving out with 1-3 people. both these tvs are basically the same price for me so that isnt a concern. which tv should i buy? also what is better LCD or Plasma and why?

These are my options:

This LCD

Or this Plasma

Thank you.

 

[George Powell]

It really depends on what you intend to use the screen for and how much you are into home cinema.

The Sony screen is a mighty fine screen, although the S series lags behind the company V series for outright image and sound quality.

I'm not familiar with the Toshiba you have shown, however there are alarm bells ringing. Either it is an absolute steal at the same price as the Sony or it has been compromised in performance - I suspect the latter.

I have recently bought a Panasonic TH37PX60 plasma, which should be only a little less in price but has been described by users and the press as absolutely awesome - an it is.

LCD screens are better for static images and games - so if you are going to be using an Xbox 360 or PS3 then LCD will be a more sensible option.
Plasmas tend to be better on overall contrast and motion, and can suffer from screen burn (although modern displays are much better than older ones) and as a result are better for DVDs and normal TV.

Do remember this is a rule of thumb and not cast iron in any way.

 

[PeteRoy]

they arent exactly the same price. the lcd is 145k "fpp" and the plasma is 160k "fpp". so thats about a $250 difference. you really think theres a chance its "performance is compromised"?

 

[athens101]

LCD

 

[George Powell]

Where I live in the UK a 50" plasma screen is typically £1000, or roughly $1700 MORE than a typical 40" LCD screen. Apart from display size the actual performance will be similar.

The Sony Bravia series screens are high performance screens and command a price premium over more run of the mill screens, but the difference is usually worth it.

You may want to try and see both screens running before commiting to either though.

 

[IeraseU]

If you anticipate doing things like hooking up your PC to the TV and browsing the web, or using it to play videogames, then the LCD would be better suited as it is more resistant to 'burn-in'. Probably a better choice for a more 'media centric TV.

In terms of pure picture quality, I would favor the plasma. In traditional terms (dvd/blu-ray/ect, cable/satellite/ota) I think Plasma would be a better choice.

 

[athens101]

The picture quality on a plasma is awesome, but i heard that plasma heat up and if you leave it for too long it can burn the bulb. Please correct me if i am wrong.

 

[Ultralight]

Sony is exiting from Plasma screens altogether. They get too hot, have burn issues, and last on an average 5 years. Get the LCD.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: athens101
The picture quality on a plasma is awesome, but i heard that plasma heat up and if you leave it for too long it can burn the bulb. Please correct me if i am wrong.

There is no bulb in plasma displays.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: Ultralight
Sony is exiting from Plasma screens altogether. They get too hot, have burn issues, and last on an average 5 years. Get the LCD.

Holy crap, talk about some horribly wrong information being spewed out.

I'd HIGHLY recommend this plasma. Beautiful picture and will last you for a long time.

I'd recommend plasmas over LCDs due to the picture quality. It's much better on a plasma. Put a plasma right beside an LCD and you'll notice the plasma is much more vibrant. Gorgeous colors on it. Don't worry about burn-in. The new plasmas are very burn-in resistant. A CRT can burn-in too, but if you take care if it, it won't be an issue. The same goes with plasmas. Visit AVS forums for more information on taking care of your plasma. They also have a life spam of about 20 yrs now, and that is just to reach half brightness. Believe me, you'll want to buy another TV before that plasma's brightness is unacceptable to you.

Edit: Well given that you linked both TVs to the same site, I'm going to have to assume those are the only models to choose from. If that is the case, I'd still say go with the plasma.

 

[corkyg]

vs.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: Ultralight
Sony is exiting from Plasma screens altogether. They get too hot, have burn issues, and last on an average 5 years. Get the LCD.

People like you should NEVER post in threads like this. So much mis-information.


athens101 - you are wrong. Plasma is a GAS. They do not use bulbs. You are thinking about DLP.

 

[athens101]

i wasnt sure if it was a bulb, but thanks for the correction.

 

[Texun]

I researched for months and ended up with an LCD. The Plasma sets pull a ton of juice - the 42's I looked were rated at abt 3.6 amps and up which is the same as adding 3-4 100W light bulbs in the room. That kind of power cranks out the heat.

It was more than the power issue for me. I liked the look of the LCD better. Keep in mind that everyone has heir own likes and dislkes regardig video so if power comsumption and the fear of burn in (not a big issue now days) are not a problem then pick the one your eyes like the best and go with it. Be sure you get one with HDMI or DVI. The image quality over component inputs is worth it.

Look here. This will keep you busy for a while

 

[secretanchitman]

well, to be honest, anything above 42" you should go for the plasma. anything 42" or below you should go LCD.

i still prefer LCD though.

 

[exorr]

I would go to your local Tweeter and check them out. They may not have the actual TV's you posted but you can get a good sense of the difference in picture between LCD and Plasma. I was there just yesterday and the Plasma's looked much more crisp with the TV and movies they had on. LCD's are pixels and I don't like the way they look, but that's a personal preference.

The Toshiba Plasma's they had on display we're a much lower quality than the rest of the Plasma's I saw. They we're the only ones that Tweeter warned me about "bleeding" and on one of the sets it was so bad the tennis player on the screen seemed to have an aura around him. If your spending your hard earned PokerStars points, I would go take a look at them both and decide for yourself. Everyone has their own preferences so it's hard to go by someone else's opinion.

 

[Imyourzero]

All things considered, LCD was the better choice for me. xbox360 looks insane on it and having it double as a widescreen PC monitor is awesome. Now the GF wants one too but she'll have to wait until Christmas.

 

[anonymousvkfan]

I found this to be an interesting article. I first read it a couple of months ago. I apologize if it's more technical than you're looking for.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/static/html/display-lcd-or-plasma.html