LED, LCD, or Plasma: Which has the Best Picture Quality?

[TheDev]

Which has the best picture quality? LED, LCD or Plasma?

 

[frowertr]

LOL! Again with a poll?!

I can't wait to see the responses.

/getting the popcorn ready

 

[Anubis]

plasma

later

 

[smitbret]

A few of the most expensive Local-Dimming LED TVs can compete, but in general, plasma wins this one hands down.

 

[TheDev]

Plasma? Really? I thought the consensus on this board was that LED's were superior? Aren't LED's more expensive too?

 

[hans007]

Led is a back light not a technology . Ccfl is better than it a lot if the time in say monitors . Plasma is the best for contrast I think and blacks

 

[SithSolo1]

Plasma wins in PQ. That said they are heavier, use more power, and can get toasty.


Com'on just pick a TV you've looked at and go with it. If you like how it looks, what the heck does it matter what tech its running?

 

[CallMeJoe]

Other.

Since you're having so much trouble deciding between the currently available displays, you should wait to buy until they release the next technology, because it will be better.



Of course, when they release that technology, you should continue to wait because its successor will be better yet...

 

[Pr0d1gy]

A few of the most expensive Local-Dimming LED TVs can compete, but in general, plasma wins this one hands down.

This.

 

[gevorg]

in most "LED" TVs today, LED is just a backlight for LCD, not the actual screen tech

give it a few years though

 

[soulcougher73]

If you want ill sell you my Pionner KRP-500M calibrated by D-Nice if it will shut you up on the topic. You wont find better

 

[mmntech]

Plasma? Really? I thought the consensus on this board was that LED's were superior? Aren't LED's more expensive too?

You're confusing it with OLED. They're orgsnic compounds that produce light when a charge is applied. It's a next generation display that's pretty much only used in mobile devices right now. They produce spectacular colour reproduction, and can be used to make paper thin displays, but are too costly for large panels at the moment. There are also lingering longevity issues with the blue subpixels IIRC.

LED TVs are still use LCD panels. They have a backlight to illuminate the screen. In conventional TVs, they use a set of cold cathode fluorescent lights. LED TVs use LEDs for the same effect. The bonus is a thinner, cooler running, and more energy efficient TV. In higher end sets, a number of LEDs can be arranged in matrix behind the panel and can be dynamically adjusted to produce improved black levels.

Plasma in terms of quality is closer to OLED. It uses what are basically tiny neon lights arranged into pixels. They produce a very fluid image with great black levels. Though they still have issues with after images and burn-in. This happens when a pixel isn't refreshed for awhile. As such, they don't make good computer monitors. Most TVs employ screen savers to prevent burn in. Plasma displays are also heavier and consume more electricity. They also dim over time. However, image quality and speed worth the tradeoffs.

 

[Anarchist420]

To answer the OP's question, I'd say RGBLED, then ultra wide gamut CCFLs. Plasmas suck because of the burn in and the heat they generate.

You're confusing it with OLED. They're orgsnic compounds that produce light when a charge is applied. It's a next generation display that's pretty much only used in mobile devices right now. They produce spectacular colour reproduction, and can be used to make paper thin displays, but are too costly for large panels at the moment. There are also lingering longevity issues with the blue subpixels IIRC.

OLED sucks because of the blue sub pixel issues. A good LCD panel with RGB backlighting would be good enough.

 

[kalrith]

To answer the OP's question, I'd say RGBLED, then ultra wide gamut CCFLs. Plasmas suck because of the burn in and the heat they generate.

For one, the OP's question was "Which has the best picture quality?" Not, "Which technology do you like the most?"

Also, anyone who knows anything about modern plasmas knows that burn-in is a non-issue as long as you have the pixel shifting turned on.

Some plasmas do use more power and generate more heat than some other technologies. The extra power cost is very negligible, and I haven't noticed the extra heat causing any problems whatsoever. The back of my plasma is slightly warm to the touch.

I think the only people who tout plasma heat and power usage as a big negative are people who've never owned a plasma before

 

[frowertr]

I think the only people who tout plasma heat and power usage as a big negative are people who've never owned a plasma before

+1000

 

[JackBurton]

It's not the tech, it is how it is implemented that counts. Yes, each tech has its weaknesses inherent to the tech, but those weaknesses can be mitigated by how the tech is implemented. Throwing out blanket statements like, "plasma is better" or "LCD is better" is meaningless. And given the OP's budget ($600), it is a WASTE OF TIME to debate.

Again OP, quit wasting everyone's time and go in to your local Walmart and pick out your Vizio.

 

[JackBurton]

To answer the OP's question, I'd say RGBLED, then ultra wide gamut CCFLs. Plasmas suck because of the burn in and the heat they generate.

There is a lot of fail going on here.

OLED sucks because of the blue sub pixel issues. A good LCD panel with RGB backlighting would be good enough.

Sony already released their RGB LED backlit LCD in 2008 (XBR8). They've since moved to white LED edge\backlit LCD's.

 

[BurnItDwn]

money is no limit, absolute best is CRT front projection. Assuming you of course have a fully darkened theater room.
If space is a factor, LCD or DLP front projection with auto-iris depending upon viewer tastes.

Otherwise, LED is technically the best, but not available, The LED backlit LCD's look the same as any other LCD and just use a bit less power. Plasma looks better of the two.

 

[frowertr]

money is no limit

This is the problem with this thread. This guy has already said he didn't want to spend more than $600 on a TV. All our discourse is purely academic. With that budget all TV techs will be the same.

 

[BurnItDwn]

This is the problem with this thread. This guy has already said he didn't want to spend more than $600 on a TV. All our discourse is purely academic. With that budget all TV techs will be the same.

Yes, I saw he posted that. But it was not in the original message. Thus, I included the "money is no limit" option, as well as more realistic option of Plasma generally being better than LCD.

 

[Anarchist420]

For one, the OP's question was "Which has the best picture quality?" Not, "Which technology do you like the most?"

Sony already released their RGB LED backlit LCD in 2008 (XBR8). They've since moved to white LED edge\backlit LCD's.

I knew that. There was some show earlier this year or late last year in which they showed off a tv to be released (or that was TBR) this year and it uses RGBLED backlighting. I don't know what kind of panel they'll be using though. WLEDs suck because less than 99% of the adobe gamut sucks and ideally it would have quite a bit higher percentage than that. The color gamut of my WLED Cinema Display could be increased by 20% and it wouldn't look satisfactory to me.

I'm not crazy about black levels, contrast (although what I have isn't satisfactory in those regards either) or ghosting (in which the Apple (W)LED Cinema display is just barely passable to me). That said, I stand behind what I said earlier...that plasmas have the worst picture quality to me due to the fact that they have burn in issues alone. I'm sure they look great out of the box, but LCDs could potentially look almost as good (even though they don't currently exist).

 

[CallMeJoe]

I stand behind what I said earlier...that plasmas have the worst picture quality to me due to the fact that they have burn in issues alone. I'm sure they look great out of the box,

18 months and not a hint of burn-in on my Panasonic plasma.

...but LCDs could potentially look almost as good (even though they don't currently exist).

???

 

[JackBurton]

I'm not crazy about black levels, contrast (although what I have isn't satisfactory in those regards either) or ghosting (in which the Apple (W)LED Cinema display is just barely passable to me). That said, I stand behind what I said earlier...that plasmas have the worst picture quality to me due to the fact that they have burn in issues alone. I'm sure they look great out of the box, but LCDs could potentially look almost as good (even though they don't currently exist).

Like I've said, not all plasmas are created equally. BI for the most part is a thing of the past with modern day plasmas; however IR is still alive and well. Samsung is the worst when it comes to IR, so bad that some could mistake its IR for BI. Panasonic fares much better however they do get some IR after some extended gaming sessions, or just static content. It goes away fairly quickly though. Pioneer on the other hand was in a league of their own. IR was just about non-existent, and you can forget about BI unless you purposely set out to try and burn-in your set (like leave a pure white box in the center of the screen for a week straight).

For what it's worth, I chose a Pioneer plasma (141FD) OVER Sony's RGB LED backlit XBR8 back in 2008. Pioneer just had the superior PQ AND performance to match. And 4 years later (well past "out of the box" stage), it's still the standard all high-end TV's are measured against.


<<I'm just going to full out hijack this thread since it looks like it ran its course several polls ago>>

Speaking of flagship TV's, Sony looks to have discontinued their HX929 LCD's. Rumor has it that Sony pulled it due to poor sales, which lost against Sharp's Elite LCD's. Even worse, Sony may not release another high end LCD, and may wait to release their new OLED display which they've partnered with Panasonic to produce. Very interesting turn of events to say the least.

 

[sdifox]

LED = LCD with LED backlight as opposed to Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp.

Plasma still looks better than LCD.

 

[sdifox]

Plasma wins in PQ. That said they are heavier, use more power, and can get toasty.


Com'on just pick a TV you've looked at and go with it. If you like how it looks, what the heck does it matter what tech its running?

My 47 inch Westinghouse LCD puts out more heat than my 50" Panny Plasma. Go figure.