LCD or Plasma for 50" telly?

bmtannam

Would some kind soul tell me the difference between plasma and LCD when buying a 50" telly?

Anytime I'm in a store the LCD tellys appear sharper to me than the plasmas....am I right.
I can't get a straight answer as to the best choice from the store people.

John mac

plasma all the way.

I changed from lcd to plasma 5 months ago and I wont be going back,

the blacks are better on plasma, lcd shows a slight graying.

---think this would be better suited to Home Entertainment forum.. ---

swoofer

Always trust your own eyes. And Yes LCD will always be sharper than plasma but as usual there are 2 schools , one LCD is the best and the other Plasma is best. I am a plasma lover, as I watch lots of footie and DVD's. If you play a lot of games and need to use it as a PC then LCD is best. Pioneer do the best plasma but they have stopped so panasonic are next.

Here is the forum that answers all your questions

xxx.avforums.co.uk it even has its own lcd and plasma section, you will have so much to read you wont have time for watching.

good luck

gb

ps be careful in showroom as settings are way off what you will use at home.

slegs

Blacks on newer LCD's are very good particularly Sony, Panasonic and Samsung. Plasma traditionally had better blacks and motion handling but the gap is less or non-existant in the best new LCD's. Good plasma TV's are cheaper than their equivalent LCD's so that is a plus for plasma. LCD TVs are generally thinner and lighter than their quivalent Plasma's so that is a plus for LCD. After that its a matter of what looks best for you for what you watch most Sports, Bluray, Video Games etc.

Plasma vs LCD is probably an out of date debate now as it there is such a huge variance in quality within each category. As with most things if you are willing to spend more you will get a better TV and at the high end both plasma and LCD offer top quality.

Most manufacturers are moving towards LCD only and OLED for the next generation so Plasma while more mature than LCD is probably nearing the end of its lifespan in terms of development.

bk

GBCULLEN wrote: »

Always trust your own eyes.

Please don't, not in your typical TV store. TV stores typically have high roofs with very bright fluorescent light bulbs. This viewing environment is nothing like a typical living room.

Most LCD's have what's called a "store mode" which makes them very bright and sharp detailed, which makes them look very good in a store, but when you take them home in this mode, they look dreadful, looking unnaturally over bright, colored and sharp.

This is why most people think LCD's are better, because of what you see in the store, but in blind test after blind test in a living room environment, Plasmas come out way ahead of LCD's

slegs wrote: »

Blacks on newer LCD's are very good particularly Sony, Panasonic and Samsung. Plasma traditionally had better blacks and motion handling but the gap is less or non-existant in the best new LCD's.

While the new LED back light LCD's has helped make the absolute black level as good as a plasma, in the real world it is no where close, in particular due to grey levels and dynamic performance.

What I mean by this is that unlike old LCD's, LED back light LCD's can completely turn off their back light, giving a perfect black image when the image is only black. However in the real world most images aren't completely black and contain some other colors (think of the Dark Knight) and it is here where Plasma does far better with their black levels as LED's don't have low level of granularity to deal with subtle differences in black levels and grey levels.

LCD's still have a very long way to go to come anywhere close to the performance of a good Plasma, I can point you to a number of articles and blind tests to prove it.

BTW one thing to watch out for with LED TV's is if you are a gamer, they typically have quiet high input lag which can make them bad for precise gaming.

slegs wrote: »

Most manufacturers are moving towards LCD only and OLED for the next generation so Plasma while more mature than LCD is probably nearing the end of its lifespan in terms of development.

That is a little bit of FUD, Panasonic the fourth largest TV manufacturer, uses mostly plasma for it's large TV's and has been pushing the development of Plasma technology at a ferocious pace.

Personally I don't expect my Pioneer plasma to be surpassed by any LCD until OLED hits the market at a reasonable price in 5 years time. My only regret in buying my Pioneer was that I couldn't afford the 60".

My advice to the OP, if you want the best picture quality possible buy a Pioneer plasma, if you can't afford that then the next best thing is a Panasonic plasma (the V range are their best and almost approach a Pioneer and G range are a cheaper compromise).

bmtannam

bk wrote: »

Please don't, not in your typical TV store. TV stores typically have high roofs with very bright fluorescent light bulbs. This viewing environment is nothing like a typical living room.

snipped.

many thanks for that and to all who replied.

kuro_man

I have a 42" Pioneer plasma and I have yet to see a TV to beat it. For 50" I'd definately go plasma, for <40", LCD would probably be an option.

Anyway, Check out www.hdtvtest.co.uk - probably the only truly independent reveiw site and the only one I'd trust. They review plasma and LCD tvs.

M00lers

Avforums have a review section also, a bit technical but good all the same.

BTW Get a plasma, Panasonic are excellent sets.

Pat Gleeson

kuro_man wrote: »

I have a 42" Pioneer plasma and I have yet to see a TV to beat it.

100% Agree. I have a Pioneer too, and it's stunning - expensive - but well worth it. The money is up there on the screen. I wouldn't touch anything other than a Plasma for screen sizes above 37" especially for standard definition. HD should look good on any decent TV obviously.

Zonda999

Sounds a bit premature but next years panasonics should be pretty interesting with their infinite contrast ratio's! Whats more, planned 33% power consumption based on 2007 levels and a panel only 8.8 mm think!:eek:

200motels

bmtannam wrote: »

Would some kind soul tell me the difference between plasma and LCD when buying a 50" telly?

Anytime I'm in a store the LCD tellys appear sharper to me than the plasmas....am I right.
I can't get a straight answer as to the best choice from the store people.

I prefer LCD and I think after having a few LCD'S by different manufacturers that Sony are No 1, but that's just me, as for plasma don't like them at all.

200motels

bk wrote: »

Please don't, not in your typical TV store. TV stores typically have high roofs with very bright fluorescent light bulbs. This viewing environment is nothing like a typical living room.

Most LCD's have what's called a "store mode" which makes them very bright and sharp detailed, which makes them look very good in a store, but when you take them home in this mode, they look dreadful, looking unnaturally over bright, colored and sharp.

This is why most people think LCD's are better, because of what you see in the store, but in blind test after blind test in a living room environment, Plasmas come out way ahead of LCD's



While the new LED back light LCD's has helped make the absolute black level as good as a plasma, in the real world it is no where close, in particular due to grey levels and dynamic performance.

What I mean by this is that unlike old LCD's, LED back light LCD's can completely turn off their back light, giving a perfect black image when the image is only black. However in the real world most images aren't completely black and contain some other colors (think of the Dark Knight) and it is here where Plasma does far better with their black levels as LED's don't have low level of granularity to deal with subtle differences in black levels and grey levels.

LCD's still have a very long way to go to come anywhere close to the performance of a good Plasma, I can point you to a number of articles and blind tests to prove it.

BTW one thing to watch out for with LED TV's is if you are a gamer, they typically have quiet high input lag which can make them bad for precise gaming.



That is a little bit of FUD, Panasonic the fourth largest TV manufacturer, uses mostly plasma for it's large TV's and has been pushing the development of Plasma technology at a ferocious pace.

Personally I don't expect my Pioneer plasma to be surpassed by any LCD until OLED hits the market at a reasonable price in 5 years time. My only regret in buying my Pioneer was that I couldn't afford the 60".

My advice to the OP, if you want the best picture quality possible buy a Pioneer plasma, if you can't afford that then the next best thing is a Panasonic plasma (the V range are their best and almost approach a Pioneer and G range are a cheaper compromise).

I haven't seen the Pioneer in action but I've seen the Panasonic and while it's a brilliant picture I just don't like Plasma and I've seen it in my mates house with Blu ray, to me it's not as good as my 40" Sony, but as I've already said that's just me, most people I know prefer plasma.