plasma vs LCD Options

[schwab]

looking into getting a TV, 42"-52" area, flat screen obviously...i wont be using it for games much mainly watching movies/TV/football....anyone have any recommendations for what brand or between plasma or lcd?

price range is less than 2000

[pebkac]

LCD is more expensive than plasma but gets you better picture quality. I'd reccommend an LG or samsung. Also, don't get sold on a crappy 720p television. Go with a 1080p.

Also, don't be afraid to try haggling with the salespeople a bit. You'd be surprised at what the markup is on most HD televisions.

[Seeker]

i can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p and most broadcasts are done in 720p so you don't get a full 1080p picture even with the 1080p TV

if you're into sports then you want to go with 720p because ESPN and all major sport networks broadcast their HD in 720p because that's the best format for sports, and lcd is the best tv type for sports

if you plan on watching more movies and making a home theater then go with 1080/plasma

[THECHICKEN]

I prefer plasma (though it all depends on the tv) because they seem to look crisper and they have much better viewing angles (all viewable angles really).

But you can get both lcd and plasma at that size for that price. Just go to a big tv store and take a look at what you like better (comparing side by side).

[impala454]

there are no 1080p broadcasts out yet, but make sure you get one that has it because they are coming. currently only HD-DVD, blu ray or a PC is the only way you're getting 1080p. you will notice a difference between 720p and 1080i. ESPNHD is 720p and discovery HD is 1080i so check them out if you can.

LCD & plasma are virtually identical now. the old difference was price, LCD used to cost a lot more but they've come down a lot and now pretty much match plasma in price. other old outdated differences are stuff like: people used to say plasmas burn in like crazy, that's not really the case anymore, people used to say LCDs have crappy viewing angles and have motion blur, that's not the case anymore. they're virtually identical from the couch. the only real differences left are that plasmas tend to weigh a little more and run hotter.

do NOT go to a store and compare TVs side by side to determine picture quality. it's absolutely worthless, as unless you're going to a high end home theater store, there's not a damn store in existence that has them set up properly. go in there to figure out which ones fits your stand or has a nice looking bezel or whatever, or to check out financing deals (best buy has the best financing).

personally i like the samsung LCDs, unlike most manufacturers they actually produce the LCD panels they use. they also use very good internal scaler chips. their LCDs and displays in general have a great track record.

most of all, don't fall for the BS that manufacturers and salesmen will give you. every company comes up with their own BS "technology" that they try to make sound appealing. Just an example: toshiba has ones they call "ClearFrame Anti-Blur Technology", "Pixelpure 3G Digital Video Processing", etc etc. All you care about is that it's 1080p, make sure that it physically says on the box 1920x1080 somewhere.

[impala454]

also take a look at the AVS forums' two forums:

LCDs
Plasmas

there will be tons of great info, just take what they say w/a grain of salt as people tend to come there only when they have issues w/their new set.

[Testm0nkey]

seriously, its a television

i never understood this fascination
if one or the other had xray vision to see through the football players pants then i could understand but guys... they dont have that yet

[schwab]

hell why not, i dont splurge on anything else, im sleeping on a blow up mattress, and making enough money to afford it. Im not buying a new car because im content with my 95 chrysler....so i just want something nice that i would use.

as far as everyone else, thanks for the info, i went to best buy the other day and looked but they weren't too helpful as far as info on the tvs....i am guessing 1080 is fairly new, and that most channels will be converting their hd eventually to that...and if that is the case i would want that.

[impala454]

yeah just don't take 1080 on the box at face value. almost any new TV can "accept" a 1080p signal. what you want to see is that it says 1920x1080 somewhere on it.

[Seeker]

just remember that whatever you buy will be obsolete in about a year when OLED and SED tv's come out

[dauss]

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/2007/08/08/the...hdtv/index.html
LCD: 40" or less. Plasma: larger than 40".

Stay away from value brands. They're basically disposable TV's.
http://hdguru.com/?p=107

[Seeker]

i like lg and samsung for lcds and panasonic for plasmas

[impala454]

Stay away from value brands. They're basically disposable TV's.
http://hdguru.com/?p=107

this is bullshit. they're just comparing warranties, not the actual sets. with LCDs, almost all panels are made by about 3-4 different manufacturers. i know that vizio and westinghouse have both recieved great reviews as good bargain priced LCDs. I personally have a symphonic 36" LCD I got extremely cheap last black friday and have never had any problem at all, and HD channels (while maybe not as good as my samsung DLP) look great on it.

the main beef with the lower priced sets are simply that they won't look as good as the better brands. they use cheaper scaler processors and might possibly have backlights that don't last quite as long. but quoting a 1 year warranty or bad customer service as a reason is dumb. find me some TVs that have a parts & labor warranty longer than year at all. imho it is worth getting a brand like samsung, but because of the better scaler and better variety of inputs and features.

schwab, i think you're good to go with a panel, whatever you choose. it's a good buy because if you decide to get something bigger later, you could always mount the panel in your bedroom or somethin real slick like.

[Seeker]

i agree, there's nothing wrong with westinghouse

[pysex]

yeah and listen to impala when he says don't go to the stores and compare side by side

i don't know how many times i've been in different stores and seen horrid horrid hd pictures because they set it up all wrong