plasma vs. lcd
 

im looking to invest in a good size tv for my living room. i was hoping to get some input from you guys on the pros and cons between plasma and lcd. this is a costly investment and would like to make an informed/educated decision. any input from personal experience or knowledge would be much appreciated.

well just from looking at TV's all day every day, both technologies kinda suck but if I had to choose between the two I'd go lcd. Plasma has a nasty tendency to die early, and if you do a side by side comparison, plasma isn't as sharp anyway. LCD is reliable, and quite sharp, but it has viewing angle issues (stand too far to one side and the screen darkens), and some have ghosting issues (fast moving images leave a motion trail).

Frankly if I were buying today I'd stick with good old fashioned CRT, albeit an HDTV widescreen CRT. It's got the best image quality, ghosting is nonexistant, they're reliable (I have a couple of 20+ year old CRT TV's that just won't freakin' die), and best of all, you're not paying a premium for the "new whizbang technology" factor.

The only disadvantage is that you can't hang 'em on the wall and they weigh a whole lot more, but that's not really a big deal.

Got to agree totally with Shakran. I been considering every month to buy an LCD/ Plasma, but it is not worth it (yet).

Plasma prices are set to fall through the floor in the next few months. If you are planning on buying plasma and you can wait, do so. But for the money, CRTs are still the best qulity out there. That may change when OLEDs start hitting tha market though.

It's a bit of a big deal for me... I don't have a lot of room and am looking to save space with one of these babies... :D

From the research I've done, I would say that your best bet is CRT if you have the space. After that, LCD is better for smaller sizes but PLasma is the way to go if you are looking for a gianormous screen size. The thing to remember is that what was said above about Plasma is true (price is going to drop and they have a habit of dying early... and their regualr life cycle is short to begin with).

Have you already ruled out DLP?

I was going to ask the same as Redlemon. You need to check out DLP. They're certainly a gorgeous picture to look at.

Very interesting read: How DLP Works

thanks for the input, i didnt realize that lcd/plasma isnt as popular as i thought. i guess its just a marketing gimmick. im intrigued by DLP- i did a quick search on it and it seems that they do not have a dealer within 120 miles of my location.

from the responses above, it seems that the quality doesnt meet the price of lcd/plasma- why is that? ive experienced some HD sports and such adn thought the picture was awesome!

I've seen DLP sets at every Costco, Best Buy, and Circuit City I've been too.

I'm confident that one is within 10 miles of ANY location in SanDiego (if that's where you're still at).

-bear

I looked for a year before buying. I eventually purchased a 51" Hitachi Ultravision CRT projection set. The picture blows away every DLP set I have seen. Initially I had decided on the newer technology of either a DLP or LCD projection, but after much research and shopping I decided the old tried and true CRT was best for me.
As far as plasma vs LCD, I would go with LCD if cost is not a factor. You will be limited in size though as LCD glass has not caught up to plasma yet, but you won't have to worry about burn in.

How far do you guys think plasma will drop? I've been looking at an EDTV Panasonic 42" tv. EDTV simply becuase it is so much cheaper. If they're going to drop really far, I'm definitely willing to wait. Here's the one I was looking at for $1700 -
http://www.plasmadepot.com/panasonic...th42pwd8uk.php

i went to best buy today and talked to one of the guys. he said the best bang for the buck was the hdtv dlp samsung or sony. he also mentioned that the life span of a plasma is about 8-10 years, and can not be maintained/fixed. once the picture starts to 'lighten' up, thats it. as far as i saw at the store, a 50" dlp projection is $2499 to a 42" plasma at $3800. still shoppin...

Did you catch today's woot:

www.woot.com.

61inch dual tuner HDTV 6.5 inch's deep Infocus DLP. Fully loaded with sub woofer and the works. $2999.99 with a $500 rebate.

5 dollars shipping.

Better hurry....sale ends at 1am EDT...and then that's it, just like every 'woot'.

-bear

Take a look at this page, read all the advantages and disadvantages on each type.

Plasma vs LCD vs DLP
http://www.plasma.com/classroom/LCD_..._plasma_tv.htm

It seemed like a good link at first, and then it seemed a bit slanted, and I realized that it was hosted at plasma.com; I wouldn't call that unbiased.

There's always something "just around the corner" isn't there?

http://news.com.com/Carbon+TVs+to+ed...3-5512225.html

I worked for one of the largest TV production companies in the world for almost 14 years. I think I know quite a bit about different types of TVs, CRT, LCD, rear projection (not DLP) and plasma.

The comparions are quite accurate, DPL TV are quite cheap to begin with but each bulb only lasts a few years before needing replacement at several hundred dollars a pop. Perhaps the replacement bulb prices will come down before anyone actually needs to do so. It's not a same a changing a light bulb in the kitchen. It needs to be replaced by a serviceman and calibrated. That, I'm sure is more $$$ out of the wallet.

Ah, I didn't know you had experience. (I'll admit I'm largely talking out of my ass.) The page seemed to be slanted, but perhaps Plasma has that much of an advantage? I really dislike the idea of burn-in, so that's why DLP seemed like a good thing to me. Of course, I still have a basic 27" regular TV, and the TiVo degrades that image even a bit more. I'm going to wait it out a couple more years before I make a decision.

I recently (like, last week ;)) bought an LG 42 inch plasma beauty. Was so enthralled with the wonder of component video I noticed the distinct layout of the Soul Calibur 2 header whenever the screen was blank.

Slightly deterred, I cruised the rounds of the 'net. As with most new screens, all the settings were on high. New TVs are more prone to retaining images, too. Easily fixed, though. Just keep the settings on high, and switch the set to an untuned analogue TV station for a few hours. Gone! Good as new. I'm working on building up the hours on the TV as best I can - apparently once they hit 1000 there's very little chance of burn-in, especially at the right brightness et al settings.

The picture is great, though. The size vs price ratio beats LCD by a wide margin (and I don't need to be paranoid about dead pixels). A projector would be neat, but a) I have nowhere to put the screen and b) the lighting in my room sucks for it ;)

I too have been researching this issue and I too have come to the conclusion that a CRT is still the best solution. My Hitachi 27" is 17 years old and still goint like crazy. Even spending 600$ for it back then made it a good investment.

I may get an lcd for the office, but I will also probably upgrade my computer monitor to an lcd and just use a tuner card.

Still CRT in this world, and will continue to for years to come.

I even hung a CRT on my bedroom wall where I'd get more space from a flat panel but we'd rather have a cystal clear screen.

My wife hates when I decide to purchase something big. I research the hell out of it. Price is a consideration, but for something that I am going to look at everyday I have have no problem buying what I think is the best. After looking at all the new types of TV available. I didn't have a space problem so having a 3 inch thick TV had no influence. It came down to CRT Projection vs. DLP Projection. The DLP's used a lamp like a slide projector at a few hundred dollars. Suppose to last a few years maybe more...some fail prematurely. The DLP's I looked at were very good, but sometimes pixelated on motion. That was that CRT was the way to go...cheaper too. Now don't buy just any CRT projection screen. Research and look closely. Good Luck

Nothing to add other than when I was in Tokyo in Oct. I went to Sony's flagship store in Ginza and saw a 70 inch HD flat screen showing a BluRay video. It was so freakin lifelike you could literally walk into the screen. Amazing quality. I've not seen anything remotely close to this. So I'm going to hold on to my 35 inch flat screen Hitachi until something like this hits the US. Hell, why not hold out until a 100 incher is available.

BTW - we figured it was about $9,000 US.

If you get a 42" plasma, the native resolution is 1024x768, which is not true HD. The resolution for 720p is 1,280x720. Most people can't tell the difference, but just food for thought. In order to get 720p out of a plasma, you have to go 50" which is considerably more expensive. LCDs typically have a higher native resolution, but narrow viewing angles.

Personally, I think that the best bang for your buck is plasma when compared to LCD if you are getting a big set. The best plasma displays (Panasonic) have excellent pictures that rival CRT.

CNET has a dummy's guide to HDTVs:
http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5102...html?tag=prmo1

And this forum has a lot of helpful information:
http://www.highdefforum.com/

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet... but they are making advances in making shorter CRTs.

Can i suggest a Westinghouse 37" LCD?

In the December issue of Sound and Vision they rated this LCD very high, its listed for about 2k and this is the one i would get if i had the money. I went to Best Buy the other day and the 27" one is $700 and the 32" is for $1200, but they are suppose to be just as good.

Here's the link to the review, there were two other's they review along with it.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...&page_number=3