DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Story goes:

I won a free Insignia 32" 720p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV from work. Checked on google and worth: $547.99 at BestBuy, around that area. With it being a plasma, you think I should sell it and get a real picture size tv around 42" is what I want, that's LCD and not plasma or just keep it?

I want to sell it right now cause it's still in very mint condition as I just took it out of the box to see how cool it was, and the fact that it's a Plasma tv. I've searched around and what's concerning me the most is the plasma burning out on me. The tv will be used a lot as it's in the living room being used close to around 5-6 hours daily through all family members. Gaming is in the future with limited hours.

Just trying to figure out what to do before value drops even more on the tv so let me know what you think.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

with plasma you constantly have to have an image on the screen correct?

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

1080p LCD w/ 120Hz... :)

Amazing!

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

I have to agree, In all of the tv's I have seen. This combo is by far the best I've seen. Hence why I just bought a 52 inch sammy with 120hz. My parents have a mid level plasma and I'm not impressed at all. But just like the salesmen that sell them. Each person has their own bias opinion about which is better. I feel as if I have seen enough out there and for what I think looks "good" LCD seems to take the medal.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Lcd

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

+1 for LCD.

The usage restrictions surrounding plasma suck major cock.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

what are the useage restriction's?

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

LCD if it is 120hz, that takes care of the big complaint I have always had with LCD. The new LCD's are getting a very good contrast ratio also, the blacks are getting about as good as plasma. I am still looking at a DLP set though, they still are the best bang for the buck.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

I like plasmas. More than 1.5 years ago I bought a Panasonic 42" professional series montor. No speakers, tuners, etc. The thing is awesome. Picture is crystal clear and I cannot even count how many times I have passed out before the movie is over and left the monitor with the media center on. No burn in problems at all. The first few weeks of "breaking it in" were important, after that its been smooth sailing.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

LCD>Plasma

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

DLP is such an old and dated tech. Viewing angle is horseshit and a design like that is only worth the dollar amount they ask for. You pay for what you get, I looked at DLP and thats like buying a porsche 944.. The poor mans porsche..

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Here is my take on the whole deal; the thing nobody has mentioned in durability and longevity.

LCD tv's use pixels which vary depending on what resolution you buy; 1080p for example means 1080 vertical lines, the "P" just stands for progressive scan which is just a means for transmitting moving images to the screen in sequence. Depending on the size of the LCD there will be a certain amount of CCFL's (cold cathode flourescent) bulb that back light the pixels. An LCD can have one of more of the bulbs go out and still work, sure you might notice some areas that aren't as bright but it will still work. And you can have the CCFL's replaced by a TV shop or a experience technician. I have fix countless LCD's at my job by replacing the CCFL's. This is what makes LCD's a bit more pratical; when all teh CCFL's are working the tv is 100% at all times.

Plasma tv's are quite a bit different; but are commonly confused with LCD's, plasma's use electronically charged gas to display the image, the technology is very cool but there is a major draw back. From the time you power on a plasma it is not 100% anymore; slowly over time the gas will break down and the picture will not be as vibrant. Sure it might take a year or so of use to see a difference but it is definetly there. I think the image quality initially will be better with a plasma but it will slowly get worse. And if the screen is damaged at all you risk the chance of the gases leaking out and basically making the tv junk. To the best of my knowledge you cannot repair a plasma when it dies.

I agree that DLP is the best bang for the buck; there are a few slight drawbacks but when you can get one for half the price they aren't that significant.

We exclusively use LCD monitors for our slot machines; there have been some manufactures that used plasmas for signs and what not but soon found out that all the continous use wears them out very fast. The LCD's are a far better option overall in my opinion.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

I've been very happy with my 50" DLP 1080p 120hz Samsung. Got it at Circuit City last season "open box" (pretty much what the first poster did) for $1089. Sure I can't sit to the side of my tv and see it, but I usually sit infront of the TV. The picture is great, it is fun for gaming, movies are awesome, and watching hockey, baseball, football is awesome.

For $1000, I couldn't go wrong.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

The problem with selling that 32" TV that you won, is you probably won't get what its worth. If you can sell it for $500, then do it and put that money towards a 42" or bigger LCD. LCD is really the way to go, unless you want something really big like a 65" or 73". Then DLP makes more sense and are a lot cheaper in the big sizes.

And if you can afford it, get a 1080p LCD with 120hz. The 120 frame rate makes a big difference anytime the picture is panning or you are watching sports.

later,
Curt

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

+1

the days of the plasma are comming to an end.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Doubtful.

Plasmas are still rated better for picture quality and true color over LCD's. The new refresh rate is helping LCD's alot, but picture quality is more important than resolution.

For smaller TVs id go with a LCD, 50" and up id go with a plasma.

And of course a $4000 LCD is going to look better than a $2000 Plasma. For similar price ranges, plasma wins.

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+1 for 120hz LCD

My g/f just got one, and it's unreal!!

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Thanks for the inputs guys. Sounds like I'm going to try and get rid of it and replace with a 42" LCD instead. More thoughts and inputs are welcomed.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

sounds like a great idea!

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

We're extremely happy with the Samsung A630/A650 series. If you're on a tight budget, you could consider buying off Amazon as their a bit cheaper. Not sure how well the product support is though as compared to say Circuit City or a local store like that.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

I'm happy with the Sony LCD panel here at my house. Used to have a Rear-Projection LCD and that looked great, but these new LCD panels blow them out of the water. So damn clear. Get a PS3 for Blu-Ray and games too for the TV.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

I have a 47 inch samsung 1080i dlp and I have no complaints what so ever, I have been looking into newer lcd and plasma's and the picture is better with the newer tv's but you can find really good deals on the dlp's and the picture quality is pretty close.

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Obviously you haven't looked into the subject much. 140* horizontal viewing angle is horseshit? Vertical does have more limitations at 60*, but when is that seriously a problem? Check out the Samsung A750 series, it uses LED light engines, so no bulbs to burn out. 61" for $1,500 delivered to your door, 67" for a few hundred more. 10,000:1 contrast ratio is top notch also. It also uses less electricity by a long ways over LCD or Plasma. Mitsu also came out with the LaserVue recently, which is interesting also.

OLED is the future of TV's, 1,000,000:1 contrast ration, can be made flexible so you can roll it up. Very cool stuff and they are making several new plants for it right now.

52" and under, 120hz LCD. 60"+ Samsung A750 series DLP unless you are loaded, then get a LCD for 2x the money.

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OLED>ALL

I can't wait until that stuff gets more mainstream. Amazing.

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I suppose there could be a few out there that are good. I don't really pay much attention to them at I guess. So I don't really have to much of a valid opinion about them. I've always been "sold" on LCD ever since I've looked into buying a new tv.

I do agree though, OLED is going to be amazing that is fo sho.

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I bought a 52" plasma for my mom about a year ago and don't have any complaints/have had any problems.

The prices on plasma are getting very cheap. I bought a 42" samsung the other day for $699 at best buy. Used it for the first time the other day and the picture quality is great.

I am sure that 95% of people couldn't tell the difference.

I will stick with plasma.

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My friend who is an engineer at 3M in their graphics and displays dept said LCD for anything below 42" and plasma for all those above.

I have a 42" Plasma Panasonic and it dominates a lot of other TVs I have seen in a similar size with LCD. Granted, I dont really know how many were 120hz.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

I have a 47" Toshiba REGZA LCD 1080p that I bought August of 07, and I love it. +1 for the longevity of LCDs

Also some people go out and buy a fancy TV and cheap out on the HDMI cables, make sure to get good cables with a TV if you are spending decent money on it, you will notice a difference. To me thats like putting no name tires on a Ferrari.

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I am sorry, but the longevity of LCDs is NOT a selling point. My plasma will last 25,000+ Hrs. I am pretty sure that will suit my needs up until I am ready for a new setup.

Oh and HDMI cables, buy the cheap ones. There are not quality differences from what I have read... Only on/off... So if its works at all it is achieving maximum quality. Maybe someone else can chime in on this.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Yep, HDMI cables are all very similar. Some may use different metals on the ends.. but I have bought two 6 footers off ebay for maybe 10 bucks shipped? Work great.

And yea, both LCDs and Plasmas have basically the same lifespan ~25000 hours, which is over 1000 straight days of on time... By the time that happens we will all have upgraded to something new.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

HDMI is digital. It's just like a USB cable. The 1s and 0s either gets there or they don't, there isn't a better 1 or better 0, so any cable that works will give the same data. Analog cables like component video, composite video, speaker wires, etc are effected by material quality and interference. So just buy some on ebay for $5 instead of $100 at Best Buy.

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Werd. I thought that was the case. I usually buy mine on NewEgg.com. Pretty nice cables with gold ends for like $10.

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^^^ Owned, on both statements. lol

I still don't understand how best buy can get away with selling a "GOLD" usb cable for $30 or whatever other digital cables they have, I guess people don't realize the advantage of a digital signal.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

We got our HDMI cable off ebay for something like $8 shipped.

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Have any of you actually seen the difference in cheap and expensive cables? I sure noticed a difference, especially while watching a blu-ray. Now, if all you're going to be doing is watching the HD channels on direct TV or something, then you don't notice the difference, but with blu-ray you notice the difference between the cables

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

It's just a psychological difference. Ecoli is 100% right in his post.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

As Shane said, HDMI is digital. It's 1's and 0's. As long as the 1 or 0 makes it to the other end, then that's all that matters. A $5 HDMI 6' cable will work just as well as a $70 HDMI 6' cable as long as it can pass 1's and 0's. You spend you're extra money on the expensive cables. I'd rather have that extra money in my savings.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

well i got the same insignia but one size larger. I like it the picture is really clear and i dont like the picture on most flat screens. Id say keep it its a nice tv.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Plasmas do lose their brightness from initial start up. However they have a lifespan of 60,000 hours. That's at least 12 years at moderately high usage. The TV probably would be replaced by then.

I vote plasma. Primarily for the no loss in brightness when viewed from the sides.

Re: DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?
 

Plasma screens are best for more dedicated home theater arrangements. Their black levels and high contrast ratios are great for lower levels of ambient light and having no direct light sources such as sun coming in a window. Issues with burning images into the screen are possible but are less likely after a few hundred hours use.

LCD screens are a better all purpose choice for viewing in rooms where overhead lights will be on, windows open, et cetera. This is because LCD's tend to be brighter overall. Their picture quality is not as good as plasma but the gap is quickly narrowing.

Pick whichever best suits you and your watching environment.tastes.

Also, as far as HDMI cables go, here's the best test I've seen. They used signal generators and test equipment to determine that, so long as the cable is capable of getting the signal from the source to the TV, there is no difference between cables.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/12177...able_game.html