I just wanted to be the first to kick of this section of eBlah!
Yeah so anyway, what's best - Plasma or LCD? I heard that plasma is on the way out, but makers such as LG seem to be bringing out bigger and bigger plasma's all the time, with LCD's stuck around the 80cm mark at the most?
Rockchick Officially the first Chick on eBlah! (I think)
Although LCD's are abit steeper in price you'll find that most high end brands provide crispier, detailed images at a much more long lasting life. I think Plasma's have too much control over the market then LCD's for it to simply start fading away but LCD technology is advancing much more faster then its competitors. In the end I guess its entirely up to the consumer but look around and like most things, don't just trust any one source of information as a means of guiding you to what you should buy. Personaly I would choose an LCD screen over any Plasma screen at the moment and I would probably stick with its techonolgy in the long run.
Tonight on Tv both ACA and Today Tonight had each of these formats of Televisions on. I didn't pay much attention because I have an 18 month old 68cm widescreen flat screen TV which I am very happy with. Until the time comes to replace it I will not concern myself too much about the next generation TV experience BUT I can say that LCD hurts my eyes. I don't know about Plasma. I always knew rear screen projection wouldn't last though, and it didn't.
We have an 80 cm tv which is only a year old..........I think a set top box will suffice when the time comes.......mind you, it will cost us 5 set top boxes if you include my tele in the workshop............lol
This topic concerned me personally late last year when I went shopping for TVs. I read alot of audio visual mags, websites and discussion boards. Going in, I had my heart set on a nice whopping big plasma, then I heard stories of missing pixels and overheating etc etc and etc. The quality of the LCDs left me at my wits end, so I finally went by the recommendation of a magazine and reviewed all of the big screen CRTs (normal telly's). Apparantly they are on the way out, but you really can't beat them for picture quality (still). I ended up getting a huge mother Panasonic 86cm widescreen. Do not even attempt to lift the bugga. But it's beautiful.
Yes, I've heard that plasmas require adjusting and servicing at a pricey price every 3 or so months, so to me it doesn't seem worth it. I would much rather an LCD, especially if it were wiresly hooked up to the computer - then you can display a screensaver! Is it a TV? Is it a picture of a Tasmanian rainforest? - wait! It just changed to the New York skyline!...
Simpson, I don't know where you got the "adjusting required every 3mths", I've had my cheapy ALDI brand plasma for over 12mths now, and it hasn't require adjusting yet.
However, if I could justify the expence, I would buy an LCD TV.
LCDs run cooler and last longer than plasma (plasma TVs do last a while though), they are much lighter, they give a brighter/crisper image.
But it really comes down to what you want it for.
In most instances a plasma will do the job just fine.
Reality is for those who can not handle Science Fiction.
This is an answer to a question asked of an expert on the subject - if it reads strangely in parts itis from my original copying of the data - I think I cut out some non relevant bits
I aquired it a year or so back, so the prices and available sizes are probably getting dated. However it explains Plasma Screen quality issues quite well.
Quoted Text
Hi I am in the hunt for a Plasma TV - I have been told by one sales person that all plasma TV's are HD capable (with a HD set top box)
OK, this is where people are being caught out, the term "HD capable and/or HD ready". This term does not mean the plasma is capable of displaying an HD image. The plasma may be capable of accepting an HD signal, but it then "down converts" the high definition signal to the native resolution of the display.
Forgive me if I am telling you something you already know, but it goes like this. Plasma, LCD and DLP devices have screen "resolution" measured in Pixels. Plasma LCD and "ALIS" displays come in a number of "resolutions". These include: 852 x 480 (very common, and very "common") 1024 x 1024 1280 x 720 (less common) 1920 x 1080 (uncommon and very expensive) (The first figure is the number of pixels horizontally across the screen, the second the number of pixels "height" of the screen)
In Australia our Digital Television services transmits the following "standards":
720 x 576 interlaced Standard Definition (576i50) 720 x 576 progressive scanned "High Definition" (576p) - whether this qualifies as HD is subject to disagreement, however under our broadcasting requirements it is "legally" HD, but it is obviously not as HD as,
1920 x 1080 interlaced High Definition (1080i)
Pretty much all of the Plasma displays around have "component" input connectors on the back which will accept any or all of the above transmitted picture standards, including the 852 x 480 pixel Plasmas. However these 852:480 plasma units are not capable of displaying the 1080 HD signal at its original resolution and quality, in fact they cannot display standard definition television at its original resolution. These 852 x 480 displays are made for the lower resolution American and Japanese standard definition market, hence the lower price, and wherever they are displayed in shops, have the misleading label "HD ready" on them. As I said, they will accept an HD signal, but only display it at below SD resolution.
Now you will get people say that they are progressive scan devices and can display twice as many lines per second as interlaced panels and all sorts of stuff, but this does not take away from the fact that they are a lower resolution image. Now depending on your viewing distance from the screen and so on, HD displays may not make a difference (the rule of thumb is that you have to be closer than 6(?) times the height of the screen for an HD display to make a difference) for a 42" plasma, this is within about 10 feet (3.3 m). This is due to the resolving power of your biological image reception apparatus (eyeballs).
I have been told by another sales person that only some plasma TV's (more costly ones eg. Sony, Panasonic, Fujitsu) are HD capable and other cheaper brands eg. LG, Phillips are only SD capable
This salesman is "wrong" but is being less misleading than the first. As I mentioned, pretty much all the devices will "accept" the signal, it's just that it is the more expensive ones which will display the picture with higher resolution.
Even if the Plasma has a "native" resolution of 1280 x 720, it is still not capable of displaying the full resolution of a 1920 x 1080 source, but it is a bloody side closer to it than a 852 x 480 unit.
I have heard that there now is a native 1920 x 1080 Plasma on the market. I believe these would cost over $20,000.
Ask for the "native" resolution of the display you are looking at. The "native" resolution is the actual number of pixels the Plasma is made up of. They may try to say it will display 720 x 576, 1920 x 1080, but this is meaningless, you need to know the native resolution of the display to be able to make a judgement.
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I have had an LG LCD for over 2 years now. The only concern I have had with it is bulb life. The first bulb went after 3000 hrs. LG says in its book approx. 10,000hrs. Lg also says they will not replace bulbs under warranty after 30 days. All up replacement was around $1000. I managed to get LG to pay for half the bulb cost after 2 hours on the phone complaining. The worst part is, it is now just over 12 months later and it appears the bulb is playing up again! I love my 104cm tv to bits, but if anyone was looking to buy one,you have to keep in mind the follow on costs, and by all means buy the extended warranty! Even though it will not cover bulbs, it will pay for itself even if you have to send it it for a warranty repair as I had to do.
The first bulb went after 3000 hrs. LG says in its book approx. 10,000hrs. Lg also says they will not replace bulbs under warranty after 30 days. All up replacement was around $1000.
Wow The TV in my place is probably on 14 hours a day, so even if the bulb lasted the 10,000 hours that would be only about 2 years, then half the price of the TV to get it going again! No way I will ever buy one!
Better to wait if you have a TV that is doing what you need for now, pretty much by next year LCD and Plasma will be on the way out, Toshiba and Cannon have come up with another format called SED (Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display), and Toshiba have now ceased production of Plasma TV's altogether (and others will follow suit once the licencing is out there).
These new SED TV's are basically the same as a CRT TV, however with the slimness and flatness, of a Plasma/LCD/DLP TV, and when on the market in August this year will start at 127cm's in size (50"), here are a couple of links about it:
They look at the minute like this (low res pics, tv pics are better than this shows):
So if you start seeing LCD's and Plasma's going cheap, thatis one of the reasonds why (Sony are also having one on the market as well), plus some LCD/Plasma TV's are going cheap because they do not have HDMI or DVI inputs, which Hi-Def and Blu-Ray DVD Players hit the market will be a problem, as they will only work on TV's with those inputs, and at the minute Hitachi is the only brand in oz to sell a TV with 2 HDMI inputs.
So hang off and see what happens if your TV can do for another 5 or so years, by then Plasma (and perhaps LCD), will be gone from the market altogether, plus with these SED TV's there will not be globe replacement hassles, as they work basically like a CRT TV does (the first link above explains that).
A newbie who posted yesterday but possibly in the wrong section as a lot of my questions are all here in the Plasma or LCD section. I have got feed back from suziH (thanks) and found a lot of info from everyones posts. I understand that at the end of the day its all up to the consumer but Its also hard to choose as in the posts some are going for the Plasma and some for an LCD...Hey is that true about nissing pixels in Plasma Tvs?
Most plasma television sets are in danger of being banned from sale in Australia if a proposed energy-efficiency rating system is adopted.
A report commissioned by the Federal Government says there is a growing demand for plasma and LCD televisions, which use more power than traditional TV sets.
It says energy rating labels are needed to tell consumers about the performance of the TVs.
But under a proposed six-star rating system, most current plasma TVs do not meet the requirements and could be removed from sale.
The report also suggests "minimum energy performance standards" be introduced which would eliminate the worst performing TVs.
It would mean all current plasma TVs and many LCDs could be removed from sale by 2011.
Hmm, so that's why they're flogging plasmas with saturation ads on the box. Cashing in on their production line investment before Kyoto ratification forces them out.
Plasmas - better for sport LCDs - better for games
and how about which one is best for just regular TV watching? Which is what I use my TV for
I personally would NEVER have a plasma and if I were to get a flat panel it would be LCD. My sister has a big Plasma and it literally gobbles up the electricity. It gets so hot it is a fire hazard. A technician advised her to turn it off when not in use, especially if they leave the house and when sleeping. LCD's get hot (my pc screen is LCD) but not as hot as Plasma.
HP is rolling out a slew of new Media Center PCs and media extender devices. First up, HP is rolling out a couple of HDTVs with embedded media center extender capabilities. The SL4282N & SL4782N TVs both work as V2 extenders, meaning you'll be able to stream content across your home network from your Windows Vista PC tucked away somewhere else in the house.
The 42" and 47" TVs feature 1080p displays plus other features as follows:
- Native 1080p panel (with HP's Visual Fidelity Engine) - 500cd/mē brightness, 2000:1 contrast ratio, 176° viewing angle, 6ms response, 3:2 pulldown - (3) HDMI, (2) component, (2) composite / S-Video, (1) VGA - Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n, Ethernet - Front speakers now NXT - Functions as a MCE, playing back DivX, XviD, H.264, MPEG-2, and WMV (also has HP's media interface) - Built-in ATSC and clear-QAM tuners
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