LED vs plasma

Mr. McMac said:

Some LCD TV's the turn off sections of the of the dark areas give you a false sensation of good black level performance. Let's say a guy has a black pinstripe suite on in a room with limited lighting. The suite would appear to be black with no pinstripes. That's what's known as poor dynamic range. Plasma's on the other hand, each and every pixel is illuminated individually. Much better performance when is comes to dynamic range...

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There are more expensive LED lit TV's that have local dimming.

MacNut said:

There are more expensive LED lit TV's that have local dimming.

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true, but they still don't compare to Plasma's when it comes to dynamic range. Look, I don't have a plasma for reasons I explained earlier. They're definately not perfect. They're less efficient power wise, and still prone to burn-in. I wish I wasn't sensitive to Plasma flicker or I'd buy one in a second

Mr. McMac said:

true, but they still don't compare to Plasma's when it comes to dynamic range. Look, I don't have a plasma for reasons I explained earlier. They're definately not perfect. They're less efficient power wise, and still prone to burn-in. I wish I wasn't sensitive to Plasma flicker or I'd buy one in a second

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I agree that plasma is all around the best picture other than a CRT. Maybe if OLED really takes off that will take over.

MacNut said:

I agree that plasma is all around the best picture other than a CRT. Maybe if OLED really takes off that will take over.

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I really hope OLED becomes available to the masses. It has the best of both worlds. Got my fingers crossed!

Mr. McMac said:

I really hope OLED becomes available to the masses. It has the best of both worlds. Got my fingers crossed!

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The problem with OLED is the price and that they can't get them working in bigger displays. They were supposed to be king in the small display market but price has held back wide adoption.

MacNut said:

The problem with OLED is the price and that they can't get them working in bigger displays. They were supposed to be king in the small display market but price has held back wide adoption.

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I know man it sucks about the high cost. I had a flip cell phone back in the 90's with an OLED display. You would think by now they'd have enough technology to keep the production costs down.

Have both. Sony Bravia LED & LG plasma. Both are great TV's, but both are used in different ways. LED is used for gaming, movies and regular TV viewing and it does a very good job in a well lit room with the anti-glare screen. Colours are a little more subdued but still good. Plasma is in a very dark room and is used for movie & TV viewing. Colours are saturated, dark movies (done in a night setting) are cleaner & sharper, which makes viewing much better. Remember that there are also distances that you should sit away from set to properly view. My plasma has a good viewing screen from any angle but my LED starts to lose it from a certain side angle. Both are good, you just have to determine which situation you will be using it in.

Whatever you guys like, you all have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

For TVs I prefer plasma. Unmatched contrast and black levels. Viewing angles is virtually 180º.

For a computer monitor, I prefer an LCD due the fact that it's lighter and can be offered with a matte finish.

I have never owned a plasma. I do own 2 LED tvs. A Sharp Aquos and a Sony Bravia. I really like them both.

What a tricky question as both have their place in today's consumer market.

Because I watch lots of blu ray, dvd and hd cable content - the plasma was a natural for me.

If I were to do gaming and also wanted sports that looked "soap opera-like" I would go for the LED based screens.

I watch sports and find the plasma does a great job when set up correctly.

Gaming is another matter as it is all generated art. I'd give the LED the nudge as being more agreeable to most gamers and being able to avoid burn in and ghosting. Sorry folks but even modern plasma screens can get ghosting and "temporary" burn in though it is less frequent or likely than the older plasmas of yore.

Not all LED and plasmas are created the same. For SD tv content, upper line Samsung does better than Panasonic for plasma. For blu ray, Panasonic's top model does better than Samsung. Similar can be said for various LED TVs and of course all the different types of back lighting. My guess is that the Sony and Sharp (Elite) top of the line LEDs are the best out there if you are looking for the best. Candidly if gaming and sports is your main stay, any middle of the line LED should make you happy.

phrehdd said:

Because I watch lots of blu ray, dvd and hd cable content - the plasma was a natural for me.

If I were to do gaming and also wanted sports that looked "soap opera-like" I would go for the LED based screens.

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Funny that you've mentioned the soap-style. We noticed the same effect (have to add that I don't own a TV for some years now - the last one I had was a Crt) and called it like that, too.

Since I own lots of movies, also BluRays, and eventually buy a set some day again: may I ask what model you own? I have no clue about the latest devs and was really surprised how awfully bad the images looked when staying at friends. Unbearable imho. Guess they had LEDs then.

Mr. McMac said:

Some LCD TV's the turn off sections of the of the dark areas give you a false sensation of good black level performance. Let's say a guy has a black pinstripe suite on in a room with limited lighting. The suite would appear to be black with no pinstripes. That's what's known as poor dynamic range. Plasma's on the other hand, each and every pixel is illuminated or turned off individually. Much better performance when is comes to dynamic range...

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While this is true local dimming LED lit LCD TV's are so close in dynamic range now that the issues with Plasma make Plasmas a lot less appealing. For me, it has always been that Plasmas look grainer than LED LCD's at the same HD resolution. For me, sharpness of picture trumps dynamic range, especially if I'm watching a BluRay.

twietee said:

Funny that you've mentioned the soap-style. We noticed the same effect (have to add that I don't own a TV for some years now - the last one I had was a Crt) and called it like that, too.

Since I own lots of movies, also BluRays, and eventually buy a set some day again: may I ask what model you own? I have no clue about the latest devs and was really surprised how awfully bad the images looked when staying at friends. Unbearable imho. Guess they had LEDs then.

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The Soap Opera effect is from 120-240Hz capable TV's. There is virtually no flickering, which we've come to associate with movies, so we interpret less flicker as lower budget (backwards eh?). Too bad that isn't true at all.

If I had to guess you'll see the god-awful 24fps films go the way of the dodo some time in the next 10 years once people get use to higher frame rate films and shows and once 4K really takes root.

I can't wait for this as I'm highly susceptible to flicker. I even see the flicker of fluorescents (why I don't have any in the house).

Jessica Lares said:

Never buying another LED, just telling you that now. Mine is OKAY, but you have to be right in front of it to get a clear picture.

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Wow really? I've only found LCD to be like that, if sit too low or too high the picture would turn grey. I bought a slim Samsung LED TV and the picture is vibrant and flawless from all angles, especially blacks.

QuarterSwede said:

The Soap Opera effect is from 120-240Hz capable TV's. There is virtually no flickering, which we've come to associate with movies, so we interpret less flicker as lower budget (backwards eh?). Too bad that isn't true at all.

If I had to guess you'll see the god-awful 24fps films go the way of the dodo some time in the next 10 years once people get use to higher frame rate films and shows and once 4K really takes root.

I can't wait for this as I'm highly susceptible to flicker. I even see the flicker of fluorescents (why I don't have any in the house).

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I see. I have a similar 'problem' with the rainbow-effect evocted by projectors. Had to get a LED one (it's a pitty Samsung left that marked). Hence the thought about a future TV set since blacks and contrast are one problem and watching during daytime another.

Mr. McMac said:

I really hope OLED becomes available to the masses. It has the best of both worlds. Got my fingers crossed!

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$10,000 and it could be yours.

One year ago today, LG unveiled a gorgeous 55-inch OLED television set — just four millimeters thick — and now the company has announced that the TV will ship next month in its home country of South Korea. While we originally expected to see the television in May for roughly $8,000, or at least globally sometime before the end of 2012, the new reality is that pre-orders will only begin in Korea on January 2nd, the television will begin to ship in February, and the new price is 11 million won, or roughly $10,000 in United States currency. Needless to say, early adoption isn't cheap. Of course, LG isn't the only firm that promised a 55-inch OLED set by now. Samsung, which actually went so far as to pursue legal action against LG for allegedly stealing OLED technology, also has a 55-inch TV set in development.

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http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/1/3825868/lg-oled-tv-on-sale-february-preorders