I gotta think its going to be YEARS until the US is broadcasting anything in 1080p. By the time they do, 4k TV sets will be coming out.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Advice needed on LCD vs Plasma
- Thread starter skorpien
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I gotta think its going to be YEARS until the US is broadcasting anything in 1080p. By the time they do, 4k TV sets will be coming out.
Thanks everyone for your input. You've given me a lot to think about. While I won't be going with the commercial grade Panasonic (Canadian price puts it out of my price range), I'll still try to find an affordable Panasonic plasma. I think I'll make a trip out this weekend and see if I can compare the Samsung and Panasonic models. If the difference is negligible to my eyes, I will just end up going with the cheaper one. But if it's too much of a difference, I'll just have to save up a bit longer and get the Panasonic. *sigh* Patience really isn't a virtue I possess when it comes to electronics 
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Thanks for the input
Should be great then, and theoretically capable of 1920x1080 even with a computer input.
If it concerns you at all, watch out for TVs that claim to be 1080p but which are in fact only 720p native but take a 1080p input and downscale it. As people say the difference between 720 and 1080 is arguable if you don't sit right in front of it with 20/20 vision - but I think misleading marketing says a lot about a product and its manufacturer.
We just have a cluttered house, and genuine experience of an LCD falling off a dodgy shelf (and surviving, albeit with a scratch) but for most folk it's not an issue
The "keep vertical" thing might even be a myth to be honest, I'm unsure.Ultimately I think the best way is to see them side by side, preferably in a professional A/V retailer (not your equivalent of Currys... I think the nearest thing is called Best Buy in the USA? As they won't have set them up properly).
Big fan of Panasonic here... I'm almost OCD in terms of detail/quality and anything less would've driven me nuts (like the 20" iMac panel does) so the extra cost was worthwhile. YMMV.
I had the same decision to make a few years ago and was originally looking at Panasonic & Pioneer Plasmas. However, I ended up getting a Sony 40" W series LCD - and I don't regret it one bit. LCD's tend to be a lot brighter than plasmas and therefore work well in brightly lit living rooms, also the reviews of the W series were excellent. The picture quality is excellent and it worked out quit a bit cheaper than plasmas of equal quality.
Edit: Plus I got Sony's TOTR HD/DVD recorder free, 5 years warranty for both the TV and recorder for free and Sky HD for £50 - all from the Sony Centre
Edit: Plus I got Sony's TOTR HD/DVD recorder free, 5 years warranty for both the TV and recorder for free and Sky HD for £50 - all from the Sony Centre
1080i sucks for HD programming.... it can only handle a max of 30fps, so things like sports look terrible when displayed in 1080i because they can't playback at 60fps.
To the OP:
I'd get this tv. You will be very happy with the picture quality. Blacks are outstanding, bluray's look amazing, HDTV is as good as broadcast is gonna get for a while. Then if you have left over money in your budget invest in a bluray player or surround sound. I'd also keep in mind using the PS3 as a bluray player. Only $299 and it can do a lot of other cool stuff too.
Thanks for the replies
dhc, so the ghosting/retention thing you see on your TV is temporary? You haven't seen anything that would suggest that there's been permanent damage done? I think I'll be okay with the ghosting if it happens on my set so long as I know it's not going to be permanently damaged.
Yeah, it's temporary and goes pretty quickly, but.. when I'm watching a bluray with letterboxing bars, I'll often see a ghost of the onscreen volume display or menu in the black bars. Maybe I'm just being over critical, but it does get under my skin!
.... I will just end up going with the cheaper one. But if it's too much of a difference, I'll just have to save up a bit longer and get the Panasonic. *sigh* Patience really isn't a virtue I possess when it comes to electronics
I think you should read a bunch of reviews as well on a particular model. I am currently looking around for a new TV as well and I am not hugly impressed with most of the Panasonic models available. The screens are quite reflective and quality (at least in the shop) between Samsung/Panasonic plasma is quite limited. Build/Look and feel differ a lot by the way, but that is what you like or not.
For LED TV's a lot of new models are entering the market now including ones from Sharp and Philips. You should have a look at those as well before deciding.
Interisting link, although you probably knows it http://www.whathifi.com/ and, if you can read German, magnus.de.
Panasonic is known for making the nices plasma out there. Used to be pioneer, but they don't make the kuro's anymore so now panasonic is known for having the best plasmas...
I bought one of the first 1080p Sony LCDs that were released a few years ago. (50 inch, the "slight projection" ones - remember those?) and it's sitting in my basement getting a lot of use.
I mounted a 42" Panasonic 1080p plasma in my living room about a year ago.
Both have been great. Which one has a better picture?
The Panasonic
It may be a tough comparison but I used to work at Best Buy in the home theater department in college (for three years) and Panasonic plazmas have always been the best picture combined with value. And best of all they've gotten cheaper over the years...you can get a 50" one for like 1100-1200 bucks right now.
I mounted a 42" Panasonic 1080p plasma in my living room about a year ago.
Both have been great. Which one has a better picture?
The Panasonic
It may be a tough comparison but I used to work at Best Buy in the home theater department in college (for three years) and Panasonic plazmas have always been the best picture combined with value. And best of all they've gotten cheaper over the years...you can get a 50" one for like 1100-1200 bucks right now.
Just another question for you all, does anybody know of any good retailers in Canada (Calgary, Alberta specifically) that would have decent home theater departments where one could compare different models? I'm racking my brain trying to think of something, but everything keeps coming back to Future Shop and Best Buy. Thanks again!
I'm assuming you're in the States? Those prices for Panasonic would be perfectly within my price range, but if that's USD then I'll have to add at least $500 to get the CDN equivalent
I'm assuming you're in the States? Those prices for Panasonic would be perfectly within my price range, but if that's USD then I'll have to add at least $500 to get the CDN equivalent
First off, you would be much better off doing your research on a home theater forum than a computer forum. In my opinion, the best place to do this is AVS forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/
I did quite a bit of research last year on TVs, considering both LCD and plasma. Here are a few random comments/responses:
1. Regarding LCD manufacturers, LG is not generally held in high regard on the HT sites I've gone to. Far and away the top two brands among HT people are Sony and Samsung. For years, Sony has had the reputation as the best, but a lot of people feel that Samsung has equaled or surpassed Sony. Toshiba sometimes get mentioned as being in the same class, though appears to be harder to find. Sony's are far more expensive, which helps a lot of people choose Samsung.
2. A lot of people claim that burn-in/image retention isn't a problem on plasma sets anymore. However, it is still a huge topic of conversation on the AVS Forum plasma page. If you plan to do a lot of gaming, I would spend some serious time over at AVS Forum researching it and then draw your own conclusions. As someone who watches a lot of 4:3 material, I finally convinced myself that plasma wasnt for me (they kept recommending stretching the image to fill the screen, which I won't do; and why should I need to stretch it if burn-in isn't a problem? Hmm...).
3. If I were going to get a plasma, I would seriously consider the Samsungs. From my research, I got the impression that Pioneer was the best and Panasonic was second best, and no one else was close. However, Pioneer is out of the business and a lot of people seem to think that the recent Samsung models can now compete with the Panasonics. Do your research.
4. Do you need a thin, hang-on-the-wall kind of TV? If not, it might be worth considering DLP sets (which is what I finally decided on). Yes, it is a dying technology (Mitsubishi is the only manufacturer left in the business), but it offers a great picture for a very reasonable price. They may be deeper than LCD or plasma sets, but theyre actually as light or lighter (for the screen size). If you want a really big set (I dont think they even make DLP sets under 60 any more), you cant beat DLP. Check out this unit:
http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-WD...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=tv&qid=1255098981&sr=1-1
Once again, you would be much better off spending some serious time over at AVS Forum than getting opinions from people on a computer forum. The people who obsess over this stuff are hanging out over there. The sheer amount of information will be overwhelming at first. However, if you put in the time and learn to sift through the chaff, youll be in a much better position to make an informed decision.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/
I did quite a bit of research last year on TVs, considering both LCD and plasma. Here are a few random comments/responses:
1. Regarding LCD manufacturers, LG is not generally held in high regard on the HT sites I've gone to. Far and away the top two brands among HT people are Sony and Samsung. For years, Sony has had the reputation as the best, but a lot of people feel that Samsung has equaled or surpassed Sony. Toshiba sometimes get mentioned as being in the same class, though appears to be harder to find. Sony's are far more expensive, which helps a lot of people choose Samsung.
2. A lot of people claim that burn-in/image retention isn't a problem on plasma sets anymore. However, it is still a huge topic of conversation on the AVS Forum plasma page. If you plan to do a lot of gaming, I would spend some serious time over at AVS Forum researching it and then draw your own conclusions. As someone who watches a lot of 4:3 material, I finally convinced myself that plasma wasnt for me (they kept recommending stretching the image to fill the screen, which I won't do; and why should I need to stretch it if burn-in isn't a problem? Hmm...).
3. If I were going to get a plasma, I would seriously consider the Samsungs. From my research, I got the impression that Pioneer was the best and Panasonic was second best, and no one else was close. However, Pioneer is out of the business and a lot of people seem to think that the recent Samsung models can now compete with the Panasonics. Do your research.
4. Do you need a thin, hang-on-the-wall kind of TV? If not, it might be worth considering DLP sets (which is what I finally decided on). Yes, it is a dying technology (Mitsubishi is the only manufacturer left in the business), but it offers a great picture for a very reasonable price. They may be deeper than LCD or plasma sets, but theyre actually as light or lighter (for the screen size). If you want a really big set (I dont think they even make DLP sets under 60 any more), you cant beat DLP. Check out this unit:
http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-WD...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=tv&qid=1255098981&sr=1-1
Once again, you would be much better off spending some serious time over at AVS Forum than getting opinions from people on a computer forum. The people who obsess over this stuff are hanging out over there. The sheer amount of information will be overwhelming at first. However, if you put in the time and learn to sift through the chaff, youll be in a much better position to make an informed decision.
Just another question for you all, does anybody know of any good retailers in Canada (Calgary, Alberta specifically) that would have decent home theater departments where one could compare different models? I'm racking my brain trying to think of something, but everything keeps coming back to Future Shop and Best Buy. Thanks again!
I'm assuming you're in the States? Those prices for Panasonic would be perfectly within my price range, but if that's USD then I'll have to add at least $500 to get the CDN equivalent
If you are talking about a store to go into and physically see the tv's I have no idea because I'm not in Canada. However, if you go to Best Buy Canada's website (which I linked you too above) you will see the Panasonic's in your price range. They also do free delivery or shipping (don't remember now) on orders over $40 or something like that.
EDIT-
In RE: mchalebk
1. Agreed, Samsung and Sony are definitely considered to be the better brands.
2. Burn in is not the problem with plama sets, it's image retention. Burn in means it will not go away. Image retention will go away if you do certain things. If you watch a lot of ESPN, you will notice that you may see a faint ESPN logo even when you are watching a bluray for example. If you did a white wash, or displayed one solid color on screen for a little bit, your image retention would go away. I have a plasma and I play a lot of video games and haven't had any problems with IR. My tv sees a lot of the constant images (football all day sundays, espn and videogames during the week) and I still don't have IR, and if I did I would just do a whitewash to get rid of it.
3. From what I noticed (actually looking at all of the different sets side by side), is that the panasonics looked much better than the samsungs. The panasonic plamas all looked much more realistic, the colors popped more, and overall the image was smoother. The samsungs were a bit more washed out and the colors weren't as vibrant. The samsung's still look great, but when compared side by side to the panasonic, you can really tell the difference. (I also had several friends who looked at the sets at different times with me and all agreed that the panasonics had the better picture quality (at least in the price range I was looking at (42"-50" for ~$1000 give or take a few hundred)
4. DLP is another technology that is great, and you might be able to get some at cheap clearance prices because they are not being made anymore. I know my local best buy has a few samsung dlp's on sale for dirt cheap, and if you can get your hands on an older sony lcos set, they were regarded as probably the best tv on the market 4 years ago. Mitsubishi also makes great DLP sets. Only thing I would keep in mind about DLP is viewing angle. It sucks to be quite honest. I would say anything more than 45 degrees off center and it becomes annoying. For some people's set ups this is not a problem, but for others this may be a deal breaker.
But in general I would have to agree, AVSforum is the place to go for all home theater knowledge. There is so much info over there you probably wouldn't even read through it in a year. People over there will help you with tv and ht recommendations, and there are even some guides and settings on generally accepted calibration settings and such for various tv models.
I was just looking through the master burn-in thread over at AVS Forum. While the majority of talk is about IR, burn-in is still a topic of discussion. For instance, heres a post made on 9/25:
Does anyone know if this Break In DVD could possibly fix a uneven wear I am getting on my 10 month old Samsung A450?
I did break in my TV originally when I first got it not with the DVD but made sure not to turn up the brightness and contrast for first 200 hours and not to leave anything on screen.
But now I am starting to get thin vertical lines on both sides of my TV and I tried the scroling that samsung has built in for 5 hours yesterday overnight and it did not fix it.
So my question is will this DVD burn in possibly fix it? Could it make things worst?
When I inquired about 4:3 viewing habits last year, I got a bunch of comments indicating that 30% was a lot of time to be viewing 4:3 images and that I should just stretch the content.
There is also an awful lot of talk about how careful you need to be with varying your viewing habits and breaking in the sets. Im not saying that burn-in is or is not a real concern any more, but it is obviously still of concern to a great many owners of plasma sets.
Samsung quit making them, but Im pretty sure Mitsubishi still does.
It is true that DLP sets dont have the off-axis viewing capability that LCD or plasma sets have. However, I suspect most people would find this a non-issue under actual viewing conditions. After all, how satisfying can it be to watch a movie when youre 60 degrees off axis? However, it's a good point. if you need extreme off axis viewing, a DLP set is probably not for you.
Get a Samsung B750 series LCD in whatever size. These are the best bang for the buck I've seen for the money. Stupid to pay for the LED backlighting right now.
This is an excellent point.
You can find more than you ever thought anyone could know about LCD's and Plasmas at AVS.
Be prepared to read though. Many threads are HUNDREDS of pages long, but they are filled with good information.
I have a Pioneer KURO plasma, and have not experienced any burn in at all. I watch a decent amount (25-30%?) of 4:3 content, and as far as I can tell, I don't have any burn in at all.
In my mind the Plasma will provide the best picture, as long as you don't have a huge amount of light in the room. The image on most Plasma's is slightly darker than an LCD (often referred to as running in "Torch mode"). Higher end Plasma's have special ISF modes that can be unlocked to provide similar light levels to LCD's...
Burn in comes from having a static image on the screen for a long time. The brighter the image and the longer it stays there, the worse the burn in can be.
The prevailing wisdom over at AVS is that you should try to watch as much 16:9 content as possible during the first 150 hours or so, and minimize gaming with static displays. After that, the Plasma panel should be aged enough that burn in should not be too much of a problem.
Most models have some type of mode where it can help erase temporary image retention if it does occur. My KURO has a screen wipe that moves across the entire screen for as long as you leave it running.
Take this all with a grain of salt though - I don't game on my KURO, so I don't know what you experience would be for sure.
By the way, the 50" KURO's are still available if you look for them. There are a number of threads dedicated to this over at AVS. Most of the 60" models seem to be just about gone. I just read about someone in Canada getting one the other day...