Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Plasma or LCD?

Hello,

We are looking for a new tv. I have heard a lot about both types of sets... to the point of confusion. The main thing here is that this tv will mainly be used for gaming. I hear plasma sets are able to handle movement on the screen better, produce blacker blacks, truer colors, provide a better viewing angle, and better uniformity than LCDs. I also understand that Plasmas use more power, are darker in light rooms, and may exhibit burn-in. The only one of those that worries me is burn in for the most part. Some of the games played have statistics and whatnot displayed in the corners of the screen during the entire game. This could be there for hours at a time. Will this cause burn in? What if these statistics are constantly changing, but located in the same corner the whole time. It's like an image in the same place all the time but slightly changing (maybe MPH of the car your driving, or the position you're in during the game, or cardinal compass points depending on the direction you're facing).

Is burn in still even something to worry about with todays displays? Anything else I should be considering?

Thanks in advance for your expertise!

newer lcd with refresh rates of 120Hz, or even some now with 240 Hz would be fine for gaming.

here's the question you need to find out.
Is there anyone in your area capable of repairing a plasma??

fred

There is no one capable of repairing either in my town to my knowledge, so service is pretty much non-existent for either anyway. Are these prone to need service? I have a friend who got a new plasma in June. I asked them this morning and they raved about how they will never go back to LCD, and they use it for gaming.

You say LCD will be fine, but would plasma be better? Or is this a ford-vs-chevy type debate where both sides have valid arguments and there is never a clear winner?

Thanks!

Cheese,

He He, I think you got it! I'm a Chevy man, so to speak: Z-71 pick-em-up, Solstice, and 73 Nova Hatchback (soon to get a monster motor).

Thus, I'll just suggest Googling, plasma vs lcd. ---- a bunch of good reading.

good luck,
fred

Yeah, I googled it and read 'till my eyes crossed. I know a lot more now than I did, but still haven't reached a conclusion. That's when I posted here to ask the everyday folks who have this stuff to see what they think. The wife has her eye on a plasma at best buy, so I think that's what we're going to get. It's a panasonic and it supposedly has pixel rotation to diminish the possibility of burn-in (which is my main concern)... so I think we'll give it a go. Thanks, ....oh...I'm a Chevy guy too. I like Dodges too...driving a 3/4 ton with the cummins in it now. I have a couple chevys parked here too though. 1985 swb scottsdale sitting on the side waiting for me to redo it. I had it fixed up like new 10 years ago, but it's in need of it again.

Over the years, both types of technology have gotten better. Initially, the LCD would respond poor to motion, and had a poor viewing angle. Over time, now LCD has the 240hz referesh, and the panels have gotten much better with the viewing angles as well. As for the plasmas, they have gotten better as well. Like you said you want a display with "pixel rotation", otherwise known as pixel shift. Even if a display does have pixel shift, it does not make it impossible to burn a display though. Finally, it depends upon your application. If the display will be used in a room with a lot of natural light, an LCD would be a better choice, due to the fact that the LCD will absorb much of the natural light, where as the plasma, has a glass protective cover over the element, which will cause a lot of glare in an area with a lot of natural light. As for going to best buy to purchase something, shop around online. Panasonic, does make a pretty decent display, but there is a lot better stuff out there. If it is a plasma that your after, pioneer, or pioneer elite, or runco are 3 of the best plasma displays out there. If it is an LCD that you are looking for, look up the sharp aquous displays, but if looking at a sharp, be sure to look up into the higher series of these displays for the best quality. Sharp, I do believe manufactures a lot of the LCD panels for a lot of the other major manufacturers. I hope this helps.

Thanks. I agree with your sentiment about shopping around online, but there is a gift card involved, so we would rather buy it at best buy if they have what we want. The tv will be used in a dimly lit room. Thanks for the info.

Chevy vs Ford: No clear cut winner? Are you kidding me? (Just thought I would start some good, clean fun here) I have only owned GM. My first "kiss" (wink, wink) was in the back seat of my brothers Impala, under a blanket, while he was driving down the road, with a "good" girl. I married that girl and still with her after 26 years of marriage, 2 wonderful children, and 3 dogs later. So I have very good memories of GM.

Anyway, Im in the market as well. I just want to run this buy you guys. Planning on new TV, probably 42 or 46" is all I have room for. No gaming, only football and Oxygen. Yes, I said it Oxygen Channel (but only when I'm out hunting bears). And a lot of natural light.

So this is what im thinking. 1) LCD 2) 120 Hz or 240 Hz. Not sure if 1080 is that much better than 720. Any thoughts?

The other features are not important really. Dont care if it is 2.2mm deep. Dont care if contrast ratio is 5 billion to 1 (whatever that means). As long as it has a HMDI port, S video and computer attachment.

The tv will be used in a dimly lit room.
Well, based upon this conclusion, a plasma would be the better deal. Since your going to best buy, see if they still carry pioneer plasmas. This will cost you a little more money, but I think you would be happiest with this.

So this is what im thinking. 1) LCD 2) 120 Hz or 240 Hz. Not sure if 1080 is that much better than 720. Any thoughts?

The other features are not important really. Dont care if it is 2.2mm deep. Dont care if contrast ratio is 5 billion to 1 (whatever that means). As long as it has a HMDI port, S video and computer attachment.
Well, first of all, the LCD would be the better bet for your application. the 120 vs the 240 hz is the refresh rate. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother the motion. For example you mentioned football, which will have a lot of fast moving motion. For this the higher the refresh the better, keep that in mind. As for the resolution, it depends. The main thing to look at is if it is 720p, or 720i, or 1080p or 1080 i. With the progressive resolution, it will deliver a more crisp, clean, detailed picture. Typically a 720P display is cheaper, but the 1080P display is the most current technology, but it can be tough to visually tell the difference. As for the depth of the unit, the new LED tvs are very shallow. The benefit of the LED, is they use less power, are smaller, and the LEDS will last forever, but it means more money, due to it being a new idea. Finally, yes, you should care about the contrast ratios. What this means is that the higher the contrast ratios, the darker the blacks, the better the colors, etc, thus for resulting in a better picture. As for the inputs, HDMI is a standard. The VGA for computer is pretty typical as well. As for the S-VID input, this you may have to do some looking for. I think that S-VID is slowly being phased out, since it is not used much anymore. Hope this helps.

I'd suggest LCD. They use less power and should last a very long time. The newer sets with the faster refresh rates looks very good.

Plasma may be an "endangered species."

Some manufacturers are no longer making plasma sets or are pulling out of the business, Pioneer for example.

aandpdan I'd suggest LCD. They use less power and should last a very long time. The newer sets with the faster refresh rates looks very good.

Plasma may be an "endangered species."

Some manufacturers are no longer making plasma sets or are pulling out of the business, Pioneer for example.

I am not 100% on pioneer themselves, but pioneer elite, I do belive is in the process of getting out, or they have got out already. This is due to the fact they produced such a high quality display, in such small numbers due to the quality of components, quality control etc. The reason for them getting out, is that the profit margin was not high enough for them to justify them to keep making them. Dont get me wrong though, they are one of the best, if not the best plasmas on the market.

on a note concerning LCD, the sharp aquous is a very nice LCD display.

During my research, I read that the human eye cannot possibly detect the difference in 720 and 1080 on displays of 50" or less, so I would go with 720 for the savings. I also read that the eye will not detect the difference in 4000:1 and 15000:1.

For what it's worth..... 'cause I'm no expert on the subject.

And there is always a clear winner in the ford/chevy debate as far as I'm concerned! :D

Off topic...but cheese didn't say who won (in his opinion...lol)



Jeez..didn't realize Mods had a post time limit too....

Ha! Chevy rules IMO, but Ford appears to be better at money managing, lol.

yes, as you did mention, it is very tough to tell the difference between 720 and 1080 on displays. However, outside of your research, on a bigger display such as a 60" or if you move up to a projector, with say a 110" screen, from my expericence, one can see the difference if you look close enough. As for the contrast ratios, I will argue with. With a lower contrast ratio, blacks will not seem as true. Compare it sometime. Higher contrast ratio displays have much better looking blacks.

I Was Informed this mounth Plasma TVs Would Be Illegal In The State Of California the reason for this is thay take 4 x more energy than LCD this might help decide which tv you want also with newer lcd and LED TVs At 240hz The Deep Darks And motion blurs pretty much disappear at 240hz:cool:



Home Theater Orange County | Home Theater Tech OC | Home Theater Setup Orange County (http://www.daveshometheater.com)

:eek:

why is california weird like that? I have also noticed that they also state that almost anything causes cancer. I am starting to believe that common things such as breathing and taking a shower will soon be proven to cause cancer in the state of california!

Illegal because they use too much power??? So the state government is deciding what household appliances you can and can't have??? Wow. Just what America is all about.