LCD or Plasma?

[Scutch]

If you had the choice between a 40" LCD Television or, say, a 42" Plasma which is probably cheaper, which would you opt for? Could someone explain the main differences between the two please? Just on the hunt for a new bigger TV. Have a 32" Sony at the moment but going to upgrade.

Would use the Search function but my browser is playing up

Thanks guys

 

[Scutch]

Got a few topics popping up now when I've Searched and its worked I'll have a read through them.

 

[McBunny]

lcd is safer and is more suited to hd material than plasma due to native resolution

lcd doesnt suffer image retention
you dont need to run in lcd for aprox 200 hours before you can watch it propperly



plasma blacks are better better on sd broadcasts less ghosting but has other image problems

lcd is better for gaming

 

[sneeks]

I'd choose lcd.

 

[richy92]

Im pretty sure plasmas have a much quicker response time than lcds

They also do HD plasma sets that have the same resolution as LCD

I would have thought Plasma was better for gaming due to the faster response - but I am not an expert

 

[McBunny]

plasma suffer from image retention so if you play any game that has say a dashboard or something static that harly ever changes then you will get retention

alot of plasmas use a 4x3 resolution and square pixels to get the display wide screen

 

[The Hoff]

DLP is VERY overlooked IMO.

 

[Toypop]

LCD everytime.

 

[KDF]

plasma suffer from image retention so if you play any game that has say a dashboard or something static that harly ever changes then you will get retention

alot of plasmas use a 4x3 resolution and square pixels to get the display wide screen

Its true that they can, but not a big deal nowadays, ive left my plasma on overnight on a static image about 4 times (probably about 8-9 hours in one night) now with no issues.. my computer is suposed to blank screen after 5 minutes use which in turn switches the plasma to standby, for some reason on these rare occasions I woke up to see it still on but there is absolutely issues.

 

[McBunny]

i have had issues using a pio 436 xde thats been run in propperly and so have many others tbh its something you would rather not have to worry about

 

[M.C..]

LCD lasts a lot more hours than plasma and is also uses a lot less power.
we have a 40 sony bravia LCD and it is a great picture

 

[fmp_]

LCD, i just invested in a 32 inch Sony Bravia.

needless to say... its the shizzle

 

[theduck]

depends how piccy you are going to be about picture quality and also what source you are running the plasma from.

Example, if your only running a chep dvd player, only going to be using sky for hd etc then any LCD or plasma will be fine.

If you are running an expensive source such as a high end dvd player (I mean a 800-1000+) then personally I would go with a GOOD plasma, from my experience good plasma's are better than good LCD's.

Of cause this is only my opinion from my 4 years selling high end hifi and home cinema systems and peoples preferences and opions differ. Personally I still think a reasonable DLP proector onto a proper screen (these can be bought for less an a good lcd or plasma) projecting a similar size image is FAR superior to any lcd or plasma, and even at maximum projection, which on cheapr dlp is upto about 8ft wide, the picture quality is still comparable to lcd and plasma monitors.

 

[telford_mike]

If you are a normal punter who wants a telly for home, get an LCD. Theduck (^^) is right - there are better options for the serious AV fan, but not too many people want a projector and screen in their living room.

Plasmas are great if you get free electricity. Avoid them if you don't.

 

[Ads_172]

Something to remember with LCD's is that, if the individual LCD's start to go, you need a certain amount of 'black spots' before the manufacturer considers it faulty, and it's something stupid like 20/30 LCD's.

 

[Dave S2K]

Plasma, much brighter and images look less 'washed'. Bigger screen for less £££ too.

 

[KDF]

Something to remember with LCD's is that, if the individual LCD's start to go, you need a certain amount of 'black spots' before the manufacturer considers it faulty, and it's something stupid like 20/30 LCD's.

Individual pixels I think you mean, the entire screen is the LCD its also worth noting that if you get a dead pixel on an LCD it doesnt always shine black, sometimes they can show up blue or pink .. which is even worse.

But your point is moot, as pixels can quite as easily go on plasma's aswell.

 

[Griff]

Something to remember with LCD's is that, if the individual LCD's start to go, you need a certain amount of 'black spots' before the manufacturer considers it faulty, and it's something stupid like 20/30 LCD's.

Depends on the manufacturer as to how many dead/lazy pixels consitiute a rma. It's normally 6 pixels or more on the edges and 2 pixels in the centre.

 

[McBunny]

also alot of teh time they arnt actually dead just stuck and sometimes a gental rub will get them going again

 

[Ibanezman]

Individual pixels I think you mean, the entire screen is the LCD its also worth noting that if you get a dead pixel on an LCD it doesnt always shine black, sometimes they can show up blue or pink .. which is even worse.

But your point is moot, as pixels can quite as easily go on plasma's aswell.

So i've been told .... if a pixel is stuck blue\pink, it just means it's colour locked i think, which can be brought back to life with flashing different colours through it (special vcd\dvd)

If it's dead, it goes black

 

[Ads_172]

Yeah, pixels, the word evaded me!

That's only what I've been told by my sister who works in Comet's customer service centre and says they get a lot of complaints from customers who've had pixels go dead but they can't do anything about it because the manufacturers are pretty tight when it comes to the quantity of pixels gone. But, yeah, she also mentioned the difference between the centre of the screen and edges.

She recommended avoiding plasma's because of the screen burn issues, especially with the 'red dot' on most tv channels now. I didn't realise that plasma's had the same potential issue with dead pixels though.

Now I really don't know which to buy!

 

[KDF]

heh, if it helps you can buy a box which plugs into your sky box and gets rid of the red dot. As I stated before I have left my plasma on a static image for totalling probably about 24 hours in 7-9 hour stints without any problems.

A of lot new plasmas also have pixel-shift technology which will subtely shift the pixels around preventing burn in aswell.

 

[Griff]

heh, if it helps you can buy a box which plugs into your sky box and gets rid of the red dot.

Or you could press the "backup" button on the remote to remove them...

 

[McBunny]

retention is the problem burn in isnt
retention isnt as noticeable as burn and can fade very quickly but its an annoyance

 

[Ibanezman]

Or you could press the "backup" button on the remote to remove them...

lol thats what I was gonna say :rasp:

 

[Ads_172]

But they come back intermittently, during advert breaks, etc. Also, because I currently haven't got Sky and can't receive Freeview, I haven't got that luxury!