Thinking of buying an LCD/Plasma TV - Help me choose!

[jfen005]

Hey everyone,

I'm kinda in a dilemma here trying to decide which LCD/Plasma TV is best to buy. I want one that produces the best image quality, with nice colours, brightness and contrast.

Here's the list amongst which to choose:

Sony 52W5500 (LCD)
Panasonic TX-P50X10E (Plasma)
Grundig Vision 7 47-7970 T (LCD)
Samsung LE52B750 (LCD)
Samsung LE55B650 (LCD)

So, tell me - which of the 5 should I go for?

Thanks.

[Ashton]

I dont know the #s, but get an LCD - Plasma has a LOT of problems including higher cost (uses more electricity) and is VERY prone to burn-in (like the station's logo you see int he corner of the screen)

LCD is immune to burn-in and most are energy-star complient!

Also be sure your getting the proper size TV for your room. I have 1 in my bedroom that's perfect @ 42" --- but in the living troom, which had a shorter viewing distance, it was too large (I'll likely get a 32" for in there)

[zmally]

Although plasma is better for sports.. LCD normally have more blur because of their lower frequencies - plasmas are much higher and generate far more images per second.

But LCD last longer.

Samsung, in my experience, are the superior brand

[puzzlebox]

Can't beat going to a store and testing them out.

Be sure to take some DVDs of your own to help judge picture quality. Include something with fast-moving real-life scenes (to check for picture smearing and judder), and something with very dark scenes (to see how well blacks and colour gradations are rendered). The staff should be happy to let you view your own DVDs on the models you're interested in.

[adventureaddict]

LCD, and definetly Samsung.

Just because.

[patters]

Originally Posted by puzzlebox

Can't beat going to a store and testing them out.

Be sure to take some DVDs of your own to help judge picture quality. Include something with fast-moving real-life scenes (to check for picture smearing and judder), and something with very dark scenes (to see how well blacks and colour gradations are rendered). The staff should be happy to let you view your own DVDs on the models you're interested in.

If you are going to any shop that isn't a dedicated AV pro equipment shop, so in the UK seven oaks hifi, etc. Then the TVs will be set up incorrectly, the staff will know less than nothing about the equipment. The shops will more often than not have lighting which is entirely different to that which is in a living room, or any room where a TV would be situated. The best way to decide is to look at internet reviews, find a friend who has the same TV, or look at internet forums (like AVforums.com).

Also burn in on more recent TVs, say post 07, has drastically reduced, thus making it an almost irrelevant argument against them. One advantage that Plasma has is the strength of colour and black replication. I personally adore Sony TVs so would tend towards those, avoid Grundig, Samsung make good screens, but I wouldn't be happy with the sound they produce. So for me,I would go for either the Sony or the Panasonic.

If you do go for the Plasma, always heed these instructions:

(1) Some obvious advice: Do not leave static images on your plasma TV screen for more than an hour. Turn off your unit when you are not watching it. Do not pause DVDs for more than 20 minutes at a time.

(2) Know that plasma screens are more prone to burn-in during their first 200 hours of use. When phosphors are fresh, they burn more intensely as they are ignited. This means that relatively new plasma display TVs are prone to "ghosting", which occurs when on-screen images appear to stay on the screen belatedly. This is a function of the high intensity with which new phosphors "pop," and this phenomenon usually "washes out" on its own, as the screen displays subsequent images. Displaying a bright, or moving snow image (as with a DVD or VCR with no input) will "wash" a ghost image from the screen in most cases. Many plasma manufacturers have installed anti-burn settings, which are monotone gray or snow screen settings which recalibrate pixel intensity levels uniformly - thus eliminating any image retention (ghosting). It is a good idea to run this type of program after the first 100 hours or so.

(3) Adjust the CONTRAST setting at or below 50% on your new plasma TV. These days most plasma TVs are preset to either peak or very high contrast (also called picture setting on many TVs). This forces phosphors to glow more intensely, which decreases the length of time necessary for burn-in to occur. Our advice is to reduce the contrast setting to 50% or less for the first 200 hours of use. And, be sure to avail yourself of your plasma's anti-burn-in features.

(4) Some plasma televisions burn-in more easily than others. In my experience, AliS type panels -- the ones utilized by Hitachi and Fujistu -- seem more readily given over to problems with burn-in. As well, be more wary of the 2nd and 3rd tier brands as their technology is usually not as up to date as some of the better 1st tier brands.

(5) When displaying video games and other content which have static images, use your burn-in protection features like power management settings, full-time picture shift (both vertical and horizontal), and automatic screen-saver functions. Check your Owner's Manual for further information.


(6) Realize that quality matters with burn-in as with everything else. Purchase a plasma display that has really good scaling, so that you can watch 4:3 TV programs in widescreen comfortably. It is better not to display black bars on your TV screen for prolonged periods of time (especially in the first 200 hours), so you are probably better off watching most everything in "full screen" mode. This should not be much of a problem todays selection of widescreen HDTV and DVDT content.

Source: http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/p...tv-burnin.html

[puzzlebox]

I stand corrected.

[light_rises]

What patters said. And quoted. Also, whether you go for LCD or plasma, think about how much standard-def content you're going to watch. If it's a lot -- maybe you have a big DVD collection, and/or you don't have access to many (or any) HD channels -- you'll want to look at reviews which mention how well those TVs upscale SD video, broadcast or DVD. Some are better at this than others regardless of their HD performance. On the other hand, a good 1080p upscaling DVD or Blu-ray player can make up for a TV's upscaling deficiencies, but only (obviously) for home video viewing.

[Friar]

I've heard plasma is the better option on TV's bigger than 40".

I would also reccommend samsung, although the sound on HD channels can be a little low (nothing that can't be sorted by turning the volume up, or using surround sound/speakers)

[JedExodus]

Originally Posted by adventureaddict

LCD, and definetly Samsung.

Just because.

i must say I do love my wee Samsung 19"

[Ashton]

Originally Posted by JedExodus

i must say I do love my wee Samsung 19"

I've never had problems with samsung. Though I do advise making SURE youkeep your reciept and get an extended warrenty on _ANY_ Westinghouse. I've had *mostly* good luck but 1 monitor is a real b****

my 42" HDTV is a Sharp I got on sale for $500 and have had no regrets

[Ash735]

Personally I find LG TV's to be the best because, gaming wise anyway, they give you the most options and control, for gaming you don't need 200Hz, Dynamic Contrast or Noise Reduction, so having the ability to turn them off and let the game shine as it is is great, also enables the fastest response time for your games (which is good for Fighting Games, FPS's, etc) also the imagine quality on the latest line of panels are pretty great IMO, and I've come from a Samsung to an LG and the LG has the upper hand.

[Armand1880]

You also get much darker blacks with Plamsa TV's. Burn in is not a huge problem unless you leave your TV on a lot when you're not watching moving images. I always turn it off if I'm going to pause something for more than 5 minutes.
Also, in terms of power consumption, it is true that plasma TVs use more power, but I have it on a power strip, and every night I turn it off. I've had our 50" Samsung plasma since May and I haven't noticed a difference in our electricity bill.

[Zodler]

Avoid samsung for their bad audio. For picture I prefer Plasma. The picture is more film like. LCDs have a digital look which are not good for movies.

[Ash735]

Originally Posted by Zodler

LCDs have a digital look which are not good for movies.

The only reason the picture looks "Digital" is because most people don't set them up properly, people think all these extra features need to be on, Digital Noise Reduction, 200hz, Dynamic Contrast, etc are not really needed at all and just gimmicks. That's why I like LG LCD TV's, they give you the option to turn these off. Having the PS3 on an LG TV, turning off all those "Bonus" Picture "Enhancements", activating 24Hz "True Cinema" and having the TV set to Just Scan instead of 16:9 framing gives off this brilliant picture for films that really shows the detail without the TV screen trying to apply any after effects, let things shine as they are, turn off all that Post TV Display Enhancement crap!

[Shen-Zhi]

Originally Posted by jfen005

Panasonic TX-P50X10E (Plasma)

ANYTHING BUT THAT ONE! it kills the environment!

(plasma burns much more energy than lcd/led)