CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Isaac · Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Posts: 4 Location: VICTORIA, BC, CANADA

Howdy folks. I've recently been referred to your board, so I hope nobody minds a newbie asking a couple of questions.

I've been doing some reading in an attempt to make a decision on what type of tv to buy; plasma or lcd. There are a couple of things that have come up consistently and I'm just wondering if anybody has any real world experience they would be willing to share.

The first question I have is in regards to the "shadowing" or "tracing" effect that occurs on an LCD tv when watching fast action. I have read that this effect has been drastically diminished as the technology has advanced but remains none the less. Does anybody watch hockey on an LCD tv? I am skeptical to accept this critisism as it seems to stem from the pro-plasma camp.

My second question has to do with the brightness of my room. My viewing room is on the brighter side. Is the LCD significantly brighter in a well lit room? I have looked at several TV's in show rooms around the city and find the plasma picture more to my liking but am worried that once I get it home it will be different. Any thoughts?

Thanks

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:11 am Post subject:

Hey guys, I steered Isaac here from another forum that I frequent. Don't try to steer him into projection, he won't go for it.. Smile

Isaac · Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Posts: 4 Location: VICTORIA, BC, CANADA

mike calcott · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia

This is a question that customers ask every day, Th question of blur relates to the refresh rate of the image on the screen. The majority of plasmas refresh at 8 milliseconds, the older LCD's used to be slower causing a bluring effect on the trailing edge of fast moving images. The latest generation of LCD' are as fast as plasma's and sometimes faster, Sony Bravia's have a 8 millisecond refresh rate some Samsung and LG have 6 millsecond refresh, the fastest I have come across is Philips which are down to 3 millisecond.
As far as brightness of your room is concerned, most plasma's have a gloss glass screen which will give reflections from windows and lights, whereas LCD's are a matt non reflctive screen.
If small children are part of the family, the glass screen of a plasma is easier to cleen the sticky fingermarks off.
If your are involved in gaming, LCD is less prone to burn in.
The current cost of a large plasma 50-65" is about half the cost of LCD if price is a consideration.
At the end of the day only you can decide which is right for you.

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

You ought to go front projection, noob. Wink

Seriously, I'd go plasma. Even my ancient EDTV 42" plasma has nicer colors than my parents' new (A year old or so) LCD, until you get down to really low IRE (dark grays, etc). But a new plasma won't have that problem anyway.

I'd do plasma without a second thought. That said, I haven't had a chance to do a GOOD side-by-side, with real calibration, good sources, good environment, etc. Judging displays in a Best buy is like standing in Times Square and trying to enumerate the differences between Monet and Renoir, while Olympic athletes run around holding paintings over their heads.

So, my gut is to go with plasma, but in an ideal world I'd find a way to do a good side-by-side with two panels that are at the same price within your budget. Go to a high end home theater shop, string them along, make your decision, and buy from NewEgg. Razz

Phil Smith · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 7717

I vote for plasma too, especially if you're going to get a large one because they're such a better buy, as Mike pointed out.

Isaac · Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Posts: 4 Location: VICTORIA, BC, CANADA

mike, perisoft: thanks for the input. I've been leaning towards the plasma but I wanted to eliminate the shadowing effect as a deciding factor allowing me to focus on other issues. I'm looking at for something around 40" and under $1500 CDN so really there aren't that many options. By the time it burns itself out I'll be ready to move on up to the east side.

thanks again.
(insert annoyingly polite Canadian joke here)

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:15 am Post subject:

Do make sure you buy a name brand. That's REALLY important. THe Walmart/Costco/BB house brands are generally crap, and WILL die the day after the warranty expires. There are some specific name brand haters here, some guys HATE Sony or others with a passion, but generally speaking, the name brands are better than the ones you've never heard of.

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

Since you have a price and size limiting you to a handful of choices, I would jot down some makes and model numbers of the ones your interested in and do some googleing on them, reading reviews and looking for common problems among the models your interested in. But dont take 1 or 2 bad reviews as gospel but if your seeing a consistent complaint on a particular model then cross it off your list. You will be surprised how fast your list will shrink and you'll know what to expect.

paw · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1176 Location: Arvada, CO

With glare off of the shiny plasma screen, you can try tilting the screen up or down. Sometimes that move the reflection out of your field of vision. I'd go for plasma also. The Pioneer Kudo and Pioneer Elite Kudo have very, very good blacks. Panasonic is a close runner up.

mike calcott · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia

Panasonic TH-42px700 which is the Japanese build has a matt glass screen and will resolve 1080p

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Isaac, welcome to the forum. Please keep in mind that a lot of the fundamental differences between plasma and LCD that were at play 3-5 years ago are no longer. If you went back 3-5 years ago you couldn't get an LCD in large size, nor a plasma in high resolution. Simply put, 3-5 years ago it was difficult to make an LCD pixel large or a plasma pixel small. This meant that you couldn't find a large LCD product nor a high resolution plasma.

This is no longer the case. BUT, whatever you do please realize that if you let yourself be 'marketed' by pixel resolution you may never see the benefit because of your application (panel size, pixel resolution, and seating distance). A person with 20/20/ vision will be able to see 1100 line-pairs when they sit 1.5x the screen width (for a 16:9 screen) distance away. Sitting farther means they can resolve less resolution, and the reverse is also true.

Finally, do not get hung up on the black level. Flat-panels were not engineered for critical viewing. Their entire technology on reproducing 'black' is by blocking light, which ain't easy. And to get the best performance you can will cost you absurdly.

Isaac · Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Posts: 4 Location: VICTORIA, BC, CANADA

Curt told me you guys would be awesome and he was right. Thank you thank you thank you!

I don't have much info to offer in return, but if anybody needs some furniture moved and can cover the airfare, I'm an excellent mover.

enigma · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 24 Location: Australia

Hi Isaac,

Depending on budget there is a simple formula.

Get a good quality brand 42" plasma or 40" lcd over the cheap brands. A good 42" brand plasma with 1980x720p will have a better picture than a cheap 1080p panel.

Anything below 42" get LCD, anything above, get plasma - faster refresh rate & better blacks.

In a bright room, plasma is better.

Look for non reflective glass on screens.

If you have tv programs or play games that have a constant still image some where in the picture, best go lcd so not to risk problems with screen burn.

Good luck & cheers from down under.

dbaisey · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject:

dropzone7 · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 1069 Location: Charlotte, NC

I love my plasma tv. It's a Samsung model I got at Sam's Club about 18 months ago and it's been rock solid. I can't imagine going with an LCD after having seen both. The plasma has much better contrast ratio and color reproduction while the LCDs I have seen look flat and lifeless in comparison. I have played XBOX 360 several times a week since owning the plasma and have no burn in issues at all. I love my CRT projector but sometimes I yearn for the sharpness and brightness of my plasma. I have the video processing features turned OFF with the plasma because I prefer it this way and it gives the image a more film like look without over sharpening or making the color look too brilliant. It's only 42" and not a projection setup but there are things I love about my plasma and things I love about my front projection setup. I'm just happy I have both.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

I see no reason to advise someone to get a 40-42" 1090P flat-panel if he is going to be sitting 1.5x the screen width (or 1.3 times the screen's diagonal measurement for 16:9 panels), or that he has better than 20/20 vision. Otherwise, he isn't going to see the resoulution he is paying for.