In general terms, which is better, Plasma or LCD?

[BGonaSTICK]

I know that all display formats have their good and bad points, but for a typical large-screen TV, which would you go for if you had the ready cash to buy one tomorrow?

Maybe you've just bought one. What did you go for and why?

Do you think that they represent good value for money?

Do you think that they are being mis-sold as 'better' than SD CRT TV's across the board?

Which makes do you rate, and which would you avoid?

Vote now, and leave your comments too.

[Jimdefruit]

It is really subjective, and individuals need to get what they perceive to be the best for their own use.

LCD screens are good in high brightness areas and are good for PC connections.
Plasma screens are better for progressive scan applications and in lower light conditions. Generally the scaling software in plasmas is better quality for some reason. LCD screens still have a long way to go regarding image movement.

[Mship]

I went for a Samsung 32" CRT widescreen when my Phillips 28" CRT widescreen popped earlier this year.

My reasons for choosing CRT over LCD/Plasma? Well mainly price. At the time a similar size LCD would have cost about double the price of the CRT! One of my relations bought a LCD widescreen (26" or 27") and paid the best part of £1500 for it :mega: and the picture was, in my view, no better than my old Phillips :?

As for Plasma, as well as being bl**dy expensive their do seem to be some reliability issues with them. And I've also heard that they are expensive to run, using up to 2kwh, which if true is a hell of a lot of electricity just to run a tv

My new(ish) Samsung? Not as good as the old Phillips, in fact pretty dissapointing TBH.
Good points:
Price (<£400)
Built in Freeview
32" screen

Bad points:
Very average picture quality.

Cheers,
Kev.

[BGonaSTICK]

Yes, the Phillips 100Hz CRTs take some beating by all accounts.

[good2talk]

Please have a look at following link - interesting reading about Plasmas vs LCDs:

Here we go:

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/technolog...ma-or-lcd.html

[BGonaSTICK]

Interesting read. Thanks for that.

I don't think that you can regard it as totally 'unbiased' even though Panasonic do produce both types of screen, but I do agree that it depends in part on the size of the screen.

Forced to choose between the two, I'd definitely select Plasma for large screens. LCD is a certain winner for cheaper, smaller screens, but I'm not at all sure about small-to-mid range (28-32") for example.

I also don't necessarily agree with the reliability claims that Panasonic make. Furthermore, a faulty screen usually means a written-off telly. Not much repairing going on these days

[knighthawk2]

Very much an eyes on decision I think, what looks good to one person looks crap to another.
After lots of reading I have just purchased a sharps LC46XD1E Aquos (£1294).
My reasons were it's true HD (1080p) has 2 hdmi sockets + various other connections, the picture is superb, and now I have it hooked up to my PS3(via hdmi)blu-ray films are impressive to say the least.
My only gripe is that it has not a dedicated component connection.
Now all I'm after is a new hd stb to go with it.

[nousernamesleft]

We bought a Tosh 32 lcd about a year ago. Took me weeks to decide but all in all very pleased with it. It was to replace the tv in my picture which was a cheap supermarket job but was also very good, apart from the boy treating it as a urinal Think a lot of it is down to personal preference but there are some shocknig tv's out there.. Do your homework before you buy.

[Gav]

My personal opinion is LCD, the picture is imo far, far better - and the screen itself won't burn out. The backlight will, but you can get them for about £20, whereas when a plasma burns out you buy a new TV

I love my 28" FlatScreen(not thin screen) Samsung, the picture quality is stunning (its a fatty).

Its one of the last CRTs Comet ever stocked.


Anywho, I am a projector fanboy. 720p Projectors aren't that expensive, and have a far larger image (already got blackouts and a white wall and your half way there)

projectorpoint.co.uk is a good site for them imo

1080p is still a bit pricy (Epson EMP-TW1000 for £2500 anyone), but hey - 8.46M Wide, 6.34 Meter high and 10Meter diagonal anyone, in full 1080p glory?????? w00t. (394Inch screen )


EDIT: :roflmao: The Epson from projector point currently comes with a free PS3 :P!!!!

[Jimdefruit]

For anyone wanting a guide to the screen resolution and viewing distances, I came across this chart.

Also for anyone wanting to watch footy, cricket etc. the LCD screens have still not caught up with plasma for picture quality. Modern plasmas do not suffer from burnout or image retention.

If you want to sit in a bright room to watch tv then LCD screens are better for normal tv. That is why they look better in the brightly lit showrooms. If you want a realistic picture in normal living room conditions then plasma is the one.