lcd or plasma

[redcrbbr]

I'll tell ya i am some confused, so many choices. anyone else been through this. And looking for the right stand is almost as bad. Any words of wisdom will be read.

[pal156]

if it is a sunny room lcd has no glare, if a darker room go plasma. I wenyd lcd and love it,if you go lcd make sure it has a high contrast ratio. high contrast ratio = better colors

[Raven]

get to work ya lazy bastid....

hahahahahahah

[MakoMike]

Just went through this process and settled on a DLP. If the room has a lot, and I do mean a lot, of sun Plasma is the best. If it doesn't get direct sun LCD or DLP will work. Some say that DLP has a better picture than plasma, particularly since the DLPs are available in 1080p resoultion while all except the very high end plasmas are still in the 720p resolution. I don't know if there are any 1080p LCDs out yet, but i think I have heard of some. The stands are a real bitch. We wound up buying a sofa table at Cardi's for a stand. Make sure you get a stand that gives you the right height for your normal viewing.

[Saltheart]

lcd 1080p

[MarshCappa]

Originally Posted by pal156

if it is a sunny room lcd has no glare, if a darker room go plasma. I wenyd lcd and love it,if you go lcd make sure it has a high contrast ratio. high contrast ratio = better colors

I work as the Business Development Mgr for a custom entertainment/home technology firm on the south shore. It is true if you can't control the ambient lighting in the room an lcd will provide better viewing. However for pure performance, reliability, true to life colors, the plasma is a better purchase. I can recommend models we spec that have a very low failure rate in the field. The knock on LCD has been the slower refresh rates on the picture. The big box stores will show you still photography, cartoons, etc when showing the lcd's because anything fast moving accross the screen may produce a slight pixelization effect. If you watch a lot of movies, sports, etc and can control the lighting in the room go with the plasma. If you can't control the lighting as well and will be watching a lot of tv during the day and also play a lot of video games go with the LCD. Sharp, Sony, Samsung for the lcd's. Pioneer for the plasma. We sell a high end brand plasma by Fitjitsu but it's pricey, $3500 for a 42". In 5 years of installing Fijitsu's and Pioneers(roughly 300+ installs) we've replace 0 Fijitsu's and 2 Pioneers because of manufacturer defects. LCD's have a much higher manufacturer defect rate. Fijitsu is the only manufacturer that offers a 3 year warranty, Pioneer is 1 year. Don't get fooled with the big box stores and their extended warranty. They won't come to your house to get the tv and it will be months before you get another one. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. I do this everyday so I don't mind talking to you before you make a purchase.

[fishbones]

I bought a 42" plasma a while ago and love the picture. This was before the LCD's became well known. It's great for movies and regular programming, but I was told you can get "burn in" on the screen if you watch a lot of sports (because of the fixed scoreboard info on the top of the screen). I have yet to notice any of this and I watch a lot of baseball and football on it. The hi def programming on cable is exceptional and the regular digital programming is about as good as on my regular non hi def t.v. The best thing I have noticed is that the picture is great from side angles. All that being said, I would probably go with LCD for my next one because of the advancements they have made since I bought my set. Whatever you decide on, do a lot of research and don't base your decision on what you see in the store. The picture quality in the big box retailers is not even close to what you'll get at home with a good set of cable and a hi def cable box. And no matter the brand, most of the components are all the same. There are only 2 or 3 companies that make the main components for LCD's and Plasma's, so go with a brand that offers the best features, warranty and service. The picture quality will be pretty much identical if you go with a 1080p, whichever brand you buy.

[MarshCappa]

Originally Posted by fishbones

I bought a 42" plasma a while ago and love the picture. This was before the LCD's became well known. It's great for movies and regular programming, but I was told you can get "burn in" on the screen if you watch a lot of sports (because of the fixed scoreboard info on the top of the screen). I have yet to notice any of this and I watch a lot of baseball and football on it. The hi def programming on cable is exceptional and the regular digital programming is about as good as on my regular non hi def t.v. The best thing I have noticed is that the picture is great from side angles. All that being said, I would probably go with LCD for my next one because of the advancements they have made since I bought my set. Whatever you decide on, do a lot of research and don't base your decision on what you see in the store. The picture quality in the big box retailers is not even close to what you'll get at home with a good set of cable and a hi def cable box. And no matter the brand, most of the components are all the same. There are only 2 or 3 companies that make the main components for LCD's and Plasma's, so go with a brand that offers the best features, warranty and service. The picture quality will be pretty much identical if you go with a 1080p, whichever brand you buy.

you will only get "burn in" on a plasma if you leave the tv on continuesly for extended periods of time and with the same image being broadcasted. Ex. you leave the tv on overnight for say a week straight on a standard definition broadcast in 4:3 aspect ratio (black or gray side borders and dosn't fill the entire screen). The borders will burn in over time but we're talking hundereds of hours to do that. We also never reccommend plasma for gaming because of that. FYI.....Panasonic makes all the glass for ALL plasma displays but its the video cards and HD processors that set the manufacturers apart. With that said Panasonic plasmas have the worst service record of all the manufacturers. Pioneer makes a very good plasma and is a good company to deal with. 42" Pioneer commercial grade 1080i plasma is around $2700. Don't get all caught up in the 1080p vs i. Comcast can't broadcast in that format and won't be able to do it with their current infastrucure. Verizon fios will give you a true 1080p picture but good luck finding a town that has it. Blueray and HDDVD players can give you the 1080p but that's about all you be able to watch. If I put 2 tv's next to one another one being 1080i and the other being 1080p you would be hard pressed to tell the differnence with the average persons eye. That being said it is an awesome picture(1080p) but there just isn't a lot of content available yet.

[MarshCappa]

Originally Posted by fishbones

I bought a 42" plasma a while ago and love the picture. This was before the LCD's became well known. It's great for movies and regular programming, but I was told you can get "burn in" on the screen if you watch a lot of sports (because of the fixed scoreboard info on the top of the screen). I have yet to notice any of this and I watch a lot of baseball and football on it. The hi def programming on cable is exceptional and the regular digital programming is about as good as on my regular non hi def t.v. The best thing I have noticed is that the picture is great from side angles. All that being said, I would probably go with LCD for my next one because of the advancements they have made since I bought my set. Whatever you decide on, do a lot of research and don't base your decision on what you see in the store. The picture quality in the big box retailers is not even close to what you'll get at home with a good set of cable and a hi def cable box. And no matter the brand, most of the components are all the same. There are only 2 or 3 companies that make the main components for LCD's and Plasma's, so go with a brand that offers the best features, warranty and service. The picture quality will be pretty much identical if you go with a 1080p, whichever brand you buy.

you will only get "burn in" on a plasma if you leave the tv on continuesly for extended periods of time and with the same image being broadcasted. Ex. you leave the tv on overnight for say a week straight on a standard definition broadcast in 4:3 aspect ratio (black or gray side borders and dosn't fill the entire screen). The borders will burn in over time but we're talking hundereds of hours to do that. We also never reccommend plasma for gaming because of that. FYI.....Panasonic makes all the glass for ALL plasma displays but its the video cards and HD processors that set the manufacturers apart. With that said Panasonic plasmas have the worst service record of all the manufacturers. Pioneer makes a very good plasma and is a good company to deal with. 42" Pioneer commercial grade 1080i plasma is around $2700. Don't get all caught up in the 1080p vs i. Comcast can't broadcast in that format and won't be able to do it with their current infastrucure. Verizon fios will give you a true 1080p picture but good luck finding a town that has it. Blueray and HDDVD players can give you the 1080p but that's about all you be able to watch. If I put 2 tv's next to one another one being 1080i and the other being 1080p you would be hard pressed to tell the differnence with the average persons eye. That being said it is an awesome picture(1080p) but there just isn't a lot of content available yet.

[MarshCappa]

Originally Posted by fishbones

I bought a 42" plasma a while ago and love the picture. This was before the LCD's became well known. It's great for movies and regular programming, but I was told you can get "burn in" on the screen if you watch a lot of sports (because of the fixed scoreboard info on the top of the screen). I have yet to notice any of this and I watch a lot of baseball and football on it. The hi def programming on cable is exceptional and the regular digital programming is about as good as on my regular non hi def t.v. The best thing I have noticed is that the picture is great from side angles. All that being said, I would probably go with LCD for my next one because of the advancements they have made since I bought my set. Whatever you decide on, do a lot of research and don't base your decision on what you see in the store. The picture quality in the big box retailers is not even close to what you'll get at home with a good set of cable and a hi def cable box. And no matter the brand, most of the components are all the same. There are only 2 or 3 companies that make the main components for LCD's and Plasma's, so go with a brand that offers the best features, warranty and service. The picture quality will be pretty much identical if you go with a 1080p, whichever brand you buy.

you will only get "burn in" on a plasma if you leave the tv on continuesly for extended periods of time and with the same image being broadcasted. Ex. you leave the tv on overnight for say a week straight on a standard definition broadcast in 4:3 aspect ratio (black or gray side borders and dosn't fill the entire screen). The borders will burn in over time but we're talking hundereds of hours to do that. We also never reccommend plasma for gaming because of that. FYI.....Panasonic makes all the glass for ALL plasma displays but its the video cards and HD processors that set the manufacturers apart. With that said Panasonic plasmas have the worst service record of all the manufacturers. Pioneer makes a very good plasma and is a good company to deal with. 42" Pioneer commercial grade 1080i plasma is around $2700. Don't get all caught up in the 1080p vs i. Comcast can't broadcast in that format and won't be able to do it with their current infastrucure. Verizon fios will give you a true 1080p picture but good luck finding a town that has it. Blueray and HDDVD players can give you the 1080p but that's about all you be able to watch. If I put 2 tv's next to one another one being 1080i and the other being 1080p you would be hard pressed to tell the differnence with the average persons eye. That being said it is an awesome picture(1080p) but there just isn't a lot of content available yet.

[fishbones]

Thanks for that info, MarshCappa. You definitely seem to know what you are talking about. I was told by someone (not in the industry) that LG and only 1 or 2 other companies make the processors and cards, and they are all made in China. This is off topic, but you probably would have an answer for me. I'm not ready to shell out the $ for a blueray disc player and I was wondering if the HD upconvert players are a lot better than my progressive scan dvd?

[Skip N]

Originally Posted by fishbones

Thanks for that info, MarshCappa. You definitely seem to know what you are talking about. I was told by someone (not in the industry) that LG and only 1 or 2 other companies make the processors and cards, and they are all made in China. This is off topic, but you probably would have an answer for me. I'm not ready to shell out the $ for a blueray disc player and I was wondering if the HD upconvert players are a lot better than my progressive scan dvd?

Get an HDMI cable and attach that from your DVD player to your HDTV. Looks fantastic! Near HD Quality.

I have a Panasonic 37" Plasma, and my Dad's got the 42" version. We are both VERY impressed with them. Insane picture!

[MarshCappa]

Sorry for 3 of the same posts! My computer was being bogged down by a software update. HDMI cables will do the trick for that progressive scan dvd player. Also FYI do not fall for the "you need Monster cable trick". It's a total scam. We use Phillips HDMI cables and they provide the same quality picture. You have to be carefull how the HDMI cable is run also because it is very sensitive to crimping or bad signal quality if the cable is bent at all. Most of our installs go into the compenent inputs for the equipment. We're doing more and more HDMI but they can be a hassel to maintain.

[2boxers]

I have both and I like them both, but my LCD seems to be a bit more crisp, also definitly use HDMI