The Shrine

Thinking of getting one this Xmas (well, Boxing Day, when all the sales come out). Read up on them at these sites:

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtv-plasmavslcd.shtml
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6463_7-5023901-3.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?TV:-LCD-vs-Plasma-TV&id=92870

Wanted to get people's opinions and experiences here on this subject since I'm sure a few of you have done some research of your own.

Are you looking for a completely flat panel, ie. no projection? If that isn't a big issue for you, then I wouldn't rule DLP Projo TVs out.

Plasma TVs blow, I got one for Christmas back a few years ago and I recall that the screen was noticeably dimmer after only a few months. My advice is to stay away from them completely.

That's a large generalization based off of one TV set. Plasma TVs can be spectacular if you buy the right one.

Oracle wrote:That's a large generalization based off of one TV set. Plasma TVs can be spectacular if you buy the right one.

Note: my TV was a Sony.



Oh yeah: http://www.norcent.net/main/home.asp

You'll end up spending about 1/2-1/4th of what you'd normally be spending for almost the exact same product; unless things have changed in the past couple of years.

It was my understanding that Plasma TV's are only worthwhile if you get them large, like 40+ inches. And even then...they only last a few years.

I plan on getting a 27-32" LCD TV in the next few months, but they don't sell plasma that small anyway.

Yea, that's definitely something to consider. If you want a TV that is smaller than 42", plasma is definitely not for you. The newest model Samsung 42" is where I would start looking.

As far as how long plasma will last, if you look around on the web, you can get figures anywhere from 20,000 hours to 30,000 hours before the TV set reaches half of its factory brightness. Generally, they give LCDs about double the time. I guess it all depends on if you plan to use your plasma TV for more than 10 years at 6 hours a day viewing time :p

The main concern with plasma vs LCD is possible burn in. LCD basically has zero chance of burn in, where plasmas can experience it (although not nearly as much as when they first came out). What you DO have to deal with for LCDs are possible burned pixels.

In all honesty, if I found a Plasma TV and an LCD with identical specs and the same price, I'd go with the LCD.

If you don't mind going projo, go DLP!

See, this is what I'm wondering 'cause I heard all about the problems with plasma and their half-life, but it appears that they're about equal to LCD with the 2005 and later models. That was my biggest concern and it seems to be equal now.

I'm getting a 50-55" TV. So, it's plasma or LCD to me. My cuz on the weekend got a 60" DLP Hitatchi and I didn't like it. The viewing angle is very poor on them and I have a large couch with a wide viewing angle, so I can't have that. That's why I have to rule out DLP.

Really, the issue with both of these seems to be half life. Even the LCD will burn out. Sure, you can replace the bulbs, but it doesn't seem like that's an easy thing, so that's likely not an option. And what I don't really like is the fact that with both options, after about 10 years (my TV down here is on for 35 or so hours a week x 52 weeks = 1820 hours a year (a full-time job :-); which is 11 years for 20,000 hours) I have half the brightness. I'm looking at 15 years MINIMUM here for a $3000 Cdn TV. That's what I reallydon't like. Hell, the 31" that I have now is 10 years old and it's going strong. So that's a big factor to me as well and if you read those articles, it appears that LCD and plasma are the same in that department.

Plasma appears to have a slightly better viewing angle, which is important to me, and also, oddly, appears to be cheaper than LCD. Not sure why. So, I'm currently leaning towards plasma (altough I'll have to find out how to properly install the clamps for it) but I wanted to see if anyone here had been looking at one or bought one recently and had other experiences.

Zeus wrote:I'm getting a 50-55" TV. So, it's plasma or LCD to me.

If your budget is 3k, then you are either getting a really crappy model plasma or you are getting an LCD projection (since you wrote off DLP, which probably does offer the best picture vs price at the moment, excluding lamp replacement). You could also look into the LCoS sets.

My cuz on the weekend got a 60" DLP Hitatchi and I didn't like it. The viewing angle is very poor on them and I have a large couch with a wide viewing angle, so I can't have that. That's why I have to rule out DLP.

That's pretty surprising...wonder what set he purchased.

Plasma appears to have a slightly better viewing angle, which is important to me, and also, oddly, appears to be cheaper than LCD.

No, a good plasma is still pretty pricey. Not all models are equal here.

If it is a choice between LCD and plasma, I'd guess I'd have to lean towards a Plasma (and above 50", it's not like you have much of a choice anyway). Research the TVs you look at and post them when the time comes.

I jumped on the HD bandwagon pretty early and bought an 34inch CRT a while ago. Its heavy and bulky, buy still pretty stylish looking. The more i read about and experience LCDs, Plasmas, and rear projections, the happier i get that i went CRT. The blacks are pitch black, there is no burn in, it has the widest angle, there is no dimming over time, and it still is the best picture you can get. Everything else is still trynig to be as good as the good old reliable tube.

But i guess as far as CRTs go, 34 inches is about the biggest you can get, so for a large TV i guess i would go plasma. It should only be a year or two until SED's come out and kick everythings ass.

http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article ... RSS,00.asp

Hmm, SED, huh? I may have to wait out this whole new technology stuff. I thought after the last 3 years the battle lines would have been more clearly drawn, but it looks like this fight might just begin.

There's this Sony 55" LCD that just dropped to $3k here:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... &langid=EN

This is the one that caught my eye. I was going to keep an eye out for stuff throughout the Xmas season and pick my set for Boxing Day, but, as a guy who's not an early adopter and waits to see what wins out, I may actually wait another year, unless we see a helluva price drop this Xmas.

Zeus wrote: There's this Sony 55" LCD that just dropped to $3k here:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... &langid=EN

Like I said, "or you are getting an LCD <b>projection</b>". If you decide to go that route, a DLP is going to serve you better.

If it's a choice between LCD projection or plasma, the choice is easy (plasma). Alternatively, you could go slightly smaller and find an LCD flat screen.

YEa, you aren't going to find an LCD flat panel at 55" for $3K. If you are going projo, and you were disappointed with DLPs, you'll be disappointed with LCDs. Honestly, getting a good rear projection DLP will more often than not be better than a rear projection LCD. Projo LCD is older technology.

And for $3K, you should be able to get a DLP in that size that also supports 1080p.

Only example I could find atm, and this is a disgustingly good deal. I've seen the TV myself when I used to work at Best Buy, and it's not too shabby.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetai ... atid=23250

If you've got the room, why not go with an RPTV? Picture quality is damn nice, there's no worries about lamp replacement or the set wearing out in five years, and these days you'll likely spend less than $2K US for one. I don't mean to make your decision harder, but I really like my TV (had it for 2+ years now) and you'll save a lot of money.

kali o. wrote:

Zeus wrote: There's this Sony 55" LCD that just dropped to $3k here:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... &langid=EN

Like I said, "or you are getting an LCD <b>projection</b>". If you decide to go that route, a DLP is going to serve you better.

If it's a choice between LCD projection or plasma, the choice is easy (plasma). Alternatively, you could go slightly smaller and find an LCD flat screen.

Damn, didn't even notice it was an LCD projection.......

Oracle wrote:YEa, you aren't going to find an LCD flat panel at 55" for $3K. If you are going projo, and you were disappointed with DLPs, you'll be disappointed with LCDs. Honestly, getting a good rear projection DLP will more often than not be better than a rear projection LCD. Projo LCD is older technology.

And for $3K, you should be able to get a DLP in that size that also supports 1080p.

Only example I could find atm, and this is a disgustingly good deal. I've seen the TV myself when I used to work at Best Buy, and it's not too shabby.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetai ... atid=23250

That is a pretty kick-ass deal...

The problem I have is the room I'm putting it in now (for the next 5-7 years) will have the couch between 8 and 12 feet away from the TV, so much more than about 52" is a little too big, unless I get a plasma or LCD, which give me another foot of space as they're smaller. I may actually cut the wall behind where the TV is now to make room for a TV in there to give me even more room (build a little place for it; it runs under the stairs into my furnace room and the place where the TV would fit is actually useless room in there), so I could go up to a 58" like this one.

So it looks like from those articles and what you guys are saying that I should go with either a DLP or plasma for the size I'm looking at. I'll read up a bit more on the DLPs and check them out in stores, maybe it was just the one my cousin had that wasn't particularly good. I can better check out the angles and stuff for the all the different DLP makes and models. The couch I have will require at least a 120 degree viewing angle. They may be the better choice in terms of cost-benefit analysis, particularly with the shorter life-span of a plasma or LCD. I'm looking long term here and don't want a TV with half the picture in 10 years.

So, thanks guys.

Well, I'm going to warn you then that a DLP will require bulb replacement all the time (well, like every two years last I checked the average). While it's easy to replace those, that might piss you off.

Whats the cost of the bulbs...can you do it yourself?

$200-$350. Some you can do yourself, some you can't. Something to ask when buying.

kali o. wrote:Well, I'm going to warn you then that a DLP will require bulb replacement all the time (well, like every two years last I checked the average). While it's easy to replace those, that might piss you off.

OK, well, I'll definetely keep it in mind. Thanks