best T.V. Plasma or L.C.D?

Answer 1

LCD is better in my humble opinion. This is why. Plasma TVs have a lifespan of about 60,000 hours. Plasma TVs also have an issue of burn in. New plasma TVs have features that help to minimize this issue, but it is still an issue. LCD TVs are lighter than plasma TVs. Plasma TVs do have a better picture quality than LCD TVs. But certain LCD TVs have the same quality as plasma TVs.

Answer 2

I know Uncletoon2005 works at Costco (apparently selling electronics), but although his overall view is somewhat accurate he has some major misconceptions on HD.

He is incorrect stating 720p = 720 lines AN INCH and 1080p = 1080 lines AN INCH.

All HD nomenclature refers to visable image display size. 720p actually refers to to an image size 1280 pixels by 720 pixels TOTAL in a progressive format. 1080p refers to an image size 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels.The type of resolutions Uncletoon2005 professes HDTV's to be capable of at Yahoo Answers (and I assume to customers as well) are not currently possible. They would be some kind of SUPER DEFINITION TV.

Secondly, NO HD TECHNOLOGIES HAVE AN INFINITE LIFESPAN. While it's true LCD sets last LONGER than plasma sets currently, ALL TECHNOLOGY WILL EVENTUALLY FAIL.

While Uncletoon2005 is correct about the downfalls of plasma, he seems to have glossed over the downfalls of LCD.

According to CNET: "The picture quality of LCD has historically suffered from poor black levels, but the latest versions are much improved, if not quite up to the best plasmas. That's because LCDs cannot achieve a true black since there's always some light leaking through the pixels. Color saturation is also generally inferior to plasma, again as a result of the inability to completely blacken (turn off) the pixels. Light leakage affects the purity of the color.

Viewing angle is another weakness of LCD compared to plasma."

It's funny that in other posts, he actually tells people LCD is SUPERIOR in black levels. Funny.

And as for "Blu Ray isn't meant for 1080p" thing? He should mosey on down to the movie aisle and take a look at the back of the Blu Ray boxes. The majority you'll pick up state the movie is encoded at 1080p. Don't believe me? Take a look at the links I've included at the bottom of the page.

Uncletoon2005, while you're wandering around Megalo Mart, pop over and look at the camcorders. See if there's a Sony Camcorder called the HVR-V1U. It shoots at 1080p for about $4000 bucks. That a LONG way from the "several hundred thousand dollars" you blathered about. If you guys don't carry that one, check out the Panasonic HVX200 which sells for around $5000. Maybe you can sell an "extended service plan" to get it closer to that 6 figure mark, huh? Point is, consumer camcorders are coming with 1080p capabilities. Professional cameras have them.

Heck, even a professional camera like the Silicon Imaging SI-2k is only $20000. That's about $80000 away from a six figure mark.

One last thing, only projectors are rated in Lumens (ANSI Lumens). LCD flat screens and Plasmas are rated in nits.

Uncletoon2005, you talk alot and leave big answers but you need to take your own advice and "Make sure you do your research" before you write a book for an answer. I hate to think what your customers are getting sold.

Answer 3

Here is the answer to all your tv questions:

DLP Rear projections are the cheapest per square inch. The problem with them is that you'll be replacing the bulb every two to three years. This can ultimately make the cost higher than any of the others. If you're looking at Rear Projections, don't do LCD rps. They just aren't that good. There is a third rear projection technology called Lcos. The only manufacturer that i'm aware of that makes this is JVC and they call it an ILA system this is the BEST rear projection I have ever sold.

RPs have an infinite life, but the bulbs are going to cost $250+ to replace. In ten years, add a thousand dollars to your purchase price.

Plasma flat panel TVs are okay. These will be the cheapest flat panels you can buy but they have many issues.
- they over heat. If you place one over the fireplace, you'll regret it. this is how most plasmas are killed. the heat from the fireplace basically fries the television.
- They have a glass front which is HIGHLY reflective. If you have many windows in the room, shy away from plasma.
- They have issues with color bleeding which make them kinda fuzzy up close.
- They still have burn in problems. don't get one if you play a lot of video games or use it as a large computer monitor.

Plasmas produce 150-240 lumens. (Brightness)

LCD panels produce 380-430 lumens. CLEARLY BRIGHTER.

LCD flat panels are the sharpest and best television you can buy. They have all the benefits of plasma with none of the cons. They are an incredible picture with no burn in, they don't produce a lot of glare and they work well in well lit rooms. HOWEVER, they are also the most expensive. LCD's and plasmas last just about 25-30 years now.

Get an LCD flat panel if you can afford it. Trust me, you won't regret it. The only down side is that a 46" is the largest you can get at a reasonable price.

You must have an HD box to get an HD signal out of your cable. You can pick up HD with an antenae, but you are limited to local channels only.

No it doesn't affect the look of older dvds. But i can tell you older dvds are put out a 480p signal. ANY HD is going to be vastly superior.



Now, onto Resolution:


First of all, and no offense to whoever wrote this, but a bigger tv isn't going to show a bigger difference regardless of bandwidth. This is because the resolution is per sq. in. as opposed to spanning the entire screen.

720p = 720 lines per square inch. P stands for progressive meaning every single line is refreshed every single frame at about 60 frames per second. This is as opposed to i which stands for interlaced meaning ever other line is refreshed ever other frame.

1080p is the same thing, but with 1080 lines every inch.

Yes, there is a big difference, but unfortunately, unless you have particularly good eyesight, you won't be able to see it. typically, only younger children can clearly tell the difference. The biggest thing you will likely notice is that the color correction is better on a 1080p.

So is it worth the difference?

If you want the best? Absolutely. But in all honesty, I can't tell you if we're ever going to use it in the near future on anything but gaming systems.

Why?

The reason we're moving to high definition is because the FCC is selling off the analogue bandwidth (normal def.) to cell phone companies which means we have to use digital bandwidth, which gives us a better resolution. But keep in mind, this resolution only come in 720p or 1080i NOT 1080p. The FCC isn't pushing for a 1080p signal because it takes twice the bandwidth and therefor costs more money that they don't want to spend. IF the FCC isn't pushing for it, i can safely say that i don't think it will happen in the near future.

HD is nothing new. Japan has been using it for over a decade now and haven't moved to a 1080p signal. If the USA does it, it will be because certain individuals pay more for it.

Movies will most likely not be moving that way because in order to get a 1080p movie, you would have to shoot it with a 1080p camera. These cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. When it's not necessary, they probably won't do it. To get Television in 1080p, the network producers would have to do the same thing. Again, not something that's likely to happen.

And here's the real kicker. Make sure you do your research. Just because the panel is capable of 1080p doesn't mean that the inputs in the back are.

And i know Blu Ray players are capable of inputting a 1080p signal. That means nothing. Just because it can, doesn't mean it will. Why? Because blu ray isn't designed to produce that high of a signal. It was produced to put more on a disk.

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If the above is the "laser eye" if a HD dvd player or a regular dvd player, then the below is the eye of a blu ray player.

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BIG difference. But it was created so that a HD movie could still have all the bonus features on there. Look at an HD disk vs a Blu Ray disk. The blu ray still has all of your bonus features. HD has little or none. IF we move to 1080p, then blu ray will have less features defeating its purpose.

So personally, no 1080p televisions aren't worth it. They may be in five years, but for now, NO.


IF you can, buy your TV from CostCo Wholesale. If there's not one near you, you can buy online. It costs fifty dollars a year to shop there, but it's well worth it.

Why CostCo?

Because of the warranty. The way we put it is that we give you a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We don't put time limits on it because you can't be 100% satisfied if we tell you how long you have to be so.

Meaning?

If your television completely burns out in five years, bring it back. When you spend over a thousand dollars on a tv, you are expecting it to last a good number of years. If it doesn't CostCo will refund your purchase price. Buy it online? Get your shipping and handling back too. You don't pay anything for this but your membership fee. If you return one television in ten years, you've easily made up for this just through potential cost of repairs or replacement.

Best Buy claims we sell last year's models. No we don't. We can offer lower prices because we buy in groups of 20,000 plus of ONE ITEM.

Why does the warranty work? Because we don't sell cheap stuff. We sell stuff cheaply. If a manufacturer sells us a bad product, we get a full refund. If we don't, we don't work with that manufacturer anymore. So what? One company right? But imagine if you were Toshiba and we buy over a million items from you a year when most of it costs over a thousand dollars per item. That might hurt. lol.

Let me know if you have any questions.

If this doesn't help, well, i quit. lol.

Answer 4

Comparison Plasma televisions LCD televisions Advantage

Screen Size Screen sizes range from 32 inches to 63 inches. Larger plasmas, like a 103 inch unit from Panasonic, are in production, but are still prohibitively expensive for consumer use. Sizes range from 13 inches to 45 inches. As with plasma, there are larger LCD TVs made, like a 100 inch display recently released by LG, but they are not readily available or affordable at the consumer level. Plasma TVs are the current size champions, particularly when comparing TVs that consumers can easily purchase. LCDs are catching up in size with their developing technology, however, and may surpass Plasmas in the near future. This may be due to difficulties in producing glass large enough for larger plasmas.

Viewing Angle Up to 160° Up to 175° LCD TVs have the advantage here, but by a small margin. Your viewing experience is not going to be ideal at 160 or 175 degree angles. LCD TVs used to have a problem in this area, primarily because LCDs were originally used as single person computer monitors.


Screen Refresh Rates Plasma displays refresh and handle rapid movements in video about as well as CRT televisions. LCD TVs were originally designed for data display, and not video. Therefore refresh rates had to be improved. LCD TVs with refresh rates below 16 ms or lower (5-15 ms) show very few noticeable artifacts. LCD TVs are now available with refresh rates as low as 5ms. Slight edge to plasma technology.

Burn-in or Stuck Pixels Plasma TVs can suffer from burn-in produced by static images. After extended periods, stationary images "burn in" and produce an after-image ghost which remains permanently on the screen. With technologies such as 'pixel orbitor,' new plasma TVs have addressed burn-in and significantly reduced the issues of older models. LCD TVs do not suffer from burn-in, but can have a "retained pixel charge" which may also produce ghosting. Stuck pixels are also possible with an LCD display. With the latest plasma technology, this is less of an issue than ever before. "Pixel orbitor," for example, is one method of reducing burn in used by plasma manufacturers. It requires no additional programing from the end user as some older burn-in prevention techniques did. If you plan to use a plasma for gaming, some games with permanent 'dashboards' may still cause some burn-in. Check user-manuals for available solutions by model.

Product Life-span Plasma TVs have a reported half life of 30,000 to 60,000 hours. Half-life is the time it takes the lamp to fade to half its original brightness. LCD TVs also have replaceable backlights, but the expense of replacing one when the time comes may be greater than simply replacing the entire TV. Both Plasma and LCD technology should more than adequately satisfy most consumers. The average CRT TV (the kind most of us have at home) has a half-life of around 25,000 hours. If the average American household watches an average of four to six hours of television a day, even a 30,000 hour lamp would give you over 16 years of use. By then you'll be enjoying your new 'Holodeck.'

Weight Plasma displays are fairly heavy, and may need additional supports to be mounted onto a wall. LCD TVs weigh less than comparably sized plasma TVs. LCD TVs are considerably lighter, more portable, and cheaper to ship.

Durability Plasmas are very fragile making them tricky to ship and install. Unlike the commercials where plasmas are mounted on the ceiling, plasmas are best installed by a professional, and should be installed on a wall that can bear a good deal of weight. Much more durable than plasmas. End users can easily mount an LCD TV themselves if desired. LCD TVs are far less fragile than plasmas.

Shipping Due to their fragile nature, plasma TVs need to be shipped by specialty carriers. Overnight or fast delivery options are not recommended. Special shipping methods and their heavier weight add to higher shipping costs. Shipping LCD TVs is not difficult, and is not as expensive as shipping plasma displays. LCD TVs are lighter and far less fragile than plasma displays making shipping easier and less expensive.

Installation Plasmas are heavier, use more power, and run hotter than LCD TVs, and therefore require more planning when mounting them. Plasmas are generally best installed by professionals. End users can easily install LCD TVs themselves, or can use them just as they use a traditional TV using a stand. LCD TVs are much easier to install than plasma TVs.

Brightness/Contrast Plasma TVs report higher brightness and contrast levels than LCDs. Under ideal conditions (no ambient light) this is a true advantage of plasma technology, because LCD TVs are backlit and therefore light must be blocked to create blacks. Plasmas have individual pixels that either on or off, creating deeper blacks and better contrast. LCD TVs can often look better in 'real-world' situations. Plasmas are made with a special glass surface that can reflect light, which dulls the brightness and contrast of the image. LCD TVs reflect very little light, allowing them to maintain levels in well-lit rooms. Both LCD and plasma TVs will meet the brightness expectations of most consumers. However, in 'real world' situations with ambient light, LCD TVs will generally look a little brighter.

Thickness As thin as 3 inches deep. As thin as 2 inches deep. LCDs TVs are just a bit thinner.

Performance at High Altitude High altitudes can affect the performance of plasma displays because the gas held inside each pixel is stressed, and has to work harder to perform. Some manufacturers make plasmas that are specifically designed for high-altitudes, but they may be priced higher than standard models. LCD TVs are not affected by high altitudes. LCD TVs.