Would you rather buy an LCD TV or a PLASMA TV?

Question

My brother jsut bought a 50" plasma HDTV I have been thinkign about getting one for awhile now. From what I have been told by a few people is that LCD is better. But my brother said he did research and found out the PLASMA is much better what is your opinion?

Answer 1

LCD flatscreens are a lot lighter than Plasma TVs which weigh over a 100 lbs. Nevertheless, LCD flatscreens may have limited viewing angles and can suffer from dead pixels. While Plasma TVs are very suspectible to ghosting which is the result of having a fixed image inadvertently left on the screen for a long period of time. This fixed image will literally remain as a ghost image backgrounded to the screen. Usually the solution is to install a floating screen savers which is activated when the screen is not active.

And then there are rear projection LCD's and DLP's which use mirror panels and color wheels to filter and project a very large screen image [ranging from 65" to 72" diagonally measured]. The major concern is replacement cost of lamps which usually cost between $200 - $300 and last any number of hours depending on how the TV is shut off. Failing to properly shut down either LCD or DLP units which involves leaving on the main fan running for some 20 minutes -- will result in early failure of projection lamps. And there's the added concern regarding the use of "organic" material which make up the LCD panels/mirrors and usually causes the blue panel to fade over a period of time. So you may have to look forward to purchasing a new LCD projection TV. But getting back to DLP projection TV, there is the issue of viewers seeing the dreaded "rainbow effect" which are color flashes appear in highly contrasty dark scenes. Their sighting can cause headaches and is quite annoying to the viewers. And a possible cure is to choose a color wheel which operates faster than 3X; say 4X which seems to be the threshold speed that virtually eliminates the rainbow effect.

And finally, we should also consider the "ultimate, best" TV technology: "Front Projection."

You may well want to check out another technology: DLP front projection which produces a movie-like experience of HD television, DVDs, videos and games. And according to Consumer Reports, "front projection has a superior image -- better than CRT's, LCDs or plasma."

Check out the reviews for a "92" DLP generated [front projection] TV image at amazon.com by submitting the search query: "Infocus SP4805." There are any number of customer submitted pictures of projected HDTV image(s) along with other high-quality regular DVD-movie images projected on bare white wall surfaces. And the price for a refurbished ScreenPlay 4805 is about $550 with lamps costing around $330 which will last around 4,000 hours. Also check out various reviews at Consumer Reports [November 2005 & December 2006] in which front projection is rated "superior" to plasma, lcd.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Plasma is much better and a I have both, I just bought a plasma for my living room and moved the lcd to my bedroom and the plasma is a much better picture in hdtv, however the cost is substantially more for the plasma and if I was going to get another tv i would save the money and get a good lcd hdtv and spend the difference on a nice home theatre by bang & olfsen. Both tvs i have are 42" and I hang them both on the wall and the plasma is lighter and thinner than the lcd.

Answer 3

Ur bro was right, Plasma is a better technology as compared 2 LCD.., for the following reasons..
1)Wider viewing angle
2)Sharp drop in contrast when LCD's are viewed from an angle greater than 45 degrees
3) greater depth of colour in plasma technology
4) The working of an LCD screen is based on a Lamp, which has a limited life, so ur LCD screen's life will directly depend upon the number of hours you view it...

above all, Plasma has all the features that LCD boasts about...and keep in mind that since ur gonna get urself an LCD panel, u will view TV longer than u normally used 2.., so the Picture Lamp Life aspect isn't exactly ignorable...!!

Whatever u choose, make sure you choose wisely!! cuz an LCD or a plasma screen isn't a small investment by any means....

Also keep in mind..., Lamp replacements in LCD's dont come cheap...

Answer 4

You can't get better contrast or colour on a Sony compared to a Samsung because samsung are owned by Sony!!!! Samsungs are cracking units at the moment so yes it would be a buy, but you would be better off with an LCD. Samsung do an LCD now at 42" which is a Good size for LCD, and with LCD you won't get Gas Burnout which you get with Plasmas. Don't forget to get a HD Ready Unit though otherwise you will regret it when you can't watch the HD broadcast programs. If you get a DTV aswell then you won't need an external free to view box if you live in the UK

Answer 5

Plasma screens can suffer from 'plasma burn'. Where a logo on the screen, such as mtv, is in one place and you watch the channel a lot the logo becomes etched into the screen whatever channel you are watching. This does not happen with LCD, besides which LCD are a lot lighter to move if you need to.

Answer 6

Plasma has better resolution...LCD is less expensive. I have both... the 42" is an LCD that I got at wally-world for less than $700 and the plasma is a 35" that cost well over a thousand. You want to be careful of the RESOLUTION.... the one way they make LCD's cheap, is to decrease the resolution... be VERY watchful of that...


Either way... you want HDEF service for your satellite or cable to get the best results for either.... otherwise they are expensive overpriced paperweights...

Answer 7

lcd tv as they last longer,
sharper picture,
they don't suffer from burn-in effect like plasmas do.
you can replace the light source with an lcd,thereby
bringing back your original picture back,with plasma's you can't.

Answer 8

LCD, it is better. plasma will fade after a few years

Answer 9

LCD. Plasma is too expensive and has to be handled more carefully.

Answer 10

LCD lasts a lot longer... Tell your brother to take it back...

Seriously...