LCDTV or plasma?

Question

replacing the family TV, as it is 6 years since I bought a new one,what are the main differences and which are best?

Answer 1

To make the process of selecting the right HDTV display for you we’ll provide an overview of the market and link to reviews and more information. Retrevo selects LCD TV reviews and Plasma TV reviews from some of the most respected reviewers of HDTV displays.

LCD vs. PLasma

By far the most popular TVs sold today are either LCD or Plasma. LCD TVs have enjoyed pricing benefits from using the same screens manufactured for computers but only up to a moderate size. Plasma TVs have the pricing edge on displays in the over 50 inch department.

Bruce Berkoff who heads up the LCD TV Association advises consumers to buy 32” and smaller sets today before they become less available and more expensive later this year. At he same time Berkoff predicts that 47” to 52” LCD TVs will come down in price in time for the holiday shopping season.

LED backlighting is starting to show up in laptop LCD displays like the MacBook Pro, replacing fluorescent backlights. White LEDs provide a brighter screen with increased contrast. Future TVs will not only offer white LED backlights but will also add red, green, and blue LED backlights that will enhance the whole image quality. Bruce Berkoff adds a dose of reality, “I wouldn’t expect to see LED backlights in affordable LCD TVs for at least a year and maybe two.”

Best Plasma TVs

Pioneer still leads the market with the highest rated Plasma displays. The Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1, incorporates all the latest plasma technology like Deep Encased Cell Structure to produce images that reviewers say are artifact-free, rich, and natural. This 50 inch display can be purchased for well under $4,000. All the reviews for the Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1 are on Retrevo. The new Panasonic TH-50PX77U uses an antiglare coating to reduce one of the objectionable problems with plasma displays. This TV gets high marks from reviewers and users for accurate colors and deep blacks. It costs less than $2,000.

Best LCD TVs

You’ll pay about $2,500 for the Sharp Aquos LC52D62U, a 52” LCD TV but you’ll be buying one of the top rated models that gets high marks for image quality, contrast levels, and shadow detail. The 40 inch Sony BRAVIA KDL-40XBR2 costs a little over $2,000. It offers a very wide viewing angle and has been consistently mentioned among the top rated LCD TVs for over a year. Read the reviews for the Sony BRAVIA KDL-40XBR2 at Retrevo. At $800, the Olevia Synrax Brillan is one of the best values on the market for a 37 inch LCD TV. It doesn’t support 1080p resolution but on a TV this size, that shouldn’t be a big issue.

We hope this helps. If you need more information on any consumer electronics check out http://www.retrevo.com and browse through our search engine of manuals, reviews, products or keep up on the latest consumer electronics news and insights through our blog at http://blog.retrevo.com/.

Cheers,
The Retrevo Team

Answer 2

you can have both HDTV and 1080p in either plasma or lcd plasma and lcd are two different technologies: plasma is cheaper and has better colours, but lcd is less of a hassle. See, plasma has this thing called burn-in, where any image that lingers for long on the screen (including non-transparent channel logos; actually the reason why there ARE transparent channel logos) gets "burned into" the tv, meaning that first you get a residual image temporarily, and if you keep it on for real long, then it may stay forever. Your favourite video game's health bar, your third-world country channel logos, and your anime's subtitles are prime candidates for burn-in. And if you want to hook it up to a computer and use it a lot for anything but movies, then don't go for plasma unless you want to worry, A LOT. For TV only, plasma is both better and cheaper, though. This written by someone using a Plasma TV as an external monitor for his laptop, with this website on his plasma, and him worrying a lot about burn-in constantly and therefore having to do ridiculous stuff like constantly scrolling around webpages he's surfing through just so they don't burn in. Needless to say, I just didn't have the cash for a 50 inch LCD and went for plasma instead. As to HDTV and 1080p, those are ALMOST the same thing. HDTV comes in two versions, 1080p and 720p (there's also 1080i, but that's just marketing obfuscation - you DON'T want that, ever, period). 1080p provides more pixels (dots), so a higher-resolution picture, but ONLY from a 1080p source. For those that know their computers, 1080p is 1920x1080 pixels, and 720p is (confusingly) actually 1366x768 pixels. If you don't have 1080p broadcasting or cable in your area, it might just be a waste. Even modern consoles generally use 720p. And if you want to watch downloaded content (don't pirate, of course!) from your computer, 720p and a VGA input (also called D-sub for reasons we'll never understand - it IS the same thing) are quite sufficient 99.9% of the time. And cheaper. Basically, the prices go like this for any given size in inches: 720p plasma (cheapest) - 720p LCD - 1080p plasma - 1080p LCD (most expensive). The most convenient-to-use and hassle-free are 720p and 1080p LCDs. The cheapest and best bang for your money are 720p plasmas, superior to 720p LCDs (picture- and price-wise) in every way if you're ready to take care of them by making sure you don't leave paused movies, computer desktops, etc. on them, don't fall asleep without a sleep timer and let the last screen of a movie burn in, and don't play console games.

Answer 3

There are a lot of pros and cons to either of them. But there are a few major scenarios that can make your decision easier. If your family watches one channel all the time or your kids play a lot of video games, get a LCD. They do not burn in as easily. TV channels that have their little logo in the corner, could easily burn its impression in a plasma in a few weeks (especially if your husband watches ESPN all the time, or you watch E, or vice versa, or any channel that has to promote itself 24 hours a day).
If what I described above doesn't apply to your family, then you can save money and get a plasma..if it does, a LCD is the way to go.
If you don't plan on putting the TV on the wall, or you can spare a few extra inches in the TV location, I would highly recommend looking into a LCD rear projection TV (Sony's) or a DLP(Samsung -- or Mitsubishi if you have kids). You get a lot more bang for your buck with those. Rear projection LCD's have brilliant color and are great for regular families. Sport and video game oriented families tend to enjoy DLP's abit more. I love the sony rear projection LCD, own a Samsung DLP, and only recommend Mitsubishi's DLP when the family has kids(the screen is basically an indestructibe shield that will prevent you from beating your kid when a soccer ball gets launched into it). Hope that helps abit.

Answer 4

Myself and twisted have answered this question many a time.

What I don't know is the size of the tv, if 32" then you have only one choice LCD.

If you want bigger then you have the choice, bear in mind what you watch will determine what tv you require.

If you watch sports, gaming, fast action movies then plasma. It is that easy. A plasma has better contrast ratio and brightness then a lcd, overall a better picture.

As to comments about screen burn, this only applies to THOSE that dont read the instruction manual!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

The gas inside will last upto 30,000-60,000 viewing hours ( you will be updating your tv by then )

wg

Answer 5

FYI
http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/0,239035250,240036500,00.htm

Answer 6

Go with LCD as Plasma is more likely to get Screen Burn in and requires more of a darkened room. LCD seems to be the way of the future for the digital tv market.

Answer 7

I just bought an LCD myself. They last longer and they dont have a glare as bad as the plasmas do. Both have pretty much the same picture quality and the LCD's are usually cheaper.

Answer 8

Well, it's good to see the old, "Dur, I don't know nuffink about TVs, but buy one of dem LCD ones" brigade are out on force.

If you want to know the truth, check out the link below:

Answer 9

On energy consumption alone, I would go with the LCD. But plasma tends to be heavier as well and suffer from burning in. But if you have the money, forget both and go with DLP.

Answer 10

LCDTV without a doubt, based on the consensus of other responses.