Jason Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 My wife and I will be buying a new TV in March. From the research I have done it would appear that plasma provides the best picture. The concern is from glare or bright lighting. If you have a plasma, especially a newer one, how much difference does it really make? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 [quote name='Jason' timestamp='1359861066' post='1212736'] My wife and I will be buying a new TV in March. From the research I have done it would appear that plasma provides the best picture. The concern is from glare or bright lighting. If you have a plasma, especially a newer one, how much difference does it really make? [/quote] Plasma definitely can have a good amount of glare. How many windows are in the room you are putting it in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 5 windows and a door that is mostly glass. All have blinds though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigris Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Older plasma upstairs and it SUCKS balls. You can't watch movies like Underworld. The entire screen is black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Jason just get an LED LCD HDTV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 [quote name='Bunghole' timestamp='1359864770' post='1212746'] Jason just get an LED LCD HDTV. [/quote] X2 Plus, plasmas still have an issue with color fade... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 [quote name='Bunghole' timestamp='1359864770' post='1212746'] Jason just get an LED LCD HDTV. [/quote] Why? Everything I have read says plasma has a better picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 [quote name='Jason' timestamp='1359896926' post='1212760'] Why? Everything I have read says plasma has a better picture. [/quote] I won't buy anything but plasma for myself. led and LCD simply can't handle motion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 [quote name='gatorclaws' timestamp='1359899601' post='1212763'] I won't buy anything but plasma for myself. led and LCD simply can't handle motion. [/quote] Yeah, the 600 Hz from the plasma, and the blacker black is the draw for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 I have 2 plasma TVs and one LCD TV. The Plasmas seem to have deeper, richer colors. And an all around better pic ... to me anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigris Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Then why is my parent's plasma so shitty when it comes to contrast? It's like it cat distinguish between light and dark. My LCD is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 [quote name='Tigris' timestamp='1359912331' post='1212779'] Then why is my parent's plasma so shitty when it comes to contrast? It's like it cat distinguish between light and dark. My LCD is awesome. [/quote] could be the settings, brand, age, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 I do like my plasma screen. The colors are so much richer. I do generally have to make sure the blinds are closed, because you do get more glare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 though you can use the plasma as a space heater in the winter.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Are the new plasmas as prone to image burn from video games? I have heard they are a lot better than they used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullichicken25 Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 The picture quality is better, but it's not leaps and bounds better. Most people that aren't "purists" wouldn't see a tremendous difference. You have to take into consideration what you plan on using the tv for primarily and the room your keeping it in. If you plan on watching tons of Bly rays in a lighting controlled room, I'd opt for the plasma. However, if your going to be watching cable TV in a regular living room I'd go with the LED and not worry about any of the aforementioned issues with plasma. Most, if not all, cable TV is broadcast in 720p or 1080i at 60hz. Chances are that will be your limiting factor for any set, more so than your tv choice, as far as picture quality is concerned. I fought this battle myself a few months ago....ended up with a Samsung LED and can't imagine a product that could fill my TV needs any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khatmandude Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Jason, I think the blacker blacks, which you stated was the draw with plasma, are not significantly better than what LED and/or LCD/LED offer these days. The contrast ratio for a plasma is in the millions or tens of millions to 1, written as 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Well, LEDs also have comparable contrast ratios to the point that the naked eye cannot discern the difference. This is the same with refresh rates. 60hz vs 120hz vs 240hz refresh rate.......I can't tell a difference really except for rare times during sporting events. I'm sure there is a measurable difference if tested but again, it's the human eye that's going to be observing, not test equipment. Plasmas are not a bad choice by any means but they do require much more energy to run, emit heat like noone's bidniss so summertime can be an issue, are MUCH heavier, cost much more to repair and end up costing you much more than an LED or LCD in the long run. The prices on them are attractive though but again, they end up being more expensive IMO in the long run. I like to keep up on technology and consider myself well versed, especially when it comes to TV's and I personally wouldn't choose a plasma over LED unless initial pricing was the biggest consideration. You're an engineer right? Dish out a few hundred more bucks and get a badass Samsung LED tv. You'll be happy you did. Samsung's 8000 series LED TV's are fantastic and always get the highest ratings on trustworthy sites. Good luck. TV shopping is fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khatmandude Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 This is also great advice from mullichicken's post above: [quote]If you plan on watching tons of Bly rays in a lighting controlled room, I'd opt for the plasma. However, if your going to be watching cable TV in a regular living room I'd go with the LED and not worry about any of the aforementioned issues with plasma.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 [quote name='Khatmandude' timestamp='1360088328' post='1213180'] This is the same with refresh rates. 60hz vs 120hz vs 240hz refresh rate.......I can't tell a difference really except for rare times during sporting events. I'm sure there is a measurable difference if tested but again, it's the human eye that's going to be observing, not test equipment. [/quote] I very strongly disagree with this. Sports do not look good on a LED/LCD and are very noticable worse than plasma. For me at least. I tried out a high end Samsung LED and had to return it after a week as the picture bugged me. Ended up with a plasma at half the price with a better picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vol_Bengal Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 [quote name='gatorclaws' timestamp='1360089291' post='1213182'] I very strongly disagree with this. Sports do not look good on a LED/LCD and are very noticable worse than plasma. For me at least. I tried out a high end Samsung LED and had to return it after a week as the picture bugged me. Ended up with a plasma at half the price with a better picture. [/quote] This. I looked at plasma and LCD both and was watching the same videos on both at the same time and the higher speed shows (particularly action, sporting events,etc.) the refresh or "flicker" to the LCD ruined it. Almost felt like it had a blur. Personally, I liked the way that what I was watching on the plasma flowed so smoothly... just worked better for me. I don't have burn in when the kids will occasionally put their game systems on it and leave em, and from a heat standpoint you can control a little bit of that based on what setting you put the tv on. If you have a "darker" room and can modify down to the cinema / movie settings where the screen is darker as well there is little to no heat... you select the brightest setting on the tv then yes, you have some heat. But, to me, that has little to no influence on my buying decision... nobody is sitting close enough to even notice it or it become any type of issue. And, the amount of color fade / burn out that plasma's have... do some research. These things are rated for like avg use of 4-5 hours each day will provide 20 years of use. The only time you really see the faded plasma screens is at the bars / sports bars where they're on for 14 ours a day 7 days a week... which would cut down their useful life substantially. Just my opinion. Oh, and Samsung's are hard to beat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khatmandude Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 [quote name='gatorclaws' timestamp='1360089291' post='1213182'] I very strongly disagree with this. Sports do not look good on a LED/LCD and are very noticable worse than plasma. For me at least. I tried out a high end Samsung LED and had to return it after a week as the picture bugged me. Ended up with a plasma at half the price with a better picture. [/quote] Yeah, I was a little hesitant about writing that about the refresh rates but for 95% of programming, it's not discernible.....sports are about the only thing I could tell the higher refresh rate. I have a Samsung LED that sports look fantastic on. The picture pops and the "blurriness" is not really noticeable if at all although this tv is 240hz. Not seeing what you guys are but not invalidating what you're saying either. Maybe the LCD/LED you guys tested the picture on was of not such good quality? If plasma, Panasonic also makes fantastic plasmas as that's what they focus their attention on for the most part in the TV arena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esjbh2 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 In regards to the last few posts, let me offer the following data points. I have an older Samsung LCD with the old standard 60Hz refresh rate and sports and other fast action sequences are admittedly blurry. However I also have a newer Vizio LED/LCD with 240 Hz refresh rate and it's beautiful and not blurry that I've ever detected. Changing channels, especially on digital channels is radically different too....very slow/painful on older set and as fast as you can click with the newer one. So be careful when lumping all LCD/LED's into one basket. As with most technology, things are constantly evolving, changing, and hopefully improving. When I did in depth comparisons between LCD/LED versus Plasma at a couple purchase points, I chose LCD/LED, but your mileage may vary. The deal breaker for me with Plasma was always burn in and far reduced life expectancy. Spending a grand or more for something with limited life-cycle just didn't sit well with me. However, taking my own advice above regarding stereotyping evolving technology, I'll reserve judgement as for all I know these issues may have been resolved with newer Plasmas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigris Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 You know how I choose the better TV? I go to Walmart or Best Buy and pick out the screen most appealing to me. I then search for the cheapest ones in my area. Bam! And you're done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 I generally look at the ratings on cnet, or I did last time I bought a tv. About 7 years ago I bought a sony LCD , it was exactly the make and model I wanted and it was a return cause it had speakers permanently mounted to the sides. I bought it in Florida at Circuit City. About two years ago, the screen went green. It started with a "green blob" then everything was tinted green. My wife googled "Sony Green Blob" and sure enough there was an issue with it. There was a class action or something, but by the time I'd noticed it, the recall or whatever had expired. So I'm living in Canada, obviously don't still have my receipt and Circuit City has been out of business for years. I take a picture of the back of my tv, take a picture of the screen while the Assassins Creed title page is on it, then email Sony Canada to see what they can do. Not a week later, I get an email with a legal form saying that if I refuse to blame Sony, they will send me a free tv. I sent the paper back signed and a week later, a delivery guy brings me a brand new Sony Bravia! Didn't even take the old tv away so I gave it to my grandgirls to play video games on . A lot of people rag on Sony, but I thought that was amazing customer service! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esjbh2 Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 [quote name='Jim Finklestein' timestamp='1360206971' post='1213382'] I generally look at the ratings on cnet, or I did last time I bought a tv. About 7 years ago I bought a sony LCD , it was exactly the make and model I wanted and it was a return cause it had speakers permanently mounted to the sides. I bought it in Florida at Circuit City. About two years ago, the screen went green. It started with a "green blob" then everything was tinted green. My wife googled "Sony Green Blob" and sure enough there was an issue with it. There was a class action or something, but by the time I'd noticed it, the recall or whatever had expired. So I'm living in Canada, obviously don't still have my receipt and Circuit City has been out of business for years. I take a picture of the back of my tv, take a picture of the screen while the Assassins Creed title page is on it, then email Sony Canada to see what they can do. Not a week later, I get an email with a legal form saying that if I refuse to blame Sony, they will send me a free tv. I sent the paper back signed and a week later, a delivery guy brings me a brand new Sony Bravia! Didn't even take the old tv away so I gave it to my grandgirls to play video games on . A lot of people rag on Sony, but I thought that was amazing customer service! [/quote] Wow, nothing that awesome ever happens to me. Great story. Amazing customer service indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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