Plasma or LCD 42"

[Vespula]

Really sorry if this has been done to death before, but any advice welcome.

[E31Shrew]

HD ready...Pana 42X10

Full HD... Pana 42S10

Both with Free 5 year manufacturers warranty until end of Aug 09 at Indie dealers.

Or try the G10 OR G15 if you want Freesat HD built in.

Plasmas by the way!

[Vespula]

Thanks for the advice.

Her indoors only wanted a 42" plasma plus Bluray player for the BEDROOM FFS!

I managed to talk her out of it and settled for a 22" with built in DVD and freeview.

We already have a 37" in the living room, 32" in the dining room, a 19" in the kitchen, two surround sound systems, two iPods and two iPod dock sound systems and five flipping computers spread around the house!

So...managed to save a couple of quid today, but thanks anyway.

[Toffer]

Panasonic is a great AV brand recomendation...however I am not sure their plasmas are a lot more reliable than their competitors' products.

I would respectfully suggest that the new Panasonic VIERA LCD 42" is probably amongst the best 42" LCD TVs available and will still be working long after the plasma is dead!

LCD technology has progressed at an amazing rate and with the new wide viewing angles, coupled with HD resolution, great reliability and relatively low mass, I am not surprised that plasma is being left on the store shelf.

[Toffer]

This may be useful: -

http://shop.panasonic.co.uk/invt/txl42s10b

Good luck!

[Vespula]

Oh and I forgot to add - two Sky boxes with Sky+ HD Multi-Room or whatever.

[Plotloss]

If its available in the size set you're looking for, the sensible money ALWAYS backs Plasma.

[Papoo]

Plotloss, why is that? Dumb question I'm sure, but I'm about to invest in something circa 42", and unsure what the protocol is re plasma or LCD. It appears that plasma tends to be lower resolution, although that could be due to the price point I'm aiming at.

I'm in the US, if that makes a difference, looking to throw about $750-$850 at it, much as I'd like five feet of Pioneer goodness...

Thanks...

[Papoo]

Ok, a quick perusal brings me this - what do you make of it? I've had good experiences with Panasonic, so....
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/sho...

[Jazzer77]

I know bugger all about TV's but the advice here led me to buy a 42" HD ready Panasonic plasma and I couldnt be more chuffed. The set is excellent has way more features than I expected, a PH'er (Derestrictor?) owns a shop that has sensible prices on them.

[ToadHall]

I had this same problem when buying a TV... after some research. i found out that Plasma TV's are better for films and TV as they tend to have richer colours.. LCD is or was at the time new tech in TV hence the price being rather high.

Nower days LCD is just as good.... it depends what you want the tv for...

Your best bet is to go to a independent TV shop, they will educate you in the difference and what is best suited to your needs.

[Alex]

Plasma Plasma Plasma.

[PJ S]

Not a specific reply:
http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/articles/plasma-vs-...
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Technology/P...
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews...
http://www.plasma-lcd-facts.co.uk
http://www.cnet.com.au/plasma-vs-lcd-which-is-righ...

[PJ S]

Papoo said:

Ok, a quick perusal brings me this - what do you make of it? I've had good experiences with Panasonic, so....
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/sho...

If you're going to be sat 6-7' from the TV, then fine for B-R movies and games with 1080P native rendering - further back and you'll only perceive 720p/1080i HD quality broadcasts and B-R movies.
SD will look good, but slightly less so than the X1.

Given typical US home sizes, you'd be wise to put the extra to your budget and get a 50" TV as minimum, whether it be X1 or G10 (the latter's THX mode and other features/functionality being potentially worth the extra outlay, especially if amortised over the 3-5 years minimum, you're likely to use it for, before changing again).

[Plotloss]

Areas where Plasma wins

Colour
Contrast
Brightness
Motion Processing

Areas where LCD wins

Weight

[Papoo]

Plotloss said:

Areas where Plasma wins

Colour
Contrast
Brightness
Motion Processing

Areas where LCD wins

Weight

thanks..

50" just isn't happening, PJ. Nice as it would be, it just isn't allowed to be the centrepiece of the room! We're only getting it because we need to, we aren't massively into our home cinema, to be honest. It's just a not insignificant purchase, so wanted a couple of informed opinions...

[Mr2Mike]

Plotloss said:

Areas where Plasma wins

Colour
Contrast
Brightness
Motion Processing

Areas where LCD wins

Weight

LCDs have no potential burn in issues. Motion processing is down to the motion processing electronics, not the screen technology. LCD also has lower power requirements.

[cjs]

Mr2Mike said:

Plotloss said:

Areas where Plasma wins

Colour
Contrast
Brightness
Motion Processing

Areas where LCD wins

Weight

LCDs have no potential burn in issues. Motion processing is down to the motion processing electronics, not the screen technology. LCD also has lower power requirements.

No real issues with 'burn' on modern Plasmas.

Sorry, it is the LCD refresh rate that causes blur/motion processing.

Power, I'll give you that, but, who cares! TBH there is not a lot in it with newer plasmas.

[PJ S]

Mr2Mike said:

Plotloss said:

Areas where Plasma wins

Colour
Contrast
Brightness
Motion Processing

Areas where LCD wins

Weight

LCDs have no potential burn in issues. Motion processing is down to the motion processing electronics, not the screen technology. LCD also has lower power requirements.

Nope, all myths and legends nowadays.

LCD vs Plasma:
Power - much the same as LCD is steady state (better ones have backlight control, but this often changes the contrast ratio when used) and Plasma is variable depending on the scene being displayed. Over prolonged period of usage, there's not enough in it to proclaim LCD is more efficient, that actually means any real true saving on electricity.

Motion blur - you're right to a degree, the better the electronics used to drive the LCD panel, will help, but it's the LCD panel itself which is the inherent limiting factor, not the power of the electronics. You could program a Cray Supercomputer to do all manner of wonderful algorithms, but the rise and fall time of the pixels firing, is what keeps the best resolution to around 700 with a 1080P native panel and signal, whereas Plasma can achieve full resolution.

Screenburn - something that plagued Plasma up to a few years ago, but now the only potential problem you'll encounter is temporary image retention, which fades away with a change to another channel.
At most, you need to respect the Plasma panel for the first 1-200 hours of use, using low contrast/brightness levels on the "Cinema/Movie" setting.
Some LCD panels have suffered screenburn, albeit faint, but there nonetheless - but those have been the very cheap no-name ones.

[deadslow]

Thinking of buying Samsung Plasma 50" freeview, cheap out of Makro on Wednesday. Model PS50B430.

Anyone recommend it?