32 replies to this topic

[alicetheauto]

I was under the impression that plasma tvs have a built in lifespan of 5 years max until the plasma breaks down?i couldnt justify spending that money KNOWING that in 5 years it would be dead.

[Big Sam]

Plasmas typically have a lifespan on 30,000 to 60,000 hours. Or 3.4 years of constant use (24/7) to just 7 years.

Where as LCD's are guaranteed for a minimum of 60,000 hours usually.

[Gr4h4m]

www.avforums.com all you need to know...

For me it came down to looking at them I went to an AV show in Bristol. For my eyes, Plasma was better for movies and flesh tones, LCD better at digital images like cartoons.. I bet most retail stores will be showing HD cartoon movies on the LCD screens.

It depends on so many things like the quality of your inputs.. quality of the cables, then you can get them calibrated at home to improve picture quality. Do you want sound to run from a separate amp, (I just got a panel) the list goes on...

In the end I got fed up of looking at reviews, and went out with my own eyes to look at the options for my budget... and choose a plasma....

Want to know how big to go... as a rough guide you should be sat away from the screen 3 to 3.5 time the screen size listed in the shop. I.E 42" = 126" to your sofa Its just they look so small in the shops when there is so many big TV's next to each other

[Big Sam]

quality of the cables,

Apart from HDMI cables, where a £5 is no different from a £30 one. The Gadget show did a fairly comprehensive test on this a while back.

[Gr4h4m]

quality of the cables,

Apart from HDMI cables, where a £5 is no different from a £30 one. The Gadget show did a fairly comprehensive test on this a while back.

I was thinking of Mark Grant cables that are broadcast quality not something off of the shelf. I use his cables for component inputs and they made a massive difference over standard ship cables.

[kez_19]

we bought a 46" lcd toshiba last year and we were told that if you plan to use the tv in conjunction with the pc as we do (we got rid of our dvd players and use the pc to see films etc) then the lcd was the way to go for the same reason as mentioned already that they can burn images logo's and screen savers etc

i have been very happy with it and it dosent matter where we sit in the living room the picture quality is as good

hope this helps

michael

[Jammy]

I prefer plasmas myself. They are a lot brighter and vibrant by nature of their design when compared to LCDs. As others have said they seem to have generally got rid of the burning problem, and a Toshiba I saw had a function that it completely wiped the screen if needed. The other reason I like plasmas is that when watching fast moving things like football, with the cheaper LCDs you get this squarish blurring around the players, ball, etc which you don't get with plasmas. This rumour about plasmas needing regassing was always just a myth.

[jwb_moto]

I not sure if its still the same but your not supposed to lay a plasma tv down as it buggers the gas up (makes it difficult for transporting them) whereas with lcd it doesnt matter a tosh.

[Gr4h4m]

I not sure if its still the same but your not supposed to lay a plasma tv down as it buggers the gas up (makes it difficult for transporting them) whereas with lcd it doesnt matter a tosh.

Nothing to do with the gas... its because you can crack the screen as they are so large...

[Pie]

Right, thought id put in my 2cents.

Im an AV Tech/Installion Engineer, and we usually get people asking this question so;

Plasma technology consists hundreds of thousands of individual pixel cells, which allow electric pulses to excite rare natural gases-usually xenon and neon-causing them to glow and produce light. This light illuminates the proper balance of red, green, or blue phosphors contained in each cell to display the proper color sequence from the light. Each pixel cell is essentially an individual microscopic florescent light bulb, receiving instruction from software contained on the rear electrostatic silicon board. Look very closely at a plasma TV and you can actually see the individual pixel cell coloration of red, green, and blue bars. You can also see the black ribs which separate each

All LCD displays (whether spread across a flat-panel screen or placed in the heart of a projector) come from the same technological background. A matrix of thin-film transistors (TFTs) supplies voltage to liquid-crystal-filled cells sandwiched between two sheets of glass. When hit with an electrical charge, the crystals untwist to an exact degree to filter white light generated by a lamp behind the screen (for flat-panel TVs) or one projecting through a small LCD chip (for projection TVs). LCD TVs reproduce colors through a process of subtraction: They block out particular color wavelengths from the spectrum of white light until they're left with just the right color. And, it's the intensity of light permitted to pass through this liquid-crystal matrix that enables LCD televisions to display images chock-full of colors-or gradations of them.

Plasma color richness and naturalness will prevail in rooms with lower to normal lighting. LCDs will be better in very brightly lit rooms due to their inherent anti glare technology and brightness.

Plasma manufacturers make much of their screens with 160° viewing angles, which is about as good as horizontal and vertical viewing angles get. This owes to the fact that each pixel produces its own light, rather than light being spread across the screen from one central source. Hence, each pixel is more readily visible because its brightness is consistent with every other pixel on the screen. One consistent area of superiority of plasma viewing angles is demonstrated when viewing dark material content, especially DVDs. A Plasma display holds the black levels from off axis, while LCD TVs lose black level intensity more as the angle off axis increases. This usually occurs after around 90 degrees.

As for life span, both LCD and Plasma are about the same.

The general rule we go buy is that if its for television/dvd use then Plasma. If you using it as a computer moniter LCD.

Hope that helps you out somehow.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[Jimmy Hat]

Plasmas are much, much heavier than LCDs. They put out a lot more heat as well. They've also always looked slightly more grainy to me than LCDs, which is why we bought an LCD. Next ones gonna be plasma though purely for price reasons - you can get a bigger plasma (say 50") for the same money as a smaller LCD...

Apart from HDMI cables, where a £5 is no different from a £30 one. The Gadget show did a fairly comprehensive test on this a while back.

Try telling my uncle that a 5 quid HDMI cable's no different to a £30 one. He's just paid 200 quid for one... Muppet

Edited by Jimmy Hat, 04 February 2009 - 09:34 PM.

[Pie]

Plasmas are much, much heavier than LCDs. They put out a lot more heat as well. They've also always looked slightly more grainy to me than LCDs, which is why we bought an LCD. Next ones gonna be plasma though purely for price reasons - you can get a bigger plasma (say 50") for the same money as a smaller LCD...

Apart from HDMI cables, where a £5 is no different from a £30 one. The Gadget show did a fairly comprehensive test on this a while back.

Try telling my uncle that a 5 quid HDMI cable's no different to a £30 one. He's just paid 200 quid for one... Muppet

Prices on Plasma and LCD can be very close if you look around (i.e dont compare currys, comet, and Argos!) look around. Go to AV specialists and look around online.

I've worked for two AV companies. The first one is a huge company and does a lot of international ahows such as the Dubai International Airshow, NEVER would I buy an LCD for use as a tv.

[Paul Wiginton]

Theres a lot of for and against for both it would seem. LCD have come a long way from when I bought my plasma.
Id say buy the one you like the look of and thats in your budget regardless of whether its LCD or plasma.

Paul

PS, just a though, although I like LG TVs, I wont buy another as ive just had Sky fitted and you cant program the remote to operate the TV controls

Edited by Paul Wiginton, 05 February 2009 - 08:17 AM.

[sreeve8]

i work in tesco, and sell tvs.
i was told thats, plasma tvs are better for watching movies and gaming especially in the dark, as the brightness and contrats is generall better.
they say that LCD tv's are better for watching sport and normal tele in normal light conditions.
additionally i would never go by the picture in the shop. at tesco ther are proberly 40+ tv's all runing of several spliters using cheap scart leads and ariel leads, going into either a cheap dvd player or a sky box. additionaly the amount of people that come and play with the settings is unreal.

the screens on lcds are alot easier to damage espicailly if u have kids, and the no mark pretty bad. modern day plasma do not suffer from the burn effect, and as some one pointe out, it usualy gone withing a few minuites. additionaly and expesive lcd will out performed and inexpensive plasma and vice versa.

if i was you i would persoally go with plasma, made by a good company and with a decent warranty then i think you can go wrong

[Pie]

i work in tesco, and sell tvs.
i was told thats, plasma tvs are better for watching movies and gaming especially in the dark, as the brightness and contrats is generall better.
they say that LCD tv's are better for watching sport and normal tele in normal light conditions.
additionally i would never go by the picture in the shop. at tesco ther are proberly 40+ tv's all runing of several spliters using cheap scart leads and ariel leads, going into either a cheap dvd player or a sky box. additionaly the amount of people that come and play with the settings is unreal.

the screens on lcds are alot easier to damage espicailly if u have kids, and the no mark pretty bad. modern day plasma do not suffer from the burn effect, and as some one pointe out, it usualy gone withing a few minuites. additionaly and expesive lcd will out performed and inexpensive plasma and vice versa.

if i was you i would persoally go with plasma, made by a good company and with a decent warranty then i think you can go wrong

Also the lighting in stores is so much brighter than in your home.
Most people tend to watch movies with the lights off and curtains shut to get that 'Cinema effect', Some people don't notice it but next time you walk into Morrisons/Tescos/currys/comet/apollo etc have a look at how bright the lighting is and how well lit the shop is.