mike82

which is better?

i'm looking at:
63" widescreen plasma HDTV PN63A650 - plasma - TV | SAMSUNG

jimboone

I would go for a LCD my self or even better LED.

Plasma are like normal tv's but super flat. and heavier then LCD & LED.

Fat Tom

i like both

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edward_b

I got a 46" 1080 HD Panasonic plasma and love it...although I hear the new Samsung LED 55" kicks everything else's ass. Friend of mine tested one out last night at a store and was blown away with the picture quality.

acemenace

Check out the new LED - saw it yesterday at Sears. Fucking amazing clarity. Although I dont think they have it in 62" yet. Largest is 42"

nvanprooyen

My neighbor has the Samsung LED. The picture quality is unbelievable.

LCI09

It really depends on what you are looking for. That TV looks nice and i have owned a plasma samsung and it worked great. They say that plasmas use more energy than LCD's and also can burn out faster than LCD's. I guess that is the sacrifice you pay though for a crisper picture.

gdubs12345

i just got a 46' sony bravia. But the picture isnt as clear as i thought it would be. I havent got hdmi cables for it yet, though.

HD channels look ok, but regular channels look awful

bprimeelite

LED > LCD
LCD > Plasma

metafever

All I know is that my 60 in plasma heats up my media room.

Good thing the thermostat is installed there so I can bump it down easy enough.

turbolapp

1080 > 720

nuff said.

outperform

crestind

Definitely LCD. Or wait for OLEDs.

coolguy20

Just got a 52" Samsung LCD (new 2009 edition) and really disappointed. Its a decent enough TV, but the quality difference between this and the DLP I had are negligible compared to the smaller size.

Worse yet the 52" Samsung LCDs are aren't much less then the 55" Samsung LEDs. Seems like its worth spending literally a couple hundred bucks more for the much better LED models.

NOTE: Amazon rocks for buying TVs, white glove delivery kicked ass, and it got here just a few days after ordering. Too bad the TV just doesn't live up.

Moxie

Well, the quality can only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. The most expensive TV is nothing without hd cables.

"Regular" channels and the way they are transmitted were designed for regular televisions. HDTVs have to take these lower resolutions and "stretch" them out to fit. Lowering the contrast and other settings can make the regular channels look better.

adamx12m

I've got a 3 year old 50" Pioneer plasma and it's picture is much better than the year old Sony Bravia 46". I'd get plasma if your primarily watching for movies, tv shows, sports. LCD if you have any gaming desires attached and your concerned about power usage. I still don't think LCD's have that great of clarity when viewed from a side angle still.

bprimeelite

Also I think a bigger debate is brand instead of LCD/Plasma/LED. There are some brands such as Sony that kick ass in 1080 and you can get the same size and resolution in another brand and it not even look the same.

keliix06

I hate my plasma and I'll never buy another one. I have 2 LCDs and both are very nice. I also have a DLP and love it. The next TV I'll get will be an LED because those are absolutely amazing, but it'll be a couple years before I start upgrading anything.

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geekcognito

I bought a Samsung 50" 1080p plasma (don't know the exact model number offhand) in November and it's pretty damn sweet. I really only watch Blu-Ray movies, football, the History Channel, and Seinfeld reruns for the most part.

The only thing I would have done differently is go for the 120HZ instead of 60HZ but since it was only $1,500 brand new from Best Buy and the epitome of an impulse buy (I only went in for an external hard drive) I can't complain.

In August (just in time for football season) I'll be upgrading to another Samsung plasma but 120HZ this time for the living room and I'll likely move the 50" 60HZ I have now into the bedroom or the office. Dunno yet.

I know that plasma vs. LCD debates can go on forever and ever but to me, LCDs - no matter how top-end the model - just don't have that "Holy shit that's awesome" factor that plasmas do.

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makethatgreen

Word. I've got a 52" Hitachi Plasma in my room and it heats up the room like a mother...

ncmedia

Just got a full hd 52" Aquos LCD - 1920x1080 - not an aff link just found it on google images - Thing is beautiful (noticing it's discontinued now though - great...), I think it will be a while before LED still reaches its full potential but they do look sick already!! When I was choosing it I was anal and compared it to all the others and plasmas, amazing how uncalibrated some of them are by default despite the size/price.

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gdubs12345

is there a much of a difference if you use hdmi cables instead of the blue,red,green cables?
My picture is kind of shitty, im not sure if thats the problem or not

geekcognito

Only suckers pay for HDMI cables. Your picture will be crystal clear if you use a coaxial cable instead.

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Moxie

How many devices have coaxial outputs nowadays, though? The blue/red/green cable would be component, which is considered hd. So the hdmi shouldn't look much different.

monoprice.com for cheap cables

BradleyT2p2

Word. Returned the $60 HDMI cable after buying 46" Samsung LCD because it didn't do shit.

sasquatch

I've got a friend that repairs TVs for a living. He said, get the LCD or LED instead of the plasma and be sure to get the extended warranty. Replacement boards and light engines can cost more than the TV did new.

natewitt

50 inch Samsung Plasma here...beat out every LCD at the time I bought it over a year ago ....dunno about now...


What kind of retard would buy a 3K tv and not pop for some 15 dollar HDMI cables?

turpentine

plasma has far superior black levels and color contrast dollar for dollar in the higher end. This will be true for some time to come until OLED comes about or whatever new tech they want to tout. it is just the way a plasma works lending it to be better looking and more pleasing colors and contrast. I say this owning both high end lcds and plasmas and the plasmas look better.

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Pseudo Nym

Lovely to see companies like Samsung promulgating confusing technology nomenclature. What they and nearly everyone in this thread are referring to as "LED" TVs still use an LCD panel to form the image, they just use LEDs arrays for the backlight. Conventional LCDS have a fluorescent backlight. The difference is primarily that you get better colors with an LED backlight LCD. In the near future, local-dimming LED backlit LCDs may provide near-CRT black levels, but possibly at the expense of losing details in darker areas.

I agree with dickbutt up there that plasmas are probably still the best bet for the time being if you're after the absolute best image quality. Plasmas have superior black levels and contrast ratios vs. LCDs (LED backlit or otherwise), though not quite to the level of a good CRT. They also don't suffer picture degradation at off-axis viewing angles like LCDs do. However, burn-in is potentially an issue. Oh, and plasmas are nothing like normal TVs, for whoever said that, except perhaps in terms of black levels and off-axis viewing. Otherwise, they're completely different technologies.

One interesting technology that provides what is probably the best image quality you can currently buy is Mitsubishi's Laservue. It's a rear projection DLP-based display that uses lasers as the light source in lieu of a conventional lamp. The reviews say that it results in some of the most vivid colors and detail you can get. It's also significantly more energy efficient than LCDs or plasma (and therefore runs cooler). The downsides are that it's rear projection so it's not as slim as LCD or plasma, and suffers a bit from off-axis viewing (typical of rear projection). It's also more expensive.

So to summarize:
LCD (conventional backlight): good picture, average power consumption, slim, average price
LCD (LED backlight): basically the same with a bit better picture
Plasma: better picture, black levels, off axis viewing, may use more energy/run hotter
Laservue: best picture, best power consumption, not slim, off-axis viewing suffers a bit, most expensive
OLED: will probably have the best picture yet, still a couple years out, will be expensive initially


edit: I want to add that the quality of all these display technologies is at such a high level these days that really only videophiles are likely to notice the difference. If you're asking a question like "is LCD or plasma better?", then go ahead and buy that LCD you saw at the big-box store. Just pick whichever one looks good to you, because it'll more than likely be good enough for you.

Netphase

Same here. I would not trade my Samsung Plasma for any current LCD.

brentdev

i prefer the two lcd's i have over the plasma one has replaced.. more crisp, sharper colors compared to the plasma + the added convenience of being able to wall-mount the thing. Now that being said, I'm still comparing new LCD tvs vs an old plasma thats probably outdated... go into a best buy and compare for yourself, then find a deal online when u want to buy

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Godspeed

It can't get much better than this(for now)

turpentine

that thin display looks EXCITING.
too bad its not the same size bracket he is looking at.
plasmas also are made in the ultra thin variety though...
just buy a fucking tv and enjoy it. unless you work with color all day and can tell matte black from mars black you probably can't tell the difference in tvs.

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droplister

I bought a 42" - 46" (Really have no clue at this point) 1080p Sharp Aquos when it was still pretty top of the line, now I see models 1/2 as thick as mine. Buying a tv is like buying a computer. It's going to suck comparatively in a few months no matter what you do.

I barely watch tv anymore, it was definitely a "my bank account wouldn't mind a hit right now" sort of purchase. should have spent the cash on something worthwhile.

If your buying it just to have a big freaking tv I would suggest not doing that.

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Traffic-Bug

outperform has summed it up in a humorous way, it is plasma that is better (I think), the as I have heard LCD has dead pixels in it sometimes.

The Lunchbox

Too poor for either one :P

LK175

The LED is sick but its over $2k I think and there isnt much choice.

Im not sure why people say lcd is better than plasma. It really depends how you plan on using the tv I guess. My dad has a 46" 1080p Panasonic from last year. The picture quality is great for movies and sports. Burn in is no longer an issue with plasmas so you can game on it too (i havent tried). Whatever you get, take a look at avsforums for the calibration settings for your model.

BTW, Im getting myself a 42 or 46 inch Panasonic G10 or S1 in the next week or 2.

zombiezoo

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tonyfloyd

LCD hands down.....and Samsung to be exact..

turpentine

no
Flat-panel TVs: plasma, LCD, and how they compare
come on, net is never wrong.
just go away. plasma is better at images and shit but impractical in some situations.

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zombiezoo

fail.


go LED now or LCD

or wait til the end of the year and get OLED

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illkity

uh. no...

It all depends on your viewing habits. LED is generally better for video games, computer and brightly lit rooms. Plasma is better for most movies and darker rooms.

Of course there are many other things to consider and there are exceptions to the above conditions, depends on the TV itself... but one is not better or worse in all situations.

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turpentine

plasma is better for video games because the screen response time is always killer. better for brightly lit rooms because of superior contrast and black level performance, and dark rooms for the same reason. lcd is better for... your wallet. and power consumption.

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