LED is much sharper than LCD and Plasma?

nightrider1470 · 5 Jan 2012 at 19:25

Was in a local shop the other day and I could really notice the LED screens they seemed so much more brighter, but most of all sharper is this the case?

If so will defo make sure i go LED

lucid · 5 Jan 2012 at 19:56

LED and LEDre exactly the same for image sharpness. That's because the only difference is the backlight. LED sets are LCD with a set of LED lights instead of florescent tubes.

Plasma makes its image in a different way. It doesn't suffer the mosaic hard edges of LED screens so is closer to the way CRT TVs made their image.

The thing that often fools the eye is colour balance. Tinting the light strongly towards blue will create the impression of a brighter image. We associate brighter with sharper. Pit a resolution patern on all three technologies and they'll show the same level of detail.

awinchurch · 5 Jan 2012 at 20:16

a rule of thumb is small screen (<=37") LCD/LED, big screen (38"+) Plasma

Wizzfizz · 5 Jan 2012 at 20:32

You can't really judge a TV properly in a shop because of the lighting. Also the fact that the shop tends to whack the contrast up on all of its display sets.

awinchurch · 5 Jan 2012 at 20:41

Wizzfizz said:
You can't really judge a TV properly in a shop because of the lighting. Also the fact that the shop tends to whack the contrast up on all of its display sets.

And most shops make the picture look better on the sets they have the biggest profit margin on

Somnambulist · 5 Jan 2012 at 20:43

Indeed. I remember John Lewis in Bluewater used to have a Kuro and they had it playing (old ropey) SD material. I wanted to cry.

Wizzfizz · 5 Jan 2012 at 20:46

awinchurch said:
And most shops make the picture look better on the sets they have the biggest profit margin on

Not sure about that, but they do place the popular brands closer to the entrance and the least popular towards the back. I'm guessing that manufacturers pay them to do this though, whoever pays most gets closer to the entrance, meaning joe public will see their product first.

413x · 5 Jan 2012 at 22:01

when i got my GT30 from JL it looked terrible in the shop, the d8000 looked so much nicer, the d8000 was playing a samsung demo, it looked almost 3d without being 3d, but it was computer animation, the gt30 was also amongst LCDs, it looked almost the worst of the lot

the gt30 looked dull too, really dull. The girlfriend liked it too, i was tempted to change my mind.

what really shocked me was when i realised how bright the shop actually was, i had to turn my phones LCD brightess up to maximum, in my house it is usually around 1/4 for my eyes,

when the GT30 arrived at home i actually found i had to turn the brightness DOWN, thats how bright that shop was, the D8000 would have burnt my retinas out!

i had been told shops were bright, but i didnt think by that degree!

ishamy · 5 Jan 2012 at 22:14

I just got a Panasonic 42s30 today really chuffed, looks much 'sharper' than my spammy 32led. However close up the blacks have dots dancing all around the place, is this normal? From a meter or two away you can't tell there there and looks sharp as nails.

413x · 5 Jan 2012 at 22:26

ishamy said:
I just got a Panasonic 42s30 today really chuffed, looks much 'sharper' than my spammy 32led. However close up the blacks have dots dancing all around the place, is this normal? From a meter or two away you can't tell there there and looks sharp as nails.

i have to say i have this too, i wondered if it was because it was connected to my PC? may well be normal

TigerUK · 5 Jan 2012 at 22:27

there's so much conusion in the display market.

firs tthe came up with this concept of "hi-def" which was just the umbrella term for screens with slightly more dpi than standard displays.. hidef could be used for both 720p and 1080p and more.

Now this one is even more confusing and for a while it got me. Most LED displays aren't really LEDs, they're LCD displays with LED backlit..

The market is going to get really confusing when true LED displays become affordable and minstream

lucid · 5 Jan 2012 at 23:01

awinchurch said:
And most shops make the picture look better on the sets they have the biggest profit margin on

Not in my experience they don't .

I have worked for a big TV manufacturer and sold in to JLP, DSG, Kesa Group, Macro and Costco. This constitutes the bulk of the UKs retail channel with large display areas. I have also worked with colleagues who sold to the mini-multiples and discount chains including Richers, Bennett, Hughes. Scottish Hydro, Apollo, and the specialist independents channel. None of them had a policy of setting up screens for the best picture. They all just unbox the TVs and stick a signal in.

ishamy · 5 Jan 2012 at 23:26

al4x said:
i have to say i have this too, i wondered if it was because it was connected to my PC? may well be normal

Cool, I hope it is normal, would be gutted to have to send it back

still I do think that my plasma is way sharper than led.

Anyone else with this?

awinchurch · 5 Jan 2012 at 23:49

lucid said:
Not in my experience they don't .

I have worked for a big TV manufacturer and sold in to JLP, DSG, Kesa Group, Macro and Costco. This constitutes the bulk of the UKs retail channel with large display areas. I have also worked with colleagues who sold to the mini-multiples and discount chains including Richers, Bennett, Hughes. Scottish Hydro, Apollo, and the specialist independents channel. None of them had a policy of setting up screens for the best picture. They all just unbox the TVs and stick a signal in.

Ok so maybe not the AV specialists like Richer Sounds and the like but i know someone who worked in Curries. I went in there to look at a panasonic TV and the picture was crap. I asked him about it and he said it had a poor feed and the one that looked the best earned curries the most cash.

Might have changed though since 2 1/2 years ago

awinchurch · 5 Jan 2012 at 23:51

Oh and just so you know I only looked in there as richer sounds didn't have one on display for me to see.

I'm not actually stupid enough to pay their over inflated prices

jellybeard999 · 6 Jan 2012 at 00:04

Also, sharper isn't really better. If you're playing a computer game, you ADD anti-aliasing (blurring) to remove jagged edges

Generally, plasma gives better contrast, more natural colours and a slightly smoother, more realistic image.

tigerstyle · 6 Jan 2012 at 00:58

lucid said:
Not in my experience they don't .

None of them had a policy of setting up screens for the best picture. They all just unbox the TVs and stick a signal in.

Not to pick at your post as you obviously know your stuff, but don't all modern sets have that 'demo' mode that you have the choice of running when turning on for the first time?
This basically ensures the manufactures the brightness is whacked up for them!

wazza300 · 6 Jan 2012 at 01:05

led use much less power than flourescent backlit tv's too,and a much brighter/sharper image imo

rikky · 6 Jan 2012 at 01:17

ishamy said:
Cool, I hope it is normal, would be gutted to have to send it back still I do think that my plasma is way sharper than led.

Anyone else with this?

What you are seeing is "PWM noise" and quite normal on plasma tech - you will only see it close-up as you say and not at normal viewing distances.

rikky · 6 Jan 2012 at 01:20

awinchurch said:
Ok so maybe not the AV specialists like Richer Sounds and the like but i know someone who worked in Curries. I went in there to look at a panasonic TV and the picture was crap. I asked him about it and he said it had a poor feed and the one that looked the best earned curries the most cash.

Might have changed though since 2 1/2 years ago

Don't believe ANYTHING you are told in Curries ... EVER.