HDTV?

WatchTower · 3 Nov 2012 at 23:04

When I go in Electrical stores or supermarkest LED TVS always loooks better than Plasmas. Can every store in the country really be not setting up their Plasma TVs correctly?

Warbie · 3 Nov 2012 at 23:23

It's not as one sided in favour of plasmas these days. I've returned my last two Panny plasmas - the last was an ST50 - due to phosphor lag and dithering. Phosphor lag doesn't bother many people it seems, but every benefit offered by deeper black levels and superior motion goes out the window for me when I can see green/yellow trailing edges every time the camera pans. I'm not sure I buy that only certain people can see it either - every person I've pointed it out to sees the green edges. Input lag isn't always in favour of plasma either - my current Samsung LED is more responsive than the ST50 it replaced. Although to be fair Plasma usually fair better here.

BlairH · 4 Nov 2012 at 11:08

WatchTower said:
When I go in Electrical stores or supermarkest LED TVS always loooks better than Plasmas. Can every store in the country really be not setting up their Plasma TVs correctly?

Read into it. LCD TVs (There is no such thing as an "LED TV" the term is marketing claptrap) are at their best in artificially bright environments, like TV showrooms. If you want to actually evaluate a TV before buying, ALWAYS audition a TV in a proper viewing environment. Most good AV shops will be happy to arrange this for you (the big box-shifters...not so much).

Streeteh · 4 Nov 2012 at 11:35

WatchTower said:
When I go in Electrical stores or supermarkest LED TVS always loooks better than Plasmas. Can every store in the country really be not setting up their Plasma TVs correctly?

See above, it's widely known that Plasma technology does not deal well with brightly lit rooms. Newer models are much better than old (a few years back any light at all would have some impact, now they fare well in most home environments, direct sunlight is still a no-no though), but it is still an issue.

BlairH · 4 Nov 2012 at 12:38

Streeteh said:
See above, it's widely known that Plasma technology does not deal well with brightly lit rooms. Newer models are much better than old (a few years back any light at all would have some impact, now they fare well in most home environments, direct sunlight is still a no-no though), but it is still an issue.

The other side of that coin is that it's only when you take a new LCD TV home and set it up, that you realise how harsh and unnatural the image is. Naturally there are various things you can do to reign this in, like having the display professionally calibrated, etc.

Streeteh · 4 Nov 2012 at 12:45

BlairH said:
The other side of that coin is that it's only when you take a new LCD TV home and set it up, that you realise how harsh and unnatural the image is. Naturally there are various things you can do to reign this in, like having the display professionally calibrated, etc.

True. My new plasma has a 'show room' mode in the options. If you enable it its like staring directly into the sun yet it still appeared duller than the LCD equivalent it was sat next to on the shop floor.

ShakenNstirred · 5 Nov 2012 at 05:26

BlairH said:
Read into it. LCD TVs (There is no such thing as an "LED TV" the term is marketing claptrap) are at their best in artificially bright environments, like TV showrooms. If you want to actually evaluate a TV before buying, ALWAYS audition a TV in a proper viewing environment. Most good AV shops will be happy to arrange this for you (the big box-shifters...not so much).

the term LED tv is used by some makers for the LED-backlit LCD
the older type use Cold-cathode lamps
so is used to differentiate between the 2

BlairH · 5 Nov 2012 at 13:23

ShakenNstirred said:
the term LED tv is used by some makers for the LED-backlit LCD
the older type use Cold-cathode lamps
so is used to differentiate between the 2

It's marketed as a newer or superior technology when it just isn't. They offer little to no improvement over "standard" LCD sets.

"LED televisions" marketed by electronics stores and manufacturers are only LCD televisions with LED backlighting (or sometimes edge-lighting). LED backlights are generally more energy efficient than legacy lamps. LED edgelights allow sets to be thinner, but generally compromises have to be made in other areaas such as motion handling and panel consistency.

I'm not saying they're all crap, because some sets are actually quite good, indeed, most LED sets will be better than legacy sets, simply because those sets marketed as "LED" sets will be at the more premium end of the product line. But I feel that people should probably know what they're buying, rather than have them imagine an artificial heirarchy of quality in their head.