37" 1080 LCD or a 42" 720 Plasma?

SiD the Turtle · 6 Apr 2009 at 13:10

Hi guys,

Long version
I've been advising my folks on a TV to replace the ageing CRT in their living room and they've been shopping around at a large trade warehouse place (probably a competitor I'd guess).

They had settled on an entry level 42" 720 Panasonic plasma, TH-42PX8B which was around £550 however a sales rep pointed out a 37" Panasonic LCD which was a 1080 model, for £599 (didn't get the model). They could see a massive difference, with the LCD being a lot better, but that was because of the daft setup that had all the big plasmas sharing a crappy splitter that was ghosting the picture like mad. My argument was that in a fair test a 37" TV would be too small to appreciate the increase in resolution, so they should stick to the larger 42", with all the benefits that plasma has.

Short version
So, as the title says would you go for a 37" 1080 LCD or a 42" 720 Plasma?

photoshop · 6 Apr 2009 at 13:12

42" 720 Plasma

I have the PX80 and a fair few other here and have to say its ace!!!

The 37" is 1080p but it still wount be as good as the 42" 720p Panny!!!

SiD the Turtle · 6 Apr 2009 at 13:14

Thanks photohop, it's the PX8 not the PX80 though, yours being a higher spec: http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_...s/displayResult.html?p=TH-42PX80B&p=TH-42PX8B

Deleted User 234324 · 6 Apr 2009 at 15:35

Sorry to hijack your thread, but how come these screens can be full HD etc when they only have a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 ? Sorry for sound dumb but ive always wondered why they say full hd when its low res, yet LCD's have resolution of 1920x1080 etc

Bill101 · 6 Apr 2009 at 16:06

Those places your folks went to have a habit of putting the best quality signal into what ever TV screen has the best mark up/ commission for them.

[DOD]Asprilla · 6 Apr 2009 at 16:10

MadMossy said:
Sorry to hijack your thread, but how come these screens can be full HD etc when they only have a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 ? Sorry for sound dumb but ive always wondered why they say full hd when its low res, yet LCD's have resolution of 1920x1080 etc

They don't say Full HD, they say HD Ready. Many plasmas also come in Full HD, The Panasonic PZ range for instance.

+1 for the 720p Plasma.

Full HD is overrated for most people, especially if they are going to spend most of their time watching standard def TV in a 'standard' rather than an having an uber geekery optimized cinema experiance.

Pug · 6 Apr 2009 at 21:30

resolution is number of vertical lines - 720p requires around that many vertical lines of resolution. The 1024 bit, which sounds like a wrong ratio for widescreen, works because the pixels are rectangular.

42" 720p is better

strumpusplunket · 6 Apr 2009 at 21:46

I based my decision on whether to go full HD or a cheaper "HD-ready" TV on this article.

Glad I did in the end, because I really can't notice any improvement in picture quality when I watch HDTV DivX on our 32" bedroom 720p and on my sister's 1080p 37".

I've gone to her house all ready to scrutinise the TV picture, but even with HD DivX rips I honestly can't discern an improvement.

Maybe if I could if I watched both from pretty close up for a while, but certainly not for normal viewing.

Caged · 6 Apr 2009 at 21:48

How about a Sharp LC42DH77E which is 1080P for around £600?

Hen_Dawg · 7 Apr 2009 at 14:15

The 42 would be my choice, in fact it was my choice.
Isn't the px80 available for that price? Or the new replacement panny model?

Owenb · 7 Apr 2009 at 14:27

If your parents are anything like mine I would go for the LCD! You can't be blamed for it going wrong as you wanted the plasma! You also don't have to worry about explaining about avoiding screen burn.

Nymins · 7 Apr 2009 at 15:12

Owenb said:
If your parents are anything like mine I would go for the LCD! You can't be blamed for it going wrong as you wanted the plasma! You also don't have to worry about explaining about avoiding screen burn.

Screen burn is so rare these days that there is no point in mentioning it anymore.

Hen_Dawg · 7 Apr 2009 at 16:20

How much standard def/sky/freeview do they watch compared to HD?

photoshop · 7 Apr 2009 at 17:52

If you intend to watch more SD then 720p is better as i have found that SD looks better on 720p than 1080p screens (although getting SkyHD, my SD quality on my 1080p has improved).

If its more HD then go for the 1080p screen.

Wheather its 720p or 1080p, i would still recommend the PX80 or the PZ80! They are cracking TV's for the price they are and im sure there are some bargains to be had as they are discontinued now.

Tesco are doing the 50" PZ80 for £999 at the mo (my bro got one over the weekend). I know this is over the budget but it will be money well spent. also, the 42" PX80 can be had for around £600.

I would not get an LCD though.

As for the issues of screen burn and retention - run the TV in using lowered brightness/contrast for the 1st 200hrs and you'll be fine

Panny screens are good and generally are not prone to these problems unless you abuse them