LCD, LED or Plasma?

sunama · 21 Sep 2009 at 06:27

Tom84 said:
...I've got a Kuro already which will obviously be the main TV for the living room but was thinking about a Sammy LED ...

A real man would buy another Kuro

sunama · 21 Sep 2009 at 06:35

Shelster said:
Can get them both for the same price, so will have to demo them next to each other (when i get the chance) to see what is what. Feel this may be a good day out, bith for me and my Blu Ray of BSG.

Do you intend to use your TV exlusively for BluRay or HD viewing? If so, then great.

If you are like most of us, who view lots of SD material, then don't weight HD image quality so heavily, in your decision.

If most of your viewing is on Freeview or SKY-SD, then it would be a little silly to buy a TV that offers great HD image quality, but poor SD image quality.

Shelster · 21 Sep 2009 at 06:47

sunama said:
Do you intend to use your TV exlusively for BluRay or HD viewing?

I reckon it will be a 70/30 split between SD and HD (HD from Bluray and also Sky)

From reading a few reviews, the SD processing on the Pannies gets a bit of a slamming (using in built freeview/freesat)

james.miller · 21 Sep 2009 at 06:50

freeview is a bit ropey on my pz80, yes. good job i never use it

Stag · 21 Sep 2009 at 07:47

Jonnycoupe said:
HTPC is for films yeah? Why would you not want a Plasma. Who cares what the menus look like.

Well yes and no, if you use it solely for films then sure go plasma. I'm more thinking if you want to read text and use it to play music with static cd art etc.

I'd still be tempted by a plasma though!

Shelster · 21 Sep 2009 at 08:33

Are there any Panny V15 owners reading this? If so can you give me some real world opinions on the set please (SD and HD pic quality, ease of use, quality of build, overall size/impressions). Also, what is the built in sat receiver like? Is this for Freesat only, or is there a slot for a viewing card?

ally · 21 Sep 2009 at 11:18

yeah has to get it delivered yet, waiting for a call from Fenwicks to arrange delivery. said 2-3 weeks 3 weeks ago so should be any day now. Can't wait, might have to make her hate then shel give it to me

Participant · 21 Sep 2009 at 12:07

sunama said:
For SD purposes, at identical price points, are you saying that LED offers better image quality than plasma? If so, can you give me the model number for the LED TV you are talking about. I genuinely would like to know.

Robbie G said:
That said I prefer the SD picture of plasmas to LCD, but on HD I prefer the LCDs. The 'LEDs' are just amazing for both and if cost wasn't a factor, I would have one.

And I can't remember the model number, but I'll check it next time I'm in the shops.

Tom84 · 21 Sep 2009 at 12:17

sunama said:
A real man would buy another Kuro

Wallet wouldn't allow me to splash another 2k on a TV that will solely just be used on occasion in the bed room. 50" would be a tad OTT as well

Besides where's the fun in having two identical sets even if it is the best that money can buy? It'll be good to have a different model TV hence why I'm pushing towards an LED so much

borich_planner · 21 Sep 2009 at 12:22

I am going for the series 7 40" LED to replace my 32"D3000 Sony Tv.

Borich

ally · 21 Sep 2009 at 12:29

borich_planner said:
I am going for the series 7 40" LED to replace my 32"D3000 Sony Tv.

Borich

I have that same sony tv, wouldn't happen to know a good wall bracket that works with it would u? gonna wall mount it i opted for the stand at time.

james.miller · 21 Sep 2009 at 17:42

Robbie G said:
And I can't remember the model number, but I'll check it next time I'm in the shops.

sony xbr8 probably, its the only led lcd that can match and show most plasma's a clean pair of heals.

Sootie · 21 Sep 2009 at 18:58

Sharp also have a range of LED TVs that came out in August - not seen any in the shops, but would be worth a look

ally · 21 Sep 2009 at 21:10

only 50hz the sharps, don't look as good

miker1 · 21 Sep 2009 at 22:37

sunama said:
A real RICH man would buy another Kuro

Corrected......

Sootie · 21 Sep 2009 at 22:54

ally said:
only 50hz the sharps, don't look as good

The 7 series are 100HZ. The XS1 Ultimate at £6K is quite nice too

sunama · 21 Sep 2009 at 22:56

james.miller said:
sony xbr8 probably, its the only led lcd that can match and show most plasma's a clean pair of heals.

I just did a search on the xbr8 and it doesnt appear to be on sale in the UK.

Furthermore, many reports have it that the Pioneer Kuro (in the US), is cheaper and offers better image quality than the xbr8.
http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090323220525AAXRK1i

Furthermore, the xbr8 is rumoured to be disproportionately expensive.

james.miller · 21 Sep 2009 at 23:22

no its not on sale in the uk....yet.

the kuro kpr-600a & m are regarded as the best tv's in the world (there's more than one model of kuro lol). good luck finding one for less than £4k. the xbr8 is the best lcd tv produced so far. by quite a margin. And at 55", of course it is going to command a premium price. i never said it was cheap lol (~$5k)

for the record, reviews seem to be putting the xbr8 right up amongst the best of the kuro's, which is a hell of a feat for an lcd and in doing so it IS better than most plasma's out there, including my own 50pz80b

sunama · 21 Sep 2009 at 23:44

james.miller said:
for the record, reviews seem to be putting the xbr8 right up amongst the best of the kuro's, which is a hell of a feat for an lcd and in doing so it IS better than most plasma's out there, including my own 50pz80b

But surely for the premium price tag, that should be a given?

No medals should be awarded if Sony produce a US$5000 TV which outperforms a US$1500 TV. This isn't at all impressive.

The whole reason why plasma is ahead of LCD right now is because, at a given price point, plasma (generally) offers better image quality than LCD. In super-tests, plasma is ahead of LCD (at given price-points) and this has been the case for many years now, however, a cheap plasma will be outperformed by an expensive LCD (shock horror)!

LCD does have its uses (gaming, small screens not produced with plasma panels, etc), but for most people, I don't see any reason to recommend LCD over plasma.

james.miller · 21 Sep 2009 at 23:48

sunama said:
But surely for the premium price tag, that should be a given?

No medals should be awarded if Sony produce a US$5000 TV which outperforms a US$1500 TV. This isn't at all impressive.

The whole reason why plasma is ahead of LCD right now is because, at a given price point, plasma (generally) offers better image quality than LCD. In super-tests, plasma is ahead of LCD (at given price-points) and this has been the case for many years now, however, a cheap plasma will be outperformed by an expensive LCD (shock horror)!

LCD does have its uses (gaming, small screens not produced with plasma panels, etc), but for most people, I don't see any reason to recommend LCD over plasma.

the 600 a and m's arent $1500, didnt you read my post lol

what are you trying to get at sunama? let's turn the tables around, a kuro lx5090 is better than 99% of the lcd's out there. shock horror....but its a couple of grand. i guess it shouldnt get any awards then?

My point was, sunama, is that regardless of what it is or how much it costs, the xbr8 is a very good performer. I know what the best performers are at any given price braket - i wouldnt have bought my panasonic if i didn't. the xbr8 is expensive yes, and not without faults, but comparitively there's little in it when compared to the plasma's it's up against. its better than my grands worth of pz80, its better than an 8g kuro....its very VERY close to a £4k 9g kuro whilst using 1/4 of the power.

If you want expensive, take a look at sony's oled screen. if you want the best in any given sector, you will pay for it. pioneer'd kuros, or sonys led backlit xbr8. but they are nothing compared to sonys xel-1 oled screen, at ~ 2.5k for a 27".