Lcd or Plasma

art1cfox

art1cfox

art1cfox

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Getting a new tv for xmas :D unsure which to choose between plasma or lcd.
Looking to spend between £600-£700.
Got my eye on either one of these
Panasonic TH42PX70 or Sony Bravia KDL40S300 both can be had for that price bracket and will not be used for gaming.
So any comments much appreciated.
 
if not being used for gaming I would go with the plasma especially if you watch sport or a lot of SD content
 
Agreed. LCD isnt quite there yet. Gaming or static images is about the only reason not to go for a Plasma set.
 
Plasma all the way,
I install lcd's of many brands al day and they just cant hack it for picture quality;)
 
Im suprised by the answers here. Im no expert (Im still stuck in oldschool CRT TV land) but I thought LCD tvs had overtaken Plasma in terms of image quality. the last time I looked at Plasma screen (years ago) they seemed somewhat 'muddy'. What makes Plasma so good now? And does LCD overtake Plasma when it comes to HD content?
 
Messiah Khan said:
Im suprised by the answers here. Im no expert (Im still stuck in oldschool CRT TV land) but I thought LCD tvs had overtaken Plasma in terms of image quality. the last time I looked at Plasma screen (years ago) they seemed somewhat 'muddy'. What makes Plasma so good now? And does LCD overtake Plasma when it comes to HD content?
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imo LCD's downfall is due to the screen being backlit. The blacks are just much richer on a Plasma.

When these new OLED Tv's come into the mainstream and are affordable I wouldn't be suprised if they eventually surpassed Plasma TV's. I cannot see current LCD technology doing so though.

As said above, if going to be used with a lot of static imagery then LCD otherwise Plasma everytime.
 
I'm in the same position as the O/P. I'm buying my first flat screen. I will be watching mostly SD and I'm a sports fan so that suggests plasma but the kids will also be using their Xbox and PS2 on it (I'm a PC gamer only). Why is plasma not the choice for gaming?
One thing that worries me is screen burn. I don't trust the rest of the family to take care over that. It's a tough decision. :)
 
After spending nearly a year looking into various options, LCD, Plasma, etc I've decided that LCD is where I'm going to.

At the moment the majority of my viewing is SD - however I still feel that the LCD is the way to go.
I've spent hours watching from various sources on both LCD and Plasma and where I still feel the Plasma excels is with blacks.
However the latest generation of LCD's are getting so close now with many of them better than the lower end plasma screens.

I have ordered a Samsung F86 40" for home and although I'm probably not going to see it delivered until the middle of January I'm pretty confident I've made the right choice.
Good picture quality now and once I add to my HD sources it will really start to show itself off.
 
As said above, if going to be used with a lot of static imagery then LCD otherwise Plasma everytime.
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i think a lot of the opinions about plasma here are based on OLD plasma screen technology which is prone to both screen retention and burn.

The newer technology it just does not happen. (e.g. my tv has built in anti-burn technology)

I play for hours on plasma screen, leave it with channel logos on for at least an hour in the same place. No retention or screen burn whatsoever.

I even turn on dynamic mode for some ps3 games (makes everything look very colourful and uhmm "alive" :D) which is prolly not a good idea.

Reason i didnt go lcd was a) image quality b) i watch sports and noticed a lot of blurring in fast motion stuff on LCD screens

In saying all that the tv youve chosen should be pretty good :D My brother has bought it and when i was considering LCD thatrs one of the ranges that i was considering.
 
'Most' Modern plasma's just need a modicum of care to prevent 'burn' or retention.. it certainly still does exist, it's just much easier to prevent then preivously..

I 100% agree that as far as PQ is concerned, certain plasma's are still the best, the Pioneer Kuro's for example (My brother has the 508XD) are stunning, and certainly beyond current LCD's

If I only could have 1 TV, then it would be a Pioneer plasma, however, having a PJ and a TV means I can compromise on an LCD for daily 'abuse' since you just can't beat a projector for films (not PQ wise, just scale and immersion).

However, I've had a few LCD's lately after a spate of Plasma's, and have found that picked wisely, you can get pretty good SD and performance..
the Sharp XL20E range, the Toshiba Z series and Sony X Series are all pretty excellent performers, even with SD content..
 
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badbob said:
Local shop has a new Pioneer with News 24 screen burn, so it does occur.
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Key word there being Shop. You realize they most likely had it turned up to max display settings and then just left it alone on the same channel for days. Which is a totally different kettle of fish compared to how a home user would treat it.

Maybe if i went out of my way to make my tv get screen burn then it would happen but a little bit of care in the first few months and its fine.

Kinda unfounded scare stories tbh - treat any piece of technology like carp and its going to go **** up.
 
I agree with what most have said, Ive got a Pioneer plasma that gets used for gaming and don't notice any retention though I do use it on the gaming setting.
Ive also got a Samsung LCD and whilst its a good picture its not as good as the Pioneer.
Saying that if i was to buy one now and was mainly going to use it for gaming id probably go for an LCD but if it mainly for TV and movies than a Plasma wins.
 
Plasma screen burn is relitive to the overall halflife of the screen.

For every second that a plasma screen is displaying a pixel (of any colour) that pixel is getting slowely dimmer, untill eventually that pixel has reached half brightness.

The brighter the pixel is burning, the shorter the lifespan of that pixel.

Plasma TV's just a few years ago were struggling to reach halflifes of 15,000 hours, which is less than 2 years constant use. Modern plasma's are in excess of 60,000 hours, due to the improvements of the phosphor coatings.

This change alone does mean that it also takes 4 times longer on average to burn the plasma anyway. As long as your not silly its not really a serious problem.
 
Are the bulbs not constantly getting dimmer the more you use a plasma? Also the new Samsung and Sonys have really rich blacks which are a lot closer now to Plasmas.

I would deffo side with LCD.
 
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