Plasma or LCD?

[Matt27]

Well fellas, i'm looking to make an upgrade....as much as i like my sony 34hs420 their is a reason why i would like to upgrade.

Firstly because of space, and weight.This was one heavy "son of a *****" when i bought it,and i'll never buy one again because of the weight alone scares me off.This sucker had to go a long way up stairs to get in my bedroom and it took an eternity to move it :bow: Anyways this is a bedroom tv and i want to upgrade since it's taking up to much space in my bedroom, so i would like to free up some space and get either a plasma or a LCD flat panel display, no RP sets thank you.

I would have got a flat panel in the first place before i got the sony, but money was an issue and i was unemployed at the time and bought the sony with my last tax return.

Well now that i'm working again and have a nice job, i can now save up a decent amount of money to get me something good.I'm not going to make the purchase untill November since prices will go down and a few new models are going to be coming out so it's the perfect time for me, especially with the xbox360 coming that month hopefully.

I'm going to try and save up for $3000 i figure this will be good enough come november for a High Quality set.I sit at the edge of my bed when playing videogames which is about 3', and i lay on my bed about 5-6' for watching dvd's and cable(Don't have HD service yet though but soon will).

I was figuring getting something in the 32-42' range, not too big since it's for a bedroom, and i'll be sitting up close too for videogames so i will need a flatpanel display with a lot of pixels and High resolution.I'm used to my 34" sony so i may just go for 37" LCD or Plasma display since it's probably a perfect compromise for me.

Now to my obvious title question LCD or Plasma what would you guys recommend?

I like plasma because of no viewing angles which is perfect it's just like a crt set, and they have better blacks than LCD,and don't require bulb replacement.

I like LCD because of no burn-in, slightly higher pixel count and resolution, a little lighter than plasma.

Pluses for both is perfect geometry, convergance,focus,sharpness, and colors.both are very excellent with these.

Cons are contrast ratio, black level differs from manufacturers.

Cons for plasma is burn-in is a concerm since i play a lot of videogames,nothing else really to say bad about it accept that.

Cons for LCD is black level obviously,pixel responce time, and the obvious viewing angles "Sweet spot" which i don't like but can get used to it.

For all you plasma and LCD experts i like to know what are the best brands i should be looking for for each display technology.And which ones have the best stretch modes for 4:3 material which is also a top priority.

More details soon to come, what are your thoughts?

[57U]

A few months back (Feb/Mar?), Sound & Vision did a Plasma/LCD comparison. You may wish to see if you can find that article. I believe someone (Ratman?) even found a link in another thread...

[Ratman]

DLP vs. LCD
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=837&page_number=1

[Matt27]

I appreciate the help, but those are RP displays, i'm looking for opinions on flat panel displays.changing light bulbs every couple of years turns me off with those displays not to mention that i don't need anything that big for my bedroom.

[justsc]

I have very little experience with PDPs, but loads of experience with LCD. My Dad got a 32" Panasonic LCD HD set - it's really nice. The only negative I've noticed is the occasional screen door effect, and that only with poor SD material.

The response time is super, I see little to no "trailing," and it's great hooked up to a computer (which I found was not the case with my crt 34HS420).

I bet there will be loads of deals coming soon for the holidays.

Good Luck Matt! :cheers:

[Matt27]

Thanks i'm sure there will:)

Even better is there will be newer models by then too which could mean more improvements in PQ :cool:

I'll keep everybody updated, as of right now i'm leaning towards LCD, but for you owners with plasma displays can you ease my tension about burn-in on a plasma :nono2:

[57U]

A properly set up plasma, where a static image is displayed less than 15% of the time, should not have problems.

[Matt27]

But the thing is i game a lot sometimes, 8 hours straight if it's a fun game, can i still consider plasma?

[57U]

Games tend to vary a lot. I'm not a gamer, but my understanding is that most new games don't have the kind of "static" images that the older games did - static scores, etc.

[oman321]

Guess it depends on what kind of gaming you do Matt; racing where there's usually a speedometer in view? Fighting with health bars? Gaming was a big reason why I choose LCD, even though it's RP (I see rainbows on DLP). Follow your gut. LCD refresh rates have improved significantly and I notice no problems on mine. It should be a non-issue on new flat panels (hopefully).

[Matt27]

As of right now i'm leaning towards either the Sharp 32" or 37" LCD display.But i heard there may be newer models out soon so i may just wait and get the newer models if they have better improvements like contrast ratio, pixel response time,etc.

I may have to see the 32" and 37" in person to see if the 37" is too big for my requirements.

I play a lot of action/adventure RPG types of games by the way.

[splinter]

I have begun to consider this as well. 2 years ago I purchased 20" 4:3 Sharp LCD for the bedroom because we really needed to save space, and I couldnt spend more than $1000. Now that there is more HD programming, I am looking to get a 35-40" HD flat panel. The Sharp Aquos has been great, even when watching HD programming in 480p. I am definitely leaning toward another Sharp LCD even though they are more expensive than a similar size plasma.

[vaxick]

Just picked up a 32" inch Samsung LCD today with a 12 ms response time. Nice for games as 16 ms and below is the speed you really need for games. I'm shocked at how far LCD's have come. This LCD TV seems to do a great job at displaying more than just black in a dark object.

[Matt27]

Just picked up a 32" inch Samsung LCD today with a 12 ms response time. Nice for games as 16 ms and below is the speed you really need for games. I'm shocked at how far LCD's have come. This LCD TV seems to do a great job at displaying more than just black in a dark object.

Well unless sharp comes out with a better model this year by november then i'll have to x them off my list of LCD displays.It only has 16ms response time compared to the samsungs,Toshiba, and Panasonic LCD displays which have 12ms and lower.

As of right now my decisions are Panasonic,Toshiba and Samsung.Guess im going to do some more research or wait if there is any new models with lower response times by november :cool: