Plasma Vs LCD

[BribieG]

On another thread, whilst picking up my new pc monitor, I walked into a very large store with plasmas, LCDs, CRTs and several DLPs all set up properly in either loungeroom situations or in a dark cinema-like "cave" and I was hard pressed to tell the diff. between current LCDs and Plasmas. And no, I don't need my eyes testing!! I had absolutely no interest in buying anything so just stood and looked as "neutrally" as possible.

In fact as I mentioned on the other thread if I wanted a HUGE tv mainly for movies and the big home theatre experience I would go for the DLP which has the black levels that Plasma only thinks it has, and just have a smaller LCD in the kitchen to watch while having brekkie or doing the cooking.

PS: as LCDs are inherently higher definition than SD is this the right forum? There's really no LCD you can 'neutrally' evaluate next to a 480 pixel plasma cheapy - and there's still a few being sold!

[predator666]

Short of LCD's upward of $3k, there really isn't any LCD I've ever liked the look of. There still is a way to go before LCD overtakes Plasma. LCD TV's suffer the problem of LCD monitors - overbright, colours are oversatuated, and often the overly sharp picture is actually annoying (the real world is not that sharp!). Looks good at first though, but after a while I tend to start thinking 'it's nice but not real'

No I don't own either, but having a bit of a look at a few atm for purchase soon.

[Larryle]

I still like LCD

[dkint3]

I still like LCD

Personally, I prefer LCD too.. True, LCD may not look 'real' sometimes, but you're there to enjoy a 'nice' picture...

Also, most of the stuff on TV isn't 'real' anyway, so to me it doesn't matter that much if the picture sometimes looks a little artificial...

But also, you don't want something that looks 'unreal' either.. in that respect, I've never found LCD to be that far off the mark.

But I do think plasma is the way to go if you have a reasonably dark room and want something larger than about 50" - or watch stuff that has lots of black backgrounds in it...

[Reaping Clarity]

I don't really see a major difference between the two, but I guess I'm not a TV buff.

[evil_josh]

I don't really see a major difference between the two, but I guess I'm not a TV buff.

You're probably more of a buff than you think. It's easy to miss the forest when you are looking at the trees.

A lot of people like to look at their TV's, but I prefer to watch what's on it instead.

Josh

[Guest DigitalFrontiers]

Most manufacturers of LCD screens have a dead pixel policy ie they will not deem their product defective if it has less than "n" pixels dead on delivery where "n" varies depending on the size of the screen. Personally this tells me that the technology isn't quite ready for the market. If the rejects have to be accepted by the consumer and not eliminated or reworked in the factory then the marketing boys in these big organisations need to get their bodies in motion so the engineering teams can accelerate the development of LCDs that allow the TV manufacturer's to make the margins they seek while being able to provide the consumer with a 100% guarantee that all pixels will function upon delivery.

I don't know what the policy is for plasma screens. Being further into their product cycle I suspect the quality assurance profile for plasmas is better and dead pixels aren't much of an issue. Could anyone clarify this for me? As this would be an issue I consider important when buying my next DTV given the current dead pixel policy adopted by most LCD TV manufacturers.

Incidentally if I was to judge which screen looked the best it would have to be the Sony Bravia X Series. It has wonderful contrast, smooth transitions, vivid colours and outstanding definition. Only problem is, at the time of writing Sony has a dead pixel policy.

DF

[evil_josh]

Most manufacturers of LCD screens have a dead pixel policy ie they will not deem their product defective if it has less than "n" pixels dead on delivery where "n" varies depending on the size of the screen. Personally this tells me that the technology isn't quite ready for the market. If the rejects have to be accepted by the consumer and not eliminated or reworked in the factory then the marketing boys in these big organisations need to get their bodies in motion so the engineering teams can accelerate the development of LCDs that allow the TV manufacturer's to make the margins they seek while being able to provide the consumer with a 100% guarantee that all pixels will function upon delivery.

I don't know what the policy is for plasma screens. Being further into their product cycle I suspect the quality assurance profile for plasmas is better and dead pixels aren't much of an issue. Could anyone clarify this for me? As this would be an issue I consider important when buying my next DTV given the current dead pixel policy adopted by most LCD TV manufacturers.

Incidentally if I was to judge which screen looked the best it would have to be the Sony Bravia X Series. It has wonderful contrast, smooth transitions, vivid colours and outstanding definition. Only problem is, at the time of writing Sony has a dead pixel policy.

DF

I have been on the record to be totally against dead pixels, and like you I saw it as nothing more than a cop-out by manufacturers. However 2.5 years down the track I can assure you that one dead pixel out of 2 million is literally unnoticeable. But then again perhaps that's just the therapy talking

If you are worried about image flaws, I wold be more worried about image retention and burn-in problems with plasma technologies. These problems are still part of the plasma experience and require you to dial back the brightness as soon as you take delivery, after which you have to question if your contrast ratio is any better than the LCD you passed up for fear of dead pixels.

At the end of the day it's up to you, but (all things equal) given the choice of a stuck pixel vs a burnt-in station logo I know what I'd prefer.

Josh

[pneu]

My advice to people considering plasma:

Go to the retailer and find a plasma on display, turn the colour down to 0 so you have a black and white image, then turn the contrast up high (if it isn't already high).

Then move your eyes around the screen quickly from left to right and back again.

If you see yellow and blue flashes, consider whether you are willing to put up with this before making the purchase, as all plasmas suffer from this to an extent.

Here is a youtube video of it:

[Tapet]

Go the CRT!

Nothing yet beats the Sony KD-34 XBR960. Just wish I brought one before they stoped making them.

[Drizt]

Thats exactly what I see on plasma's.... dammit.

My advice to people considering plasma:

Go to the retailer and find a plasma on display, turn the colour down to 0 so you have a black and white image, then turn the contrast up high (if it isn't already high).

Then move your eyes around the screen quickly from left to right and back again.

If you see yellow and blue flashes, consider whether you are willing to put up with this before making the purchase, as all plasmas suffer from this to an extent.

Here is a youtube video of it: