Let's talk TVs

[Nickel]

I need some feedback on LCD vs Plasma. We're looking in the 40-42 inch range and while we don't need (or want) anything top of the line or super fancy, we don't want to just walk in and buy the cheapest one we can find either. Plasmas seem like a better deal for the money - are they? We've done some research online, and know about the differences in energy usage, refresh rate, lighting conditions, etc.

I should mention that we have no real desire to get a Blu-Ray player, so that's not a factor.

So what do you have, and do you love it or hate it?

 

[sockgirl77]

People are all goo goo gaa gaa on the 1080s so the 720s are going for great prices right now. I got a 32" for Xmas and the quality is great. I too opted to not get a Blu-ray player as the price of the movies is too much. My TV is a Dynex which is a cheapie but the picture is beautiful. If you ask the TV people they'll say that Sony is the best. But I think spending oodles on a TV is nuts.

 

[DoWhat]

People are all goo goo gaa gaa on the 1080s so the 720s are going for great prices right now. I got a 32" for Xmas and the quality is great. I too opted to not get a Blu-ray player as the price of the movies is too much. My TV is a Dynex which is a cheapie but the picture is beautiful. If you ask the TV people they'll say that Sony is the best. But I think spending oodles on a TV is nuts.

s?

It is usually p & i.

 

[sockgirl77]

s?

It is usually p & i.

S as in plural.

 

[Graymatter]

We're looking in the 40-42 inch range..

Why so small? I have plasma, LCD, and rear projection (42, 52, & 62). Plasma was a pain to move across the Country. Special box built to prevent plasma gas from being disrupted (or something). Rear projection is Ok if viewing angles are minimal, and LCD is good to go!

 

[Nickel]

Why so small? I have plasma, LCD, and rear projection (42, 52, & 62). Plasma was a pain to move across the Country. Special box built to prevent plasma gas from being disrupted (or something). Rear projection is Ok if viewing angles are minimal, and LCD is good to go!

It's the size that we want. We don't have any need for some gigantic TV, and don't want one.

 

[Chasey_Lane]

Nickel, we have both and personally I can't tell the difference. A tv is a tv to me.

Will the tv be going in a family room? Is your furniture far or pretty close to it? If it's a big room and you'll be far away from the tv, you might want to consider going larger...just a suggestion. We've got a 40-something in our bedroom and it's perfect!

 

[Penn]

Why so small? I have plasma, LCD, and rear projection (42, 52, & 62). Plasma was a pain to move across the Country. Special box built to prevent plasma gas from being disrupted (or something). Rear projection is Ok if viewing angles are minimal, and LCD is good to go!

I've got a 42" Panasonic plasma that I purchased 2 years ago(TH-42PZ700U).

It's an excellent HDTV, voted by C-Net as the best of it's kind in 2007-2008. I wish that I had gone up to a 50 or 54" model, but I thought it would fit my needs.

If I do decide to upgrade, it will probably be one of the new 54" Panasonic plasmas, that are currently selling for about $4,000.00 - but the price will likely fall in the next several months.

I'm going to wait a bit.....
The Sony Blu-Ray player is awesome looking on my Panasonic!

 

[Nickel]

Nickel, we have both and personally I can't tell the difference. A tv is a tv to me.

And see, that's the way we are too. We go into the store and stand in front of the TVs and are like "Yep, they're TVs". Obviously we can spot the poor quality TVs and appreciate the fancy ones, but we aren't looking to buy from either of those categories.

Will the tv be going in a family room? Is your furniture far or pretty close to it? If it's a big room and you'll be far away from the tv, you might want to consider going larger...just a suggestion. We've got a 40-something in our bedroom and it's perfect!

We'll be rearranging the room and re-running cable (and by "we", I mean "Dustin" ), so the sofa will be about 15 feet away from the TV. My FIL has a 37" LCD that looks fine from about the same distance.

 

[forceofnature]

Plasmas are making a comeback due to price for performance. LED backlit LCD is good too if it is the multi backlit version but the price bumps up for them.

We have our 42" HDTV in the living room 16'X25' and it is fine. I see no need for a big display but thats just me.

 

[Cowgirl]

We've been wanting to get a 42" LCD for over a year now, but we haven't bit the bullet. We've read and heard that plasmas don't last more than a few years before the bulb (?) blows and then it's very expensive to replace it/fix it. Besides, I really like that the LCDs don't seem to have a glare in the store, and the plasmas do. Not sure if that's a scientific fact, but it's what I've noticed.

 

[forceofnature]

Plasmas are much more reliable now. The glare is because the plasmas use glass. LCD displays mostly have a non-glare screen.

 

[Nickel]

People are all goo goo gaa gaa on the 1080s so the 720s are going for great prices right now. I got a 32" for Xmas and the quality is great. I too opted to not get a Blu-ray player as the price of the movies is too much. My TV is a Dynex which is a cheapie but the picture is beautiful. If you ask the TV people they'll say that Sony is the best. But I think spending oodles on a TV is nuts.

We don't want to spend a ton either, but we do want to go with a reputable brand.

We've been wanting to get a 42" LCD for over a year now, but we haven't bit the bullet. We've read and heard that plasmas don't last more than a few years before the bulb (?) blows and then it's very expensive to replace it/fix it. Besides, I really like that the LCDs don't seem to have a glare in the store, and the plasmas do. Not sure if that's a scientific fact, but it's what I've noticed.

Dustin talked to a guy at the NEX today and he told him that Plasmas last longer now. I'm having a hard time finding anything reliable online to back that up, though.

 

[Penn]

We've been wanting to get a 42" LCD for over a year now, but we haven't bit the bullet. We've read and heard that plasmas don't last more than a few years before the bulb (?) blows and then it's very expensive to replace it/fix it. Besides, I really like that the LCDs don't seem to have a glare in the store, and the plasmas do. Not sure if that's a scientific fact, but it's what I've noticed.

Mine has a glare-proof screen on it, so glare does not see to be a problem. The other worry is called "burn-in", My HDTV has a software solution for that, or so Panasonic says: the millions of pixels are constantly being moved or juggled up and down. So as long as you don't allow a still frame image to stay on your set for around 6-8 hours, it won't be a problem.

So far, so good. No "burn-in" on my set....how long will this set last? Panasonic says 65,000 hours. That's going to be a while!

 

[aps45819]

I need some feedback on LCD vs Plasma. I should mention that we have no real desire to get a Blu-Ray player, so that's not a factor.

So what do you have, and do you love it or hate it?

Good source of information
Learn about TVs, Blu-ray & Gaming - Expert Reviews and Articles

I've got a 42" Plasma.
If you watch DVDs, at least get an upconverting DVD player, they're around $50 at Walmart. A regular DVD player looks like crap on a big TV

 

[GWguy]

If you get Consumer Reports, they had a tutorial and review of recent models, pros/cons, etc...

I went with 47" LCD, size is ok, but I think a few inches bigger would have been nice. Would have broken the bank tho.

 

[Penn]

Panasonic Viera TC-P54Z1 Review | ZDNet: Reviews

THIS is the next HDTV I am considering. But, I am not going to pay that price. I will wait a few months to see if the cost comes down somewhat.

 

[aps45819]

I think a few inches bigger would have been nice. .

Now you sound like MrZ06

 

[glhs837]

Now you sound like MrZ06

<-----Does NOT want to know how Aps knows this

 

[blazinlow89]

We've been wanting to get a 42" LCD for over a year now, but we haven't bit the bullet. We've read and heard that plasmas don't last more than a few years before the bulb (?) blows and then it's very expensive to replace it/fix it.

No bulb in a plasma. There are alot of misconceptions between the differences between plasmas and lcds. Your general plasmas today will last as long or longer as a standard lcd, however the new LED lcds are going to last alot longer due to the fact that LEDS are good for about 100k hours where as the fluorescent bulb in your regular lcd tv is good for anywhere between 30k-60k hours.

Now plasmas image is made up from individual pixels each controlled by software to give off the correct color. The plasma screen is 2 glass plates with gas in the middle, the actual gas is what gives the pixels there image and color making for a more vibrant screen.

We just bought our first flat panel and after weeks of research, going to every store and just playing with the display color, contrast etc to get it where we liked it. To me the plasma was the sure winner. After debate we where going to get a 50" Panasonic 1080p, but after some more research and a nice sale we picked up a 42" 720p for $499 which was $200 off list price. THe smaller screen is perfect for our viewing area, and the only thing that we might notice is when we watch a blue ray or play a game, but i dont do much of each.

A google search for LCD vs plasma turns up some great articles which compare and talk about the common myths.