Plasma TV's

[0007]

Hey, help me out here
Why should I NOT buy a Plasma TV
There's a 50in samsung out now for $798
I know LCD is the future but I'm not impressed with the contrast ratio unless it's LED LCD and those are $2000

 

[brahm]

check slickdeals.net

I scour there a couple times a week got a great deal on my tv.

 

[T-Bone]

The main reasons why I wouldn't go with a plasma is burn-in and screen glare.

 

[Ak nitro]

I thought I would try a Plasma last week, it was a 42 inch from wal-mart for 500. I got it home made sure not to tip it, we were really careful. I hung it on the wall and went to turn it on, no picture at all, just sound, sat on the phone with tech support for an hour, still could not get it to work. I had to pack it all up and take it back, I just traded in for a 37 lcd and wont try a Plasma again. They also told me they might not work above 6800 feet, even though I live at the same elevation that the demo one was playing in walmart. They just seem to fragile.

 

[hypnotoad]

The main reasons why I wouldn't go with a plasma is burn-in and screen glare.

the burn-in shouldn't be a issue on the new ones anymore, even if it does get a burn-in there should be a restore screen mode on decent plasma. but plasma's have their place, if you have a nice dark room to watch one in nothing will beat it for color. but if the room you plan to put it in have a decent amount of light LCD or LED is the way to go.

 

[0007]

You know, I've heard that LCD is brighter than Plasma but that's not what it looks like in the store
The contrast ratio on Plasma is like 2,000,000 : 1 compared to 50,000 : 1 for LCD

 

[Veedy]

I have both a 42" plasma and a 40" LCD. I like the plasma for the rich colours and vibrancy. The plasma will keep up to sports and action, but the LCD will ghost because it has a much lower refresh rate. I would buy another plasma over LCD any day. But if we are talking LED, well, that's another story. Oh and by the way, HD looks nice on both, but still take the plasma for sure. It has been durable too. The plasma has been on every day since new, for over two years ( dang kids and their treehouse channel ) and no signs of " burn in " or any degradation whatsoever.

 

[zach477]

I picked up a 50" 1080p LG plasma about a month ago.....basically what I have realized is if you have an ideal location for plasma it beats out LCD hands down. It has deeper blacks and more bold colors, faster refresh rates, and in my opinion a better picture. However they glare much worse than a LCD and you need a dark room or room without direct sunlight to get the best picture. Durability should be the same with plasma or LCD; I would assume plasma being more durable. The burn in is no longer an issue and they are advertising the half life of the gas at 100,000 hours which is 11.4 hrs of it being on 24/7. I have a 42” plasma in my upstairs living room, got it for $100 from a friend of mine that manages an apt complex. He had to evict a tenant and they had 6 flat panel TVs, the 42” plasma being the best one. They put the items up for sale to try and recover their loss of revenue and repairs. The TV has a mfg date of 10/03 and works just fine, although since its 7 years old you have to be more concerned with burned in images.

 

[Scott]

I have both a 42" plasma and a 40" LCD. I like the plasma for the rich colours and vibrancy. The plasma will keep up to sports and action, but the LCD will ghost because it has a much lower refresh rate. I would buy another plasma over LCD any day. But if we are talking LED, well, that's another story. Oh and by the way, HD looks nice on both, but still take the plasma for sure. It has been durable too. The plasma has been on every day since new, for over two years ( dang kids and their treehouse channel ) and no signs of " burn in " or any degradation whatsoever.

I picked up a 50" 1080p LG plasma about a month ago.....basically what I have realized is if you have an ideal location for plasma it beats out LCD hands down. It has deeper blacks and more bold colors, faster refresh rates, and in my opinion a better picture. However they glare much worse than a LCD and you need a dark room or room without direct sunlight to get the best picture. Durability should be the same with plasma or LCD; I would assume plasma being more durable. The burn in is no longer an issue and they are advertising the half life of the gas at 100,000 hours which is 11.4 hrs of it being on 24/7. I have a 42” plasma in my upstairs living room, got it for $100 from a friend of mine that manages an apt complex. He had to evict a tenant and they had 6 flat panel TVs, the 42” plasma being the best one. They put the items up for sale to try and recover their loss of revenue and repairs. The TV has a mfg date of 10/03 and works just fine, although since its 7 years old you have to be more concerned with burned in images.

Agreed.
We've had one for almost 2 years now.
42" Panasonic Viero. 1080p.
Very happy with the Plasma.

It's in our bedroom and we mostly watch that one at night. I love it in HD...fantastic picture.
I am amazed when watching NFL games or things like that. Picture is amazing.

You know which TV show is OUTSTANDING to watch lately? Survivor!! Wow, the landscape scenery and everything on that show is unreal. It's like watching the demo DVD on the sales floor at Best Buy.

NO burn-in at all. What is that, anyway?

 

[xrated]

I'm with Scott only 720 and had since x-mas (present so no 1080) but I have no complaints so far. No bad glare and my basement has windows by the tv and across the room....so maybe it glares and I'm used to it from the old tv. Either way the pic quality is great.

Love watching SX on it, but by far the best so far has been watching like Scott said Survivor and believe it or not (since I live in MN) surfing videos are just amazing on this screen.

 

[Mafesto]

Naturally, many of the replies here will reflect a personal buying decision.

 

[kenairmk]

I have had my Toshiba plasma for almost 4 yrs. now with no regrets. I would do it again.

 

[carguy]

With TV's today you get what you pay for. Not surprised a $500 plasma from Walmart was no good. Spend money on a good plasma and you'll love it. I have a Pioneer Elite plasma, imo the Elite's are the best in every aspect but you also pay more for the quality.

 

[BigFish BC]

i have the Panasonic s1 50 inch ,it has the anti glare film & works no glare at all in direct light.i would take the plasma over the lcd anyday. has the best picture for sure & dosnt was out on the boost vids like lcds dont like white much,the samsugn was my second choice

 

[Mafesto]

Not surprised a $500 plasma from Walmart was no good.

If you buy your TV at Walmart, your house probably has wheels.

 

[BC-XP]

Biggest difference between Plasma & LCD is the refresh rate.

Cheapest Plasma is 600 Hz, most expensive LCD is 240 Hz. And some LCDs (120 hz are truley 120 hz, they just insert a copy of the first image infront of the 2nd image to trick you eyes into seeing a smoother movement across the screen.)

So fast paced sports will look fine on any Plasma, but on cheaper 60 Hz LCD a fast moving object (hockey puck, basball, etc) will stutter across the screen. Newer Plasmas have "anti burn-in technology" so burn-in isn't as much of an issue anymore.

The LED LCD's are a step in the right direction, Regular LCD's have a bright back light (imagine someone shines a flash light in your eyes, when they move it away you still see the image on the back of your eyes. Well thats the same thing that happens with the regular LCD when in lights up the LCD panel and that is one of the reasons some images look jerky moving across the screen. So the LED back lit ones aren't as bright of light so images appear to move smoother across the screen.

Something else I found out, Plasmas are suppose to display blacks better than LCD's, so if you plan on watching tv in a darker room its a plus for Plasma, if you watch in a lighter room than a plus for LCD

I'm no expert, just some of the things I found out when I was shopping for a new TV

 

[xrated]

explain this. we just upgraded the cable and got dvr yesterday.

up to yesterday morning the picture was great on the plasma(only 720) now after the dumby from the cable company hooked up the DVR the pictue seems to be washed out on all but the HD channels!!! They seemed fine yesterday....don't think our lighting in the room changed a ton but I can look tomorrow.

Anyone got ideas for that?

 

[Jizzo]

Plasmas and LCD's are both about to be dead technology, LED is the current future of Flat Panel TV's. They are pricey but worth it! Otherwise LCD is the way to go.

 

[BC-XP]

Plasmas and LCD's are both about to be dead technology, LED is the current future of Flat Panel TV's. They are pricey but worth it! Otherwise LCD is the way to go.

LED is just a different backlight for your LCD HDTV, but yes it is a big step forward

 

[Fosgate]

I had a '42 plasma TV years ago when they first dropped down to $3900. It was an LG rebagged and built for Gateway. Early on we were the test subjects for plasma TV's. I went through 7 of them in 3 years. Problems over heating, no sound, flickers after heating up, power no video etc. Granted it was a cheap one at the time when they were retailing for $7,000. They have improved it alot and I've learned a lot about them. Friend of mine is in the development of electronics and test equipment. He agreed the rebagged LG for Gateway was junk. But it taught the industry alot with those first series of "Affordable" plasma TV's. They were more brilliant and you'll hear alot of people say "The flame that burns the brightest is the first to burn out.". This is no longer the case. The plasma TV is a better TV and displays "true Black' where LCD does not. But he also told me nearly every Plasma TV out there is not calibrated correctly and they draw more power that what they require. He went over the cost figures just on how much on a power bill costs for a calibrated vs. uncalibrated and it is significant. (enough to buy a calibration kit and have it pay for itself shortly after the first year.) He does not sell for them but advised me where I can find one or if you buy a plasma ask if they will calibrate (not just hang it on your wall) for you. They should have something similar to this. http://www.sencore.com/markets/a-v-installation-calibration/