Plasma Vs. LCD

[sammy]

post your thoughts on how Plasma's are diff from an LCD.


So far, all i got from the sales guy :

Plasma's have a glass layer on top (so you end up watching a bit of reflection) have a lower resolution, higher contrast ratio, and work based on a gas medium

LCD's on the other hand have a polymer coating so you cant see the reflection, have a higher res, lower contrast ratio's, and are based on a liquid display

will be adding more titbits as i go along my research on "What to get for sammy's hall" have to replace my dying projector some day

[kaytee]

Nice, Sammy. Please do post more info as I have no knowledge of this. I plan to get one too in the near future. Let us know what you end up getting?

[X.]

I did considerable research before I bought my Samsung 32" LCD-HDTV about two months ago.

LCD is defo better than Plasma. It have the best "viewing angle" (meaning you get the same picture and won't see reflections sitting at any angle in the room) and - depending on your model series - a great contrast ratio. LCDs are lighter than Plasmas too (my model is just shy of 14kgs).

This is important when you're considering which brand to get: Samsung makes the best LCD panels in the world right now (infact I was benchmarking it against the Sony Bravia, and I found out that Sony buys the same Samsung panels and "installs" its WEGA engine on it...bottom line, there's no difference between this and Samsung's own DNIe  trust me).

If you want the best (technical) advise, go to Harman House in The Mall of the Emirates and speak to guy called James. He'll walk you through things and match your preferences to your budget.

Good luck.

[kaytee]

AK how much did you pay for your Samsung 32"?

[sulphurhead]

i'd bought a phillips 32" LCD HDTV along with home theatre system all for 6000 AED during a promotion.

I absolutely love it - i agree with AK - LCD's are definatey better than plasma.

[cinemaster]

are you guys sure what you are talking about ?

i've seen the difference between plasma and LCD  and plasma is way better ... so if you got the money and the room buy a plasma ... it's a more satisfying viewing experience.

I've got a Samsung (LCD) myself, it's good for DVD (doesn't look that exciting for TV) but if my Dad wanted to trade his Pioneer (Plasma) - very good for DVD and as TV - I wouldn't hesitate ...

[cinemaster]

LCD is defo better than Plasma. It have the best "viewing angle" (meaning you get the same picture and won't see reflections sitting at any angle in the room) and - depending on your model series - a great contrast ratio.

that's the big problem ... if you don't sit directly in front of the LCD the color scheme looks like shit ... you don't have that problem with a plasma. Speaking of reflections it's a matter where you position your TV regarding the window (where the daylight comes from) in the room. No TV picture looks good if it gets a frontal hit by sunlight ...

[sulphurhead]

that's the big problem ... if you don't sit directly in front of the LCD the color scheme looks like shit ...

not true - least with my LCD, dunno bout the rest

[X.]

that's the big problem ... if you don't sit directly in front of the LCD the color scheme looks like shit ...

not true - least with my LCD, dunno bout the rest

Same here, the colours are vibrant and life-like no matter where you sit in the room. Non-LCD TV owners here can check out the display units in showrooms to see what we're seeing at home.

are you guys sure what you are talking about ?

We’re not an authority on the subject, are you?

AK how much did you pay for your Samsung 32"?

Picked my Samsung 32” LA-32M61 for 4500aed from Harman House, MoE. This was 2 months ago.

About the whole LCD vs. Plasma debate, it’s a matter of research. LCD have an edge over Plasma when it’s comes to durability/lifetime and – to a certain extent – the Response Time factor. A big plus for LCDs is that fact that they are relatively light which makes perfect sense if you’re moving. For the Middle East market bodes well considering most expats lease and don’t own houses. Globally the demand for LCDs is growing and that’s the reason why Sony has all but abandoned its foray into Plasma and gone head-first into R&D and marketing of LCD. So there’s not a lot of future, economically speaking, for Plasma.

Ofcourse, at the end of the day, it all boils down to personal taste. Plasma is pretty good; and if one prefers it over the LCD s/he won’t miss a lot.

[cinemaster]

that's the big problem ... if you don't sit directly in front of the LCD the color scheme looks like shit ...

not true - least with my LCD, dunno bout the rest

Same here, the colours are vibrant and life-like no matter where you sit in the room. Non-LCD TV owners here can check out the display units in showrooms to see what we're seeing at home.

Maybe we are talking different angles here ... but hey I watch on my Samsung every day and the picture looks worse the more I get away from the middle point. It's not that bad with plasma-screen

We’re not an authority on the subject, are you?

no... but I watch stuff on plasma and LCD screens for over a year now and my personal impression is that plasma gives a better picture ... not sure how many hours you guys spend in front of both sreens to compare and make up your mind.
don't get me wrong if LCD works better for your taste fine with me

Globally the demand for LCDs is growing and that’s the reason why Sony has all but abandoned its foray into Plasma and gone head-first into R&D and marketing of LCD

making more LCDs as they sell in more quantites is no indication for quality .... as I said before ... if you have the money and the room to afford a plasma ...

A big plus for LCDs is that fact that they are relatively light which makes perfect sense if you’re moving.

d'accord with that ... in fact that and the price difference to plasma made me buy a LCD 18 monts ago ...

LCD have an edge over Plasma when it’s comes to durability/lifetime and – to a certain extent – the Response Time factor.

please specify "an edge" ...

Ofcourse, at the end of the day, it all boils down to personal taste. Plasma is pretty good; and if one prefers it over the LCD s/he won’t miss a lot.

I don't miss anything when watching stuff on my plasma screen ...  in the contrary 
If you ever decide to make a trip to Europe come by and I show you what I see ...

... guess nobody will convince the other one ... at least undecided people get two opinions ...

[kaytee]

at least undecided people get two opinions ...

Yes and they are left confused too.

[sammy]

ooh...this is turning real interesting

I did considerable research before I bought my Samsung 32" LCD-HDTV about two months ago.

 i am so considering buying the Samsung too..but i want the 40" in white. They got the new LCD models out now for 32, in black and white. I love the look on the packaged divX player from samsung...but i think thats all its going to be..looks....

This is important when you're considering which brand to get: Samsung makes the best LCD panels in the world right now (infact I was benchmarking it against the Sony Bravia, and I found out that Sony buys the same Samsung panels and "installs" its WEGA engine on it...bottom line, there's no difference between this and Samsung's own DNIe trust me).

Samsung is the worlds no1 manufacturer...i am guessing so far thats quantity. Yes..sony actually uses the lower end Samsung's in their LCD's. The contrast ratios are low on these. Though i think i read somewhere that sony finally has manufactured its own LCD panels for the bravia range.

What about durability ? i'v seen plasmas die horribly (e.g at the airport...all the crappy fujitsu ones) with burns. Theres part of the screen that just refuses to move. Its like an ooooold movie just stuck there.

The guys use a plasma at work and they power it down before going home. I dont want something thats delicate. I know my house and the amount of TV usage.

HDTV or not. Thats another debate. Considering Dubai is so slow to adapt to new tech, i am guessing it will be another 2+ years before we actually get HDTV signals (though i hope its sooner). Till then, the only thing i can use this for is gaming (Xbox360!!!!!)

What do you guys think ?

[animatedude]

i've been meaning to buy a TV set for a long time now.and everytime a discussion about Plasma Vs. LCD is brought up, i get 2 typical guys one supports  Plasma and one supports LCD lol.

seriously, i don't know what to get.plus, i have this thing that if i wanted to buy something, it has to be PERFECT or iam not buying.i wish if i can get rid of this habit.

when it comes to electronics, i believe in Sony.but then agian, it pisses me off that their pricess are over the top and they usually don't give you so many options, they just show you the latest sets which are of course,expensive.

i read an article a few months ago which compares Plasma to LCD.i don't remember it really but it was mentioned that either Plasma or  LCD ( i don't remember which one) looks better in showrooms (because showrooms do have lights blah blah) while in fact they look bad in your home.

anyways, when i buy a TV-set, hopefully, early next year, there's no way i'll go with less than 50".not sure if it will be too much and noisy for my little apartment.

a few weeks ago i saw V For Vendetta on my brother's new TV-set, i think it was 65"? let me tell you guys,it was like the best day of my life.

[shariqq]

A lot of online reading and talking to personal got me to a few important points.

1) Screen Size
For screens upto 40", LCD is generally better
For larger screens, starting at 42", Plasma is better

2) Reflection
Plasmas generally have a reflective screen. LCDs generally have a matte screen for low reflection.

3) Viewing Angle
Plasma offers 178^o viewing angle, something that LCDs can try to emulate, but do not generally achieve (except for the Bravia, form what I'm told)

4) Power consumption
LCDs are better at power consumption

5) Blacks
Plasma is good for showing blacks. For LCDs, Black is really a very dark gray.

6) Burn-in
Possile on Plasmas, and highly improbable on LCDs. Newer models of Plasmas are made to withstand burn-in of images as much as possible.

7) Motion Blur
Almost nil in Plasmas. Present in LCDs, though ones with higher refresh rates (>150Hz) have relatively less motion-blur.

[shariqq]

The reason for doing all of the above is this. I just got myself a...

Panasonic Viera 42" Plasma !!



It should be wall-mounted and bash-ready by Sunday evening (18^th Jan). Stuff in it I liked:
- It's got a matte-black panel, so keeps to the background, without interfering with the viewing.
- Anti-reflective coating, makes the screen less reflective than the normal Plasma
- Great price!! AED 2999.00 from Panasonic directly (represented by Al Futtaim).


Features:
Screen Size - 42" (106 cm) diagonal
Screen Aspect - 16 : 9 Wide
Panel - G11 Progressive HD Plasma Display Panel
Progressive Scan - Yes
Contrast Ratio (in dark surroundings) - Native: 15,000:1; Dynamic: 1,000,000:1


I also got a Panasonic DVD player with HDMI output to go with it.