Video Asylum

Posted by Harmonia (A) on October 06, 2004 at 03:07:24

In Reply to: LCD VS. Plasma posted by Jesse on October 04, 2004 at 18:21:51:

www.avsforum.com. Start with the FAQs under each type of display. The plasma one is especially helpful.

There's more to read there on the various strengths and weaknesses of different types of displays than you can plow through in a day.

Some people have strong preferences for one technology or the other. Some people, like me, like features of both but find neither perfect. But there's tons and tons of info on that site.

Actually, this is too large a subject for a short post. Plus, people tend to get passionate about their favorites. A lot of this is down to your individual taste and viewing preferences, as well as what kind of room you're going to put this baby in.

I assume you're looking for a good sized HD (high def) TV. What's your budget? Are you looking for something you can hang on a wall? Can it be thin and sit on a table? What are you going to watch - sports? Movies on DVD? Cable? Gonna use this set for gaming? Can you control the light in your room? Is it brightly lit?

Personally, I'm not a fan of the smaller direct view LCDs (37" and smaller) - too many artifacts, motion hang etc and too expensive for their smallish screens.

The RP (rear projector) LCD TVs, OTOH, are bigger and much better looking...such as the Sony Wegas. They are relatively light, and while not as thin as plasmas, they can rest on a narrow table, are only 12-16" deep, and weigh in the neighborhood of 60-80lbs. The best LCD RPs have nice, bright pictures, lotsa detail and are very sharp. Their main weakness is their blacks and shadow detail. You might notice in night scenes or scenes with a lot of shadow that the blacks aren't really "black" - they may be a bit greyish (or blueish) and details may not be visible in shadow areas. Star Wars, Dark City and LOTR are excellent torture tests for LCD TVs (and plasmas for that matter). If you don't watch material like this, if you watch totally sunny material, this may not bother you. Some people feel the LCDs aren't as good with fast motion (hockey games & the like) while others think they're just fine. I find the latest models mostly acceptable in that regard but can't quite get over the lack of shadow detail. OTOH, LCDs don't suffer from burn-in, so they are a great choice for gamers and folks who hook up their PCs to the their displays.

Plasmas are sexy, no doubt about it. And thin...very thin. They look very cool on your wall and are high style. You can mount them in places no other TV can go like above the fireplace. They are happy in brightly lit rooms where other displays are not. Like LCDs, they are fixed pixel displays, thus sharp and detailed, especially with text.

They can also be a bit pricey, especially in the 50" and up sizes. Plasmas have their own set of issues - occassional artifacts, burn-in, , screen door effect, color accuracy, humming at high altitude blah blah blah. However...on the whole, I find tham more appealing than LCDs (but I don't game, so burn-in isn't much of an issue for me). On the whole, plasmas these days have better blacks than LCDs but not as good as CRTs. Their shadow detail is also a bit lacking, but again, I find that plasmas generally better than LCDs in this department. The nicer plasma models are appealing and look especially great with HD sources. The grossest artifacts - posterization, solarization etc - have been minimized or eliminated from the better quality plasmas. I would stay away from the el cheapo deep discount brands.

Some of the best affordable plasmas are the 42" models from Panasonic . They have a nice combination of strengths, especially deeper blacks and good contrast - they don't have as much detail as some other types of display but you probably won't miss it. The 42" Pannys are relatively affordable too. You'll find many of the usual suspects when it comes to brand names - Hitachi, Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, Samsung - and some you've never heard of. (These may be rebadged models, manufactured by another company.) Some of the best plasmas IMO are made by Fujitsu - they are certainly priced commensurately.

Someone may tell you that plasmas have short lives - don't believe them. Unless you have your set on 12 hours a day, every day, you should get years of viewing pleasure from a plasma TV.

You'll want to explore things like HDMI, card slots, blah blah blah. While you're over at AVS, I'd also check out the discussions on DLP D-ILA and LCoS displays. Some people prefer those TVs to either LCD or plasma.

Last, but certainly not least, go to your local electronics emporium, CC or BB, and LOOK at the various plasmas and LCDs models. Take a DVD you know well and ponder which sets appeal to you. Just remember, almost all HD programming looks great on these displays, as does digital animation such as Finding Nemo or Shrek. Take a real movie that'll test the displays - like Master & Commander or LOTR. Also keep in mind that the sets may not be set up very well - check especially to see that the the sharpness and contrast aren't maxed. Otherwise, you won't be seeing what the display can really do.