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My TV died today, so I am trying to quickly gather information.
Which type of TV is preferable? LCD or plasma?
For some reason, I remember reading negative things about plasma TVs but do not remember the negative things I read.
Since this is an unexpected expense, my budget is super-tight. I was looking at under $400 32'' LCD TVs (and am leaning towards a Philips). However, I dug a local electronics store ad out of the newspaper and they have a 42" Samsung Plasma TV for $539. It is a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it makes to bigger TV slightly more affordable since I can also get 12 months interest free. However, I do not want to buy something I will regret.
Please help! I am completely clueless- I have had my TV for 6 years and my dad used it for a good 5-10 before that (or longer!). A TV has been on my wishlist for years, but I have never had the spare money.
Plasma runs way hotter and uses more power but, as mentioned by Memphis1979, the problems they suffered early on have mostly been dealt with and they are a very nice TV. I own a large plasma and my next tv will be an LCD. Don't get me wrong the plasma looks freaking amazing and I love it but LCDs have come a long way with color presentation and run a lot cooler.
My plasma is like having an oven open, it changes the temperature in the room. Not immediately noticeable from a distance but walk up to the entertainment center and you can feel it coming off in waves, heh. Power consumption is a LOT higher than LCD too.
Really it comes down to what options are available, pricing and personal preference. Either is a viable tv as long as you know the strong and weak points of each and do your research on the model(s) you are interested in.
I have two LCDs. I didn't want plasma because of their power consumption. I think all tv's made now are at least 1080p, right? Do they even make 720s anymore? Consider the refresh rates to diminish blurring when watching sports or fast-paced scenes. Consider what other electronics will be hooked up to it and how/what type of connections you will need. Do not buy any HDMI cables from a big box store. Order them online for a substantialy cheaper price. Will you be wall mounting your tv or placing it on a console? If you have children, consider the possibility of tipping. The speakers on some of these new tvs can be quite disappointing as far as volume levels go...especially when watching DVDs.
My TV died today, so I am trying to quickly gather information.
Which type of TV is preferable? LCD or plasma?
For some reason, I remember reading negative things about plasma TVs but do not remember the negative things I read.
Since this is an unexpected expense, my budget is super-tight. I was looking at under $400 32'' LCD TVs (and am leaning towards a Philips). However, I dug a local electronics store ad out of the newspaper and they have a 42" Samsung Plasma TV for $539. It is a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it makes to bigger TV slightly more affordable since I can also get 12 months interest free. However, I do not want to buy something I will regret.
Please help! I am completely clueless- I have had my TV for 6 years and my dad used it for a good 5-10 before that (or longer!). A TV has been on my wishlist for years, but I have never had the spare money.
TIA
Right now ,due to all the rapid changes taking place in TV's, don't buy a TV with an eye towards it lasting a long time. Buy a set that you like the picture on and save your money for the next set you'll have to buy in the near term future.
They have eliminated the problems with plasma (burn-in, etc..). They have not eliminated the problems with LCD (bad viewing angles, harsh and unnatural colors, etc..). I personally prefer plasmas. I don't care that my plasma sucks a lot of power.
Unfortunately, the top maker of Plasma (Panasonic) has supposedly altered the 2009 line so that the black levels get all screwed up with the sets. It is a massive problem that is all over the internet. Samsung plasmas also have an alleged capacitor problem. Check out reviews on Cnet.com and Amazon.com.
Go to a big box store to examine sets and how they look, but order it online. You don't have to pay sales tax and it is much cheaper anyway.
... Samsung plasmas also have an alleged capacitor problem. Check out reviews on Cnet.com and Amazon.com.
I've heard of capcitor problems in almost every brand of LCD and Samsung and Panasonic Plasmas. I have two Panasonic LCDs. The 32" 720p has the capacitor problem and my 37" has had the problem once. This is when you attempt to turn on the tv and the red light just blinks but the tv won't power on. I manually mess with the power button on the tv to get the tv to power on.
Plasma has a better black color, which makes things look better. Plasma has better colors all together.
At one point in time, Plasma had burn out issues, quicker than LCD. Plasma had a better viewing angle, but burned out quicker.
Now, Plasma has longer life, somewhere around 60,000 hours or higher before you're at half color. Should last you until you want to get another TV.
Plasma also runs hotter than LCD, if I'm not mistaken.
LCD has good colors now as well, but seem to cost a little more.
All and all, I'd say if you're going bigger than 50", I'd go with Plasma. If you're smaller than that, it doesn't really matter.
Yes, I agree with the above.
Note that Plasma TV's rarely come it sizes less than 40". You will get a better picture for the price, as comparable LCD (with dynamic LED backlighting, to match the plasma black levels (i.e. dark scenes are not washed looking)) tends to cost $500-1000 more. However, each person has a range of what they are willing to accept as "good picture" relative to cost. The Panasonic G series (and above) plasmas are pretty amazing looking, especially for the price. Of course you will have to deal with cooling fans on the plasma, due to the higher power usage.
LCD is the far easier choice for ease of use and lower power consumption. Image quality will be an issue in lower cost models, but again, it depends on the person.
The biggest problem with consumer TV's is the warranty is only 1 year (computer monitors tend to have 3 year warranty), so you are gambling that the one you get has no issues. Also, a biggest screen tends to work out better than a smaller screen (otherwise you may feel you got one too small).
check statistics and reviews--and narrow your choices based on price to value info on reputable sites
looking at tv pictures in the stores where they are all calibrated differently and have horrible light source (not like in your home) and probably many are set at bad angles--too high--make their objective assessment too variable--and frankly most people want to adjust their sets to please their own idea of what is a "good picture" anyway--
most cable sources don't process feeds at the high quality of new screens--or at 120 or 160 hrtz--
the only time you get the true visual quality of an expensive screen is playing DVDs where the feed is direct (via the DVD player)...like a blu-ray movie...
you might like a Samsung model great at Best Buy and not so good at Sears or Wal Mart
Sony might look good in someone home and bad in the store--
so look for reliability, price/value, where the speakers are located especially if you are not adding speakers and using the tvs--
Panasonic IS having a big problem with their plasmas' black color and the way they are handling it is jeopardizing their reputation for quality customer service--basically they are telling people who bought new plasmas BECAUSE of the exceptional deep black color (which will fade dramatically fairly quickly) to just suck it up and live with it...or buy a new one without the problem...yeah...like that is happening...
Samsung (I have two large LCDs and bought a new 50 in plasma in Feb) gets bad reports for customer service--frankly we have had no problems with our sets--and the two LCDs are over a year old...
some people are saying that Vizio makes a good product--and Sharp has gotten good reviews on some of theirs--
so frankly there is no one right or wrong tv--
check your own viewing situation--where you are going to put the tv--how much light you usually have when watching it--I think you might be happy with something that is fairly inexpensive and not "top of the line" because anything new is probably going to be better--
just check for reliability--because I think most modern sets are built for a short life span so that people have to get newer ones after 4 or so years...
there are still problems with plasma burn in--and they can get pixel loss -- don't believe everything people say--you can't abuse a plasma like you can an LCD for the initial break in period--
the ONLY store that I know of that will sell you an extended warrenty on a plasma tv that covers bad pixels is Best Buy--IF there were no problem then it looks like any extended warrenty could cover burn-in issues--but they don't--check with that store advertising the Samsung plasma about it or any other electronic store..
frankly ordering large tv via mail is just a hassle--if there is something wrong YOU are responsible for boxing and paying shipping and you have to pay through the nose to ship a large flat screen...
a Plasma screen can't be laid down either in shipping or the screen can be damaged...
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