Plasma vs LCD TVs

[coach]

LCD and Plasma are both excellent looking TVs. Sometimes I wouldn't know which I was looking at if it didn't have a label. However, there is a GLARE that I see from light sources elsewhere in the room. I don't see that with LCD screens. I have also read of burn in concerns with Plasma screens. Are there other considerations of these 2 particular offerings I should be aware of when selecting my new HDTV?

[pchangover]

Well last summer when I was trying to figure out which to buy I eventually ruled out plasma because of the burn-in issue. They also just seemed like they would die sooner than an lcd, but I'm not sure why I had that feeling. Now this year we have seen most of the best plasma manufacturers leave the business all together. This doesn't bode well with plasma quality. I recently read an article that said plasma was dead, and it very well could be because no big name companies are manufacturing them anymore.

I would recommend going with an LCD based off of past experiences. I personally went with a 42" 1080p Sharp Aquos and have loved it. You can now pick up a 44-48" 1080p for a similar price that I paid - $1300.

[JackW]

With this question you have opened quite the bag of worms. This is generally suited for a large lengthy discussion, but I'll try to summarize. If you do but an LCD check the pixels response time, this is very important to it's overall performance. I believe an excellent rule of thumb is over 50 inches get Plasma, below that I'd stick to LCD.

Plasma pros:

Better picture quality than LCD, generally, it excels at similar colors, especially black, which LCD's have trouble with.
Cost effective for LARGE screens. Plasma cons:

Burn in of screen images that are kept up for a long time. LCD pros:

Cheaper.
Better resolution, in terms of number of pixels. LCD cons:

The color black is difficult to display because of the backlight.
Good luck finding a LARGE one, LCD TVs are a giant array of TFT's (a type of transistor) and it must be manufactured in one piece which is very difficult to do on a large TV.

[cablehiccups]

Yes, the picture is better, but the burn in remnants are terrible.

I was setting up a friends 50+ inch sammy plasma and had poker on in hd.... It was on for less than 1 minute and I saw the hand information box for over an hour.

Made me happy that I chose lcd for my house.

[Millwright]

You need a dark room for plasma,or you will get reflections from windows and other light sources.

[arcstrider]

Nowadays, LCDs are much more popluar than plasma but wait until LED TVs become more mainstream

[psyporic]

Personally I would go with LCD, because of the burn in with Plasma. Just be careful to avoid the mis-information scams.

This site covers some good ones like dynamic contrast ratio. I don't agree with all of their points but it's good to hear all sides.

http://hdguru.com/the-ten-worst-hdtv-scams-lies-and-video-ripoffs-explained/239/

[arcstrider]

Personally I would go with LCD, because of the burn in with Plasma. Just be careful to avoid the mis-information scams.

This site covers some good ones like dynamic contrast ratio. I don't agree with all of their points but it's good to hear all sides.

http://hdguru.com/the-ten-worst-hdtv-scams-lies-and-video-ripoffs-explained/239/

I agree, LCDs are a much better choice than Plasma due to the burn in.

[Digerati]

LCDs are the way to go. I don't want to repeat what the guys have already said, but I did do tons of research before I opted for an LCD last November.

[bobletman]

I tend to lean towards lcd screens. They tend to last longer.

[zdincht]

being an avid photographer, i can tell you for a fact that monitors make a world of difference if you do a lot of work in the digital darkroom (that term just sounds so cool). anywho, i'd prefer lcds over plasmas due to the burn, but i prefer crt any day. lcds have great screens and are usually more accurate when you calibrate for 18% gray, but i like my colors vivid and slight hypersaturated... but that's just me.

[madspartus]

definately lcd. will last longer, use less power, no burn in.

its the superior technology. granted if you had said 60" i would say plasma, but all the way up to 50 or 52" whatever i would definately say lcd