[nemoforone]

I have been looking at a few televisions recently and for some reason I find that the plasmas have better picture quality?

What are the main differences between a lcd and a plasma and why should I buy one but not the other.

Anyway, both televisions sets were 42 inch with full hd (1080p) running the spiderman bluray.

[indahouweres]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4351-12658_7-6583301.html

[Hokimjers]

Very personal and heavily depends on the version, if you have enough money both are excellent no matter which of them you choose as long as you find the one you like and prefer. I would suggest to go to a local store and see which you like.

[HomePageOEMfreeSOFTWARE]

I'm with noizic on this---personal taste. I recently went from a 55 inch HDTV (Rear projection--RPTV) 1080i (Hd-ready, so no hd tuner built in) to a 42 inch 1080p (Tru or Full 1080 p) and I feel like for the past 6 years I have been in the dark ages. My tv was fine, but man what I have now is amazing and Blu-Rays look extraordinary on it.

I picked up an LG 42 inch from Best Buy and it has the 120hz (which I like even for my movies). Everyone who has watch a movie on it are floored...even Dish HD looks tunning in 1080i. Anyway, I had the same decision---LCD or Plasma and I went with LCD due to I didn't want any issue of the slightest burnin...I know it is rare and most likely will not happen with the current crop of plasmas but after a month of research and going to see ho wthey look I went with LCD.

I would take some Dvds or Blu-rays and ask to see them on the set. It is interesting that the set I have has an item in the menu where you tell the tv where it will be (home or a retail store) and that is one of the few items you have to set up. I have calibrated TVs for over 10 years and this is the 1st one that I haven't had to mess with that much as I enjoyed the picture that I had out of the box. I even have it covered for 4 years so if anything goes wrong I will have it replaced.

But as it has been stated either will serve you well. [thumbup]

[cauddyVab]

Plasma definetly has better image quality but a slight risk of burn in.

[HomePageOEMfreeSOFTWARE]

Depends on the plasma and the calibration[yes]

[adactthrd]

I suggest that you check the LCD TV ratings. The expert reviews are very helpful in getting inform about certain products. Many found it cool.

Good luck.

[ansarigf]

Seriously.

[Hokimjers]

Plasma definetly has better image quality but a slight risk of burn in.

For the same pricerange or a more expensive yes but a high quality LCD can match it especially if you want to sit close to the screen. I can't even sit 2metres away from a plasma screen without noticing "fluctering" or what it is called which annoys the hell out of me..

[cauddyVab]

For the same pricerange or a more expensive yes but a high quality LCD can match it especially if you want to sit close to the screen. I can't even sit 2metres away from a plasma screen without noticing "fluctering" or what it is called which annoys the hell out of me..

I'm researching LCDs vs plasma too. Can you explain what fluctering means?

-Thanks

[cauddyVab]

Also, I heard LCDs have crap motion resolution (ie the resolution while things are moving rather than displaying static images)

[sherrferris]

obviously if you have been reading online then you know most of the differences in specs between the two, but I will throw it at you again.

Plasma

pros
better blacks
no back light bleeding (at least not on my panasonic)
480hz refresh
truer image reproduction
glass to protect the screen underneath

cons
put off a lot of heat (nowhere near crt, but more than lcd)
can glare badly if you have outside light hitting the screen directly
anti glare coatings can create a crosshatch style pattern when view from extreme angles (as in angles you would never watch your screen from anyway)
must remain upright at all times! never lay it flat or turn it upside down.
possible burn in (very slight chance unless you leave your tv on a static image for days on end, and with new tech it will go away after about 20 minutes of moving pictures. I have left mine on the ps3 menu overnight and within minutes the image is gone)

lcd
pros
less heat
brighter backlight so better viewing in bright environment
color is generally artificially bright but can make it look better (think digital vibrance increased in nvidia control panel) but some people like it that way
cheaper

cons
can have bad backlight bleeding, especially on cheaper models.
only 60 or 120hz, although i dont notice a difference between 120 lcd and 480 plasma
something about the 120hz 1080p tvs make them look fake to me. very noticable on movies like happy feet, or Pirates of the Caribbean. not sure how to describe it, but it looks like things in the foreground are superimposed on the background image. go watch a blue ray movie on a 120hz tv and you will see what I am talking about. If you dont notice it, then dont worry about it.
nothing to cover the screen. probably only an issue if you have animals or small children. my in-laws cat tried to jump ontop of their lcd and cracked the screen. warranties dont cover that kind of stuff.

I went back and forth for a long time and ended up with a plasma. It worked better for me than an lcd and I would never go back.

[cauddyVab]

The 480 Hz marketed in plasmas is the PWM frequency, not the screen refresh frequency. As to your comments on 120 Hz TVs, please see my thread called motionflow and gaming in the console gaming section.

[DagoIgnog]

I am all for Plasma since my dad bought the Panasonic TH-42PZ85E. Picture is great and in my opinion better than what similiar priced LCDs offer.

[Wheldcobchoto]

Went from LCD to Panasonic Plasma, will never look back again, Plasma for life.

[sherrferris]

I am all for Plasma since my dad bought the Panasonic TH-42PZ85E. Picture is great and in my opinion better than what similiar priced LCDs offer.

same tv I have. My buddy liked it so much that he got rid of his sony 120hz tv and got the 50inch version. I just cant understand why more people dont buy plasma.

[CGH1KZzy]

same tv I have. My buddy liked it so much that he got rid of his sony 120hz tv and got the 50inch version. I just cant understand why more people dont buy plasma.

Heat, power consumption, noise, fringing, image retention, and reduced brightness over time. Beautiful picture quality, I am just saying every tech has its faults which is why not everyone goes the plasma route.

It is up to the consumer to decide what attributes they want in a display.

[DagoIgnog]

I thought the same about power consumption, but in the end my dads plasma consumes less average, than a similar LCD. Okay, if the picture is ALL white then the power consumption would be higher, but the lowest is 50W, while an LCD constantly consumes about 240W.

As far as the other aspects go, I cant say much about them, but we compared the TVs right next to each other in the store, and the Plasma screens looked alot better. When I go flatscreen I'll definately go the Plasma route.

[CGH1KZzy]

I thought the same about power consumption, but in the end my dads plasma consumes less average, than a similar LCD. Okay, if the picture is ALL white then the power consumption would be higher, but the lowest is 50W, while an LCD constantly consumes about 240W.

As far as the other aspects go, I cant say much about them, but we compared the TVs right next to each other in the store, and the Plasma screens looked alot better. When I go flatscreen I'll definately go the Plasma route.

You have it on a watt meter? Anyway, I was saying on average LCDs consume less electricity.

But yes, everyone has their preference.

[DagoIgnog]

You have it on a watt meter? Anyway, I was saying on average LCDs consume less electricity.

But yes, everyone has their preference.

Measured using the default settings when the TV's picture is on. Typically the default picture settings represent "torch mode," with high light output and correspondingly high power consumption, ...from the article you linked. The Panasonic does it a little different.

but some new models, such as the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U, default to a more-efficient picture mode when the user indicates a "home" rather than a "store" environment during initial setup. ...something like this.