TV selection

I recently purchased a one bedroom condo and I'm finding the viewing position with my 50" DLP is less than ideal. In an effort to create more space I've decided to sell both my tv and IKEA entertainment center and go with a plasma or LCD and a wall mount. I didn't think I was going to do this very soon but Passwird has two deals right now and it got me thinking, if you were going to go with a wall-mount which of these two would you deem the better deal: 50" Plasma from Adorama for $699 shipped http://www.adorama.com/LO50PJ350.html?sid=1274181966197936 or a 46" LCD for $699 that I would have to pick up at a local Wal-Mart (would have to add taxes) http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=14118825&sourceid=38102063153392467296 Ideas? Viewing position is approximately 8' from the wall.

Plasma FTW.

LCD! LCDs have a better picture, and generate WAY less heat. My plasma will heat a bedroom in the winter and is just plain miserable in the summer. We hardly ever turn on the plasma because the LCD pic is just so much better.

BTW I'm running 1080p on both so it's not an issue of 1080p vs. 720i or anything like that. Just go into your local Sams or Costco where you have lots of them running side by side and several layers deep and compare pics. Get right up close and you'll see the Plasmas loose definition in the darker areas. I was looking at some low lit concert with a Black singer. On the LCDs I could see individual whiskers and acne scars on his face, but on the Plasma's he looked much younger because his face was so much smoother.

+1 what car guy said about side by side

If you do a lot of gaming, LCD FTW. I have a hitachi plasma, and it ghosts like CRAZY when the action gets serious.

Ew. Who wants to SEE acne scars and whiskers? I'll take plasma thank you.

93celicaGT2 wrote: Plasma FTW.

I got a 50in Pannisonic Plasma at christmas time 2 years ago at it is great but what you should get depends on where the TV is going to live.

LCDs use less energy and seem to work better in brighter areas but they do have issues with Ghosting. When we got our TV I looked at some 120hz LCDs and it seemed to help with the blurr but fast action seemed jittery. Also, because of the way LCD works blacks are not as deep as they are on a plasma screen, plasmas have a much better contrast ratio. You also have to take into account viewing angle, our living room is big and the seating area spread out so an LCD was not going to work well for us. My son and I game on ours and the picture looks amazing with a PS3 or 360 hooked up with HDMI cables.

In the end it all boils down to you and your situation. For us the plasma was hands down the best choice and I would encourage you to get one based on my experience but they might not be the best choice for you. One thing to remember is that in the stores the TVs closer to the video source will have a better picture than the ones further down the line. At Sears I asked the sales person to hook up a DVD player to the TVs we were interested in and watched the same clip/clips of the same movie to really compare, it makes a big difference.

Whatever you end up getting take some time to research all of the settings for the picture, you will be able to get a much better picture and the set will last longer with the correct settings. you can get a DVD that helps you dig through everything I just don't remember the name of it right now.

Plasma vs LCD is an intersting argument. Plasma should give you better contrast because LCD has to be backlit. LCD comsumes much less power. If it were me I'd get the bigger set. The key is doing a good calibration on whatever you get. When I got my Samsung 52" plasma 18 months ago I went into the big box store and they Sammy and the Panasonic were side by side. The Panny looked much better, until I spent 1/2 hour tweaking settings on both. When I was done even the sales guy agreed the Sammy had a much better picture.

Y'all have televisions?

Darn it, I have to go to town soon for provisions...

Hey storekeeper.. 2 slabs of bacon, no.. make that 3. 100# of flour, and a barrel of horse feed... oh yeah, and let me have that 52" television over there.

Can you tie that to the wagon?

81gtv6 wrote: Whatever you end up getting take some time to research all of the settings for the picture, you will be able to get a much better picture and the set will last longer with the correct settings. you can get a DVD that helps you dig through everything I just don't remember the name of it right now.

Digital Video Essentials is what I've used on my set and my neighbors' sets. Works great, comes with the correct films to adjust color too.

pigeon wrote:

81gtv6 wrote: Whatever you end up getting take some time to research all of the settings for the picture, you will be able to get a much better picture and the set will last longer with the correct settings. you can get a DVD that helps you dig through everything I just don't remember the name of it right now.

Digital Video Essentials is what I've used on my set and my neighbors' sets. Works great, comes with the correct films to adjust color too.

That is the one, getting old and tired.

Interesting.

I found the Panny Plasma in particular to look better than almost every LCD i put it next to, and definitely better than any in it's price range.

So... the Plasma followed me home. It doesn't throw off any noticeable heat. It's fine in high light situations, there's no grainy-ness whatsoever, and the contrast is amazing. I don't have issues with burn-in or ghosting, either.

my 50" samsung plasma definitely gets rather warm, in a small room you can feel the heat over many hours of use.

generally plasma has a more tube-like slightly softer image than lcd which i prefer (actually i like crt projection the best but its a PITA for a tad more film-like image). in the past and when properly adjusted a plasma had significantly better black level detail, though i cant say how the current crop of inexpensive plasmas do today, but the most current batch of lcd stuff is WAY better than it used to be when it comes to black-level detail and range. plus they're brainless if used with static images (video games, etc.).

Interesting points all, thanks! The tv will be wall-mounted about 5-6' from my patio doors and the sun sets on that side of the condo so I'm guessing that qualifies as a well-lit area. LOL I plan on doing a lot of gaming but I really only play one game, Gran Turismo. I was thinking of going with the plasma because it's not any smaller than what I have now and I'm really worried about having regret over going to a smaller screen. Plus it's a little cheaper because of the no tax thing...

Ahh the old Plasma VS. LCD debate, it rages on.

Plasma has better color depth and black levels. But makes a ton of heat and uses lots of electricity.

LCD has tighter pixel spacing for a smoother picture and makes less heat. Poorer color depth and black level.

In my opinion you can get damn near the color an black level of a Plasma with an LED LCD. It's the best of both worlds picture wise, will use less electricity than either and will last longer than both. The only downside is more $$$ up front, but you do get what you pay for, $600 TV's are... well $600 TV's, not so great.

I'm looking for a $600 tv for a reason, my budget in about three years will be for a 60+" LED.

My LCDs are all in brightly lit areas and they don't suffer a bit. The wide viewing angle of the LCD is great as well. As someone else said, the Plasma looks softer which simply means it doesn't have the sharpness of the LCD. Ghosting is a thing of the past with LCDs as long as you get a 120 or higher mhz processor. I didn't know you could still buy an LCD with lower than a 120mhz.

As to the richness of color and black depth, if you got to Sams &/or Costco where they have the TVs in multiple rows so you can see the difference you'll see the LCD beats the Plasma. Stand back and watch the sets that the customers gravitate to, it will always be the LCD.

The detail in the night shots of cities &/or nature scenes will sell you in the LCDs.

I've got both and I get to compare daily. Everyone complains when they have to go watch the Plasma. Several say it gives them a head ache.

Definitely get the best and biggest you can for your money, just don't compromise and get 720 vs. 1080p.

I dunno....a 32" Samsung LCD in our bedroom works great for evening sitcoms, etc.

the $100 Craigslist 50" CRT Projection TV works great among 3 small children, the WII, and movie nights.

Maybe when they're older I'll get something nicer, but picturewise it's fine for me.

LCD in bright light. A friend of mine has a plasma and he has to hang a blanket over the window when the sun sets because of the glare.

I don't have a dog in this hunt, but I thought this was interesting enough to post here:

http://gizmodo.com/5541957/display-myths-shattered-how-monitor-companies-cook-their-specs

I have a 50 inch...Thats all I know.

its big, and I got it for less than 400 bucks with the Best Buy "it was a display model for two weeks" discount.

Have had it for about 9 months and I am very pleased with it.

I have a 61" Sony projection set for movies etc. and a 51" RCA projection for the Wii or when the kid and her friends take over the Sony. I went projection because no ghosting etc. When it comes replacement time I'll go LCD due to the heat etc issues. I figure that will be at least 5 years so all the LCD bugs will be worked out by then.

Kia_racer wrote: LCD in bright light. A friend of mine has a plasma and he has to hang a blanket over the window when the sun sets because of the glare.

I have a 42" plasma, and I'm happy with the picture quality overall. Sunlight is a problem, and table lamps make a lot of reflections in the screen as well.

You've got a point, some screens come with a reflective covering that can be a real bear with reflected light. One of my old Sony's had it and you couldn't run a table lamp at all because it would reflect it right back in your eyes. You could always see it in the picture.

The reflective screen on my computer LCD is nice, but I also view it with the screen angled back. You don't have that option with a TV

maroon92 wrote: I have a 50 inch...Thats all I know.

Now that's just braggin' and totally off subject!