View Full Version : Plasma or LCD TV??
Can anyone please tell me the difference and which one people think are better
Plasma consumes more electricity. They run hot and burn out. You can only get them in huge sizes that in my opinion would be too big for the average sized room here in the UK (and yes, I know most men would not agree, and always think bigger is better). A friend in the business of fixing appliances once told me that when plasma goes wrong, very little can be fixed. This might have changed as it was a fair few years ago. Or it might have gotten worse for both plasma and lcd as the technology is getting smaller and smaller and more complicated.
think plasma heats up more and is harder on electric but best for films. lcd better if tv on a lot.
think this is what the guy in the shop said when i got mine. also if you tend to watch a same channel then if it has channel display in corner then plasma can end up faintly seeing this all the time?
i went for lcd as mine is on a lot and id prob ended up with cbeebies icon in the corner of my plasma!
captain chaos
27-Dec-10, 10:53
If you are thinking of buying a new TV go for LED as both LCD and Plasma are old technology.
If you have sky HD then also consider a model that does 3D
orkneycadian
27-Dec-10, 11:01
Plasma far better for picture quality, though LED now a hot contender. LCD displays often suffer badly from a poor viewing angle. View it perfectly front on and it looks fine - Move a little to the side and the brightness and contrast go all to cock. You'll see that if you have a laptop with an LCD display. Tilt the screen away from the optimum angle, and even reading text becomes hard. Imagine that on a film.
LCD's are better than they used to be, but still suffer a little bit of image lag and ghosting for fast moving images. Plasma meantime is instant.
Most plasma's have various means of preventing burn in, but I guess if you left it with the same image up for months, it might burn in. I have had a plasma TV for about 7 years, and its not seen any problem. No loss of pixels, or burn in. Starting to show its age only through no inbuilt freeview and non HD ready!
Having seen the poor viewing angles of LCD's (my folks bought a Sony LCD about 6 months ago, and the drop in contrast/brightness just moving your bum 3' sideways on their sofa is very disappointing) I would't have an LCD, but would go for another plasma someday. But thats just personal preference!
Thank you everyone for your replies :)
annemarie482
27-Dec-10, 11:49
i have a samsung 42" plasma from tesco's
got it for a very good price, had it two years and love it!
sound and picture are excellent.
folk have mentioned it uses more power and gets hot?
cant say i've noticed, and as a stay at home mum of two mines is never off lol
If you are thinking of buying a new TV go for LED as both LCD and Plasma are old technology.
LED technology is great but only available in small sizes (like mobile 'phones), I assume you are meaning LED backlit LCD which are slimmer than the usual LCD types and also give a more even light distribution. One of the manufacturers, Samsung I think, were fined for advertising their LED backlit LCD tvs as being LED
It really is all a matter of opinion. If one was really better than the other then the market would settle the debate and one would just not sell and would leave one, the best alone in selling.
Since that both Plasma and LCD are selling in almost equal numbers the market is undecided, so there you have it and now each must make up their own mind and decide.
I made up my mind in November 2009 when I bought a 42" LG LCD HD Ready TV. It is a great TV and I get Great Sound and also Great Picture Quality.
Now the main reason I went for this TV rather than any other make or a Plasma was the Price. It was the best value at the time, but on saying that I have never regretted it all and I am very happy with this set.
orkneycadian
27-Dec-10, 13:20
When I bought this plasma 7 years ago, plasma and LCD were equal on price (both equally as painful!) What swung it was the technical reviews at the time that (then) said LCD was not so good due to motion lag and viewing angle.
At that time, there were only about 2 factories in the world that made the plasma display panels. No matter what name was on the TV (Hitachi, Sony, LG, or whatever), the actual display screen would have come from one of the 2 factories. I think that was one of the factors that kept the cost of plasma up, whilst the cost of LCD fell. LCD then snowballed as the cheaper of the 2 as cost led to demand, demand led to production and production led to lower cost.
Its a bit like the VHS/Betamax debate, where Betamax was actually the better technical solution, but didn't hit the right combination of price and marketing to make it mainstream.
I think that had plasma been more available a few years back (more factories) then the split wold be a lot more even today. But its become like VHS/Betamax and LCD is as common as muck, even though (arguably), its not as good.
As Kodiak said it will come down to personal preference.
I changed from LCD to Plasma as was fed up with the clouding I was getting on the LCD. I am really glad I did as I much prefer the picture qualtiy on the Plasma (more natural) and I don't get the eyestrain I used to get after watching LCD for a while.
_Ju there a lot of myths re Plasma and the newer models are much better with re energy consumption. I haven't noticed any difference in my electricity bill since getting the Plasma. Also mine is 37 inches so a really nice size. People used to think they needed regassing. Burn in is also much less of a problem and will only happen if you leave a static image on for hours on end which isn't likely to happen.
The good thing is as well Plasmas are usually much cheaper than LCD.
I wouldn't go for LED either as they can have the same problems as LED.
I notice that Graham Begg has some really good deals on Panasonic Plasmas and they come with a 5 year guarantee.
There is pros and cons in every product the most important thing is not to get sucked in by the extra features. technolgy moves so fast whatever you buy will be out of date 6 months down the road thats what its like with all electronic equipment just buy what you can afford what ever you buy it will be fine?
At the moment you will see a lot of good deals on tvs that are digital but dont have "freeview hd tuner" built into it so the tv cant get an hd signal via the ariel they just have the digital tuner? thats why there going cheap so they can get rid of old stock?If i was buying another tv it would have to have an "freeview hd tuner built" into it because you can freeview hd channels now.
Look at at the 3d tvs ok its smart but you need glasses everyone will buy one and then what a 3d tv comes out were u dont glasses the point im making you will never be able to future proof your gadgets by paying more so dont try or your just wasting money
orkneycadian
27-Dec-10, 14:45
This link may be helpful?
http://www.which.co.uk/technology/tv-and-dvd/guides/lcd-vs-plasma-tvs/
teddybear1873
27-Dec-10, 18:13
Plasma is going out the window. Even though it has some pro's than LED-LCD, manufacturers want you to buy where technology is going.
My choice is LED-LCD, just make you get one at least 120hz. Even the prices are starting to drop, compared to 6 months ago.
Everyone has their own preference.
Not sure on your viewing habits but how about a Projector instead ?
Projectors are more geared for films its a bit weired to watch a tv program on a projector it doesnt feel right
teddybear1873
27-Dec-10, 18:40
There is pros and cons in every product the most important thing is not to get sucked in by the extra features. technolgy moves so fast whatever you buy will be out of date 6 months down the road thats what its like with all electronic equipment just buy what you can afford what ever you buy it will be fine?
At the moment you will see a lot of good deals on tvs that are digital but dont have "freeview hd tuner" built into it so the tv cant get an hd signal via the ariel they just have the digital tuner? thats why there going cheap so they can get rid of old stock?If i was buying another tv it would have to have an "freeview hd tuner built" into it because you can freeview hd channels now.
Look at at the 3d tvs ok its smart but you need glasses everyone will buy one and then what a 3d tv comes out were u dont glasses the point im making you will never be able to future proof your gadgets by paying more so dont try or your just wasting money
3D tellies. I think they will fizzle out and won't last. I wouldn't pay extra on them.
Plasma is going out the window. Even though it has some pro's than LED-LCD, manufacturers want you to buy where technology is going.
My choice is LED-LCD, just make you get one at least 120hz. Even the prices are starting to drop, compared to 6 months ago.
Everyone has their own preference.
Why do you think Plasma is 'going out of the window'? I know that Panasonic are continuing to introduce new 'improved' models every year and they intend to keep doing so.:)
There is a great demand for Plasma.
teddybear1873
27-Dec-10, 20:41
The LED-LCD v Plasma war is similar to Betamax v VHS. The best doesn't always win.
You walk into a shop. How many LCD tellies is there compared to Plasma?
The LED-LCD v Plasma war is similar to Betamax v VHS. The best doesn't always win.
You walk into a shop. How many LCD tellies is there compared to Plasma?
Could be because LCDs are more expensive?
3D tellies. I think they will fizzle out and won't last. I wouldn't pay extra on them.
I don't fancy having to wear 3D specs on top of my reading specs!:lol:
3D tellies. I think they will fizzle out and won't last. I wouldn't pay extra on them.
If you said that 20 year ago then yes i would agree with you but ive watched some stuff on a 3d tv in comet with the special glasses and i thought it was very impressive and i think its going to be the gamers that are going to push it into maintstream product i think 3d is here to stay.
I don't fancy having to wear 3D specs on top of my reading specs!:lol:
Wearing the cheap plastic ones with the red lense and green one is uncomfortable but the black more expensive specs there quite comfy to wear.
Wearing the cheap plastic ones with the red lense and green one is uncomfortable but the black more expensive specs there quite comfy to wear.
I just don't fancy wearing two pairs of specs Eddie.
orkneycadian
28-Dec-10, 10:59
Aren't LCD generally cheaper you mean?
Is it a myth that if your telly is watched in daylight hours (aged mum has it on all day), you are better with an LCD for the picture compared to a plasma in a darkened room?
Aren't LCD generally cheaper you mean?
No plasmas are cheaper than LCDs.
I paid about £700 for a 32" LCD and got my 37" Plasma for under £500!!! So got a bigger telly for less money. Oh and got a free stand with it as well.:D
Admittedly, the price of LCDs has come down since I got mine but you can still usually get a Plasma cheaper than an LCD.
Is it a myth that if your telly is watched in daylight hours (aged mum has it on all day), you are better with an LCD for the picture compared to a plasma in a darkened room?
It is true that a Plasma doesn't do so well in a really bright room such as a conservatory. However, if your room isn't too bright and light isn't shining directly onto the Plasma then it's fine.
Personally, I think plasma are the best , its old wives tales about "burn in" on screens , you would only get this if you left your tv set switched on for a very very long time and i mean months which is unlikely,and only if the screen was showing a logo at the time , i have had a panasonic 50 " for three years now with no burn in or any other faults at all , another thing you should be aware is that some LCD sets have a bad viewing angle so you cannot see the screen if you are watching from an extreme angle left or right and also some LCD "toshiba" comes to mind if you had an LCD set on a wall or high up the picture may also appear to go nearly off when viewed from below , so if you are going to buy a tv , make sure that you can see the picture in the showroom and view it from left, right, below, and above, if you do not lose any viewing quality , then you are safe.. plus you REALLY should have some idea of what you REALLY want , do not leave it in the hands of the salesman, just because they reccomend , does not mean its the best tv in the shop, they may be getting a better mark up on this particular model if they are pushing it , Take someone with you who KNOWS about picture quality and sound and what the tv offers such as , does it have built in FREEVIEW or FREEVIEW HD or even PC CONNECTIVITY , for internet viewing, there is a bit more than just plasma and or LCD......good luck.
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