LCD vs Plasma

eldergamer

eldergamer

CAGiversary!
So earlier this week our 42 inch Insignia LCD TV went completely dead. We had only had it for four years but it probably went through alot with it being on almost constantly and little ones reaching up to rapidly turn it off and on.

So after some quick shopping I found a nice 42 inch LG Plasma. I hadn't used Plasma before and I'm not sure what to think of it yet. The picture seems sharper and clearer but not as bright as our old LCD. I keep wanting to yank up the brightness to fix it. I've got it set to VIVID now and it still doesnt quite look the same.

Am I just being neurotic or is there a distinct, noticable differance between the two? I've got 30 days to bring it back. (There was a 42 inch Panasonic LCD tv for the same price)
 
[quote name='eldergamer']So earlier this week our 42 inch Insignia LCD TV went completely dead. We had only had it for four years but it probably went through alot with it being on almost constantly and little ones reaching up to rapidly turn it off and on.

So after some quick shopping I found a nice 42 inch LG Plasma. I hadn't used Plasma before and I'm not sure what to think of it yet. The picture seems sharper and clearer but not as bright as our old LCD. I keep wanting to yank up the brightness to fix it. I've got it set to VIVID now and it still doesnt quite look the same.

Am I just being neurotic or is there a distinct, noticable differance between the two? I've got 30 days to bring it back. (There was a 42 inch Panasonic LCD tv for the same price)[/QUOTE]


I don't own a Plasma, but when I was doing research for my TV, I read that LCD screens were brighter than Plasma, and Plasma had better refresh rates than LCD. That said, I have personally noticed a difference in brightness between two LCD TVs. It could just be the different manufacturing.


Edit: Here's the link discussing the brightness of Plasmas Vs. LCDs. It's from 07, so it might not be relevant to todays TVs. http://news.cnet.com/Teaching-plasma-to-follow-LCDs-lead/2100-1041_3-6214189.html
 
I have a Samsung Plasma and with the "Standard" setting it looks great. I know all TVs are going to have different settings out of the box. See if you have a standard setting, not sure how LG is set up out of the box. Also, try checking the black settings, it might be set pretty dark out of the box. Sorry I couldn't be much more help than that.
 
Most people prefer a brighter picture. But a brighter picture is rarely the best picture when watching movies. LCD in general tend to be brighter than plasma TVs. That, combined with usually better anti-glare coating, make them a better choice when there's lots of ambient & reflected light. Traditionally, plasmas have better black levels. I have two plasma TVs (50 inch and 54 inch Panasonics). I prefer plasma because I think they provide the most accurate picture.

I would recommend going to www.avsforum.com and look for a thread on your model of TV... most likely there will be people who posted their picture settings... might be the quickest and cheapest way to improve the picture.
 
I don't know much about the types of TVs, but I saw LED LCDs for the first time (it was an LG), and was blown away by the colors. Very rich compared to regular TN panels I use for the computer.
 
The picture seems crisper and sharper, it's just the brightness that seems to be getting to me. Maybe I'll just get used to it over a few days.
 
[quote name='M00seKnuckle']I have a Samsung Plasma and with the "Standard" setting it looks great. I know all TVs are going to have different settings out of the box. See if you have a standard setting, not sure how LG is set up out of the box. Also, try checking the black settings, it might be set pretty dark out of the box. Sorry I couldn't be much more help than that.[/QUOTE]

+1. I love my Samsung Plasma and don't find it dark at all.
 
I have a 50" plasma and it is fantastic. The picture looks great. My one complaint is that it (and most plasmas from my understanding) reflects light, so it might be a problem if your TV gets in the sun.
 
It's not the plasma itself that reflects light per se, it's the glass screen. There is a window in our living room and it's noticable but not major.
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']I don't know much about the types of TVs, but I saw LED LCDs for the first time (it was an LG), and was blown away by the colors. Very rich compared to regular TN panels I use for the computer.[/QUOTE]

Backlight technology has nothing to do with panel type. You can (and do) have LED backlit LCDs that use TN panels.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']It's not the plasma itself that reflects light per se, it's the glass screen. There is a window in our living room and it's noticable but not major.[/QUOTE]

yeah, i just didnt clarify that because afaik there arent areny LCDs with glass screens.
 
[quote name='Nogib']Backlight technology has nothing to do with panel type. You can (and do) have LED backlit LCDs that use TN panels.[/QUOTE]

Well see, I'm uneducated.

I guess what I meant was, the picture is better than non-LED LCDs :lol:
 
Get a oled backlit one. If you have to chose go with lcd because its cheaper and lasts longer. There is barely any real world differences between the two.
 
[quote name='gargus']If you have to chose go with lcd because its cheaper and lasts longer. There is barely any real world differences between the two.[/QUOTE]
Plasma is cheaper by the inch, and the lifespan of both techs is rated in the hundreds of thousands of hours (so, essentially moot).

I prefer plasma myself. Typically you're getting better blacks and better motion resolution (without gimmicks like interpolation).
 
Ive had a samsung 42" plasma for about a year. Really pleased with the picture quality.

My recommendation if you use netflix a lot and have a plasma: Always have a sleep timer on at night. It may be annoying to reset it or have your tv turn off without noticing the timer was running out, but getting red burn in splotches out is more frustrating when waking up after a long marathon of your current poison.
 
No, I don't think you are being neurotic. The short end of it is that typically your plasmas will look better picture-wise but sans (unnatural) brightness. What you may give up, unfortunately, is a bit of a reflection in the screen from sunlight and/or colors looking not as vibrant. If you are in a low-lit room, though, usually it is the better of the two options. The LCD's, like some have said, usually run brighter out of the box on default settings. However, you get that added benefit of no reflection, which is nice. So to summarize:

Plasma: Better movie-viewing picture quality, but potentially dimmer.
LCD: Super bright, Picture quality. "Okay" when compared with Plasma.

It's all relative, though. Usually when you get the TV away from the store and in your home, most people are happy with it. If that dim look is really getting to you already, though; then perhaps you may want to utilize that 30 day return window.
 
I think after about a week adjusting to it, it doesnt seem as dim as my previous LCD. I do like the crispness to the picture quality better.

Another question:
Is there any harm in having the TV mounted two feet above an always off gas fireplace? Even when off the fireplace is warm to the touch but not hot, so it gives of a small amount of heat.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']
Another question:
Is there any harm in having the TV mounted two feet above an always off gas fireplace? Even when off the fireplace is warm to the touch but not hot, so it gives of a small amount of heat.[/QUOTE]

Ehhh, probably fine if you are sure it doesn't have any spikes in the temperature. I guess the more conservative approach would be to take an indoor temperature gauge and put it near it/on it/et cetera. Then see what kind of readout you get and go from there. If it's never on though, then my first inclination is that it is fine.
 
plasma has glass front which does cause glare in a well lit room. I keep my place dark. real dark. so this doesnt bother me. I know people with bright windows and lit up houses that perfer lcd. I really like the look of the glossy glass front on my TV. I even perfer that gloosy screen on a laptop.
 
I have a Panasonic Viera 42" plasma and I frickin love it. I was a bit nervous about jumping onto the plasma train but now that I have I don't regret it one bit!
 
I wouldn't touch plasma with a ten foot pole due to the power consumption issues and possible burn-issues. I know that burn-issues are much less of an issue than they used to be, though they're still an issue.

I went with a full LED backlit LG LE8500 last year and it has PQ and black levels that rival more than a few plasma sets.

If you want great PQ and great black levels, you're going to be looking at a plasma set or a full-backlit LED set.
 
Only reason why I chose plasma over LCD is that I see trailing shadows whenever something is in motion on LCD screens. Apparently it is the cooldown of the pixels that affects only a small portion of the population...yay me! Why cant I be so lucky with the lottery?

Oh, and I have a Samsung 50" 1080p Plasma and a Hitachi 42" 1080i (its a few years older).
 
I need a TV. Been to forums all over the place. Plasma TVs tend to have less input lag, but more IR (image retention). LEDs tend to have less IR, but more input lag, although it may go down significantly depending on the strength of their internal chip set, or their gaming mode option. anyway, I still don't have an answer what TVs are good now, that is light on input lag and IR.
 
Just look for a good deal on either. I wouldnt not buy a lcd is it was priced right... And i definitly wont not but a plamsa just cause its plasma. My 2 plasmas look better in my (DARK) home than my LCD did.
 
[quote name='Thomas96']I need a TV. Been to forums all over the place. Plasma TVs tend to have less input lag, but more IR (image retention). LEDs tend to have less IR, but more input lag, although it may go down significantly depending on the strength of their internal chip set, or their gaming mode option. anyway, I still don't have an answer what TVs are good now, that is light on input lag and IR.[/QUOTE]

Thomas, I took a look over at my ConsumerReports.org account to see what was decently rated there. As always, there seems to be a Vizio TV right at the top of the pack. The one they quote for the 52-55" range is the Vizio XVT553SV TruLED. It's essentially their flagship model series that comes in a variety of sizes, but much less expensive than Samsung, Sony, etc. To be honest, even on my older Vizio LCD (4 years old...) I don't really see any input lag or image retention. So in my scenario, there isn't a huge difference between that and my Samsung. Just food for thought. I realize there are a lot of variables involved. Imho, Vizio offers the most bang for the buck.
 
[quote name='smiley241275']Thomas, I took a look over at my ConsumerReports.org account to see what was decently rated there. As always, there seems to be a Vizio TV right at the top of the pack. The one they quote for the 52-55" range is the Vizio XVT553SV TruLED. It's essentially their flagship model series that comes in a variety of sizes, but much less expensive than Samsung, Sony, etc. To be honest, even on my older Vizio LCD (4 years old...) I don't really see any input lag or image retention. So in my scenario, there isn't a huge difference between that and my Samsung. Just food for thought. I realize there are a lot of variables involved. Imho, Vizio offers the most bang for the buck.[/QUOTE]

Vizio? I'm surprised... I didntnthink any of them were any good. I'll check it out. Thanks
 
[quote name='Thomas96']Vizio? I'm surprised... I didntnthink any of them were any good. I'll check it out. Thanks[/QUOTE]

Yeah, they are actually #1 in the US now. Years ago, they did have that wrap for having products with cheaper parts in them; but a lot of that has changed. One more thing, if you are looking for them in store, note that Best Buy doesn't carry them. They carry their own "Insignia" brand in its place.
 
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