LCD or Plasma?

[RedChief]

I was told long ago that if you have a room that is dark so no glare, get a Plasma, if you have glare issues get a LCD. That being said, I have a 12sq foot skylight in the center of my living room so I got a LCD.

 

[Anubis]

I was told long ago that if you have a room that is dark so no glare, get a Plasma, if you have glare issues get a LCD. That being said, I have a 12sq foot skylight in the center of my living room so I got a LCD.

yea that would do it

this TV will basically be going in a dungeon, only reason im not going with a projector is because there simply isn't enough room for a screen to do it justice

 

[Sulaco]

Guys, would you say a plasma screen is more reflective, about the same, or less reflective than the old standard CRT TV screens?

 

[vi edit]

Guys, would you say a plasma screen is more reflective, about the same, or less reflective than the old standard CRT TV screens?

I'd say it's about the same as the flat panel CRT's. The old "fish bowl" style with the rounded edges mitigated the glare a bit with their curved nature. The flat glass ones were worse. Plasma is the same as those.

And I wouldn't say that LCD is immune to glare. Many of the higher end displays are coming with a glossy screen to get a boost in contrast at the expense of more glare. My Samsung A650 has noticeable glare. It's not as bad as the plasma...but I'd trade the glare that plasmas have for better viewing angles, MUCH smoother motion tech, and improved contrast.

 

[CrimsonWolf]

Guys, would you say a plasma screen is more reflective, about the same, or less reflective than the old standard CRT TV screens?

My new Panasonic plasma is less reflective than the Sony Trinitron CRT that it replaced (but that's not saying much!) It's not as reflective as I thought it'd be, though. If I just shut off the nearby lights, leaving the other lights on is usually fine.

 

[kalrith]

I'd say that plasmas are less reflective than CRTs because of their anti-reflective coating. However, if you replace a 27" piece of glass with a 50" piece of glass (which is 3 times the size of the 27"), then you're going to catch many reflections that you wouldn't in the tiny 27" piece of glass.

That's how it was for me. I replaced a very reflective 27" CRT with a less-reflective 50" plasma. The plasma handles the reflections much better than my CRT; however, being 3 times larger, it catches a lot of reflections that used to just hit the wall.

I watch most of my TV at night. When I do watch during the day, I usually close the curtains if it's catching the blinding morning sunlight from my east-facing windows. Like vi edit said, the one advantage of LCD over plasma (handling glare) pales in comparison to the several advantages of plasma over LCD (better viewing angle, smoother motion, better contrast ratio).

I do own an LCD TV in addition to my plasma, but it's my 32" computer monitor . It's a nice TV (Panasonic TC-L32S1), but comparing it to my plasma is laughable.

 

[rivethead]

No. Plasma doesn't beat LEDs in power consumption.

Yes, plasmas have a cheaper purchase price. But they also cost 2, sometimes 3 times as much per month to operate. The suck a helluva lot of juice AND give off a lot of heat (which may be a factor if you live in a warm climate and run your air conditioning a lot).

When you factor in operating costs with purchase price, the price discrepancy is less. And then factor in increasing costs of electricity in the coming years (we're f*cked if President Obama's "cap and trade" plan becomes a reality).

If you're going to keep this tv 15 years like your tube tv, you might want to consider that.

 

[Anubis]

i'm not worried about the cost of running a plasma vs a LCD. Biggest issue is deciding what brand to go with. they all have their issues and none are perfect unless you spend a shit ton on a kuro which are getting really hard to find anyway

 

[kalrith]

No. Plasma doesn't beat LEDs in power consumption.

Yes, plasmas have a cheaper purchase price. But they also cost 2, sometimes 3 times as much per month to operate. The suck a helluva lot of juice AND give off a lot of heat (which may be a factor if you live in a warm climate and run your air conditioning a lot).

When you factor in operating costs with purchase price, the price discrepancy is less. And then factor in increasing costs of electricity in the coming years (we're f*cked if President Obama's "cap and trade" plan becomes a reality).

If you're going to keep this tv 15 years like your tube tv, you might want to consider that.

You keep posting this FUD, and I'll just post the same reply I did last time:

[sarcasm]You're right: plasmas consume so much more energy than LCDs, that within a couple years, you lose any cost benefit from them.[/sarcasm]

According to CNET, the Panasonic TC-P50X1 costs $55.28 per year to operate (source), and the Philips 42PFL6704D (closest size to 40" I could find with power consumption) costs $39.65 to operate (source).

So, over the course of 5 years, your parents will spend $78 more to operate a TV that's far superior in quality and size. To get an LCD in the same size and quality as that Panasonic plasma would likely cost HUNDREDS of dollars more and certainly not $78 more.

Edit: I just fed the number of Watts consumed into my utility-cost calculator, and to get CNET's numbers for those two TVs, I'd have to have my TV on for more than 9 hours every single day. So, if your parents watch half that much TV, then the difference in electricity costs over the course of 5 years would be $39 instead of $78.

Edit2: Another way to look at it is that even if they had the TV on 24/7 for 5 years straight, they'd only be spending $200 more on electricity to have the 50" Panasonic plasma compared to that 42" Phillips LCD. You can guess which one I would choose :biggrin:

Question 1: Do plasmas consume more energy than LEDs?

Answer 1: Yes

Question 2: Will buying a $3,000 LED instead of a $1,500 plasma ever save $1,500 worth of energy?

Answer 2: No

Even if you buy a display and have it on 24/7 for the next 15 years, a plasma is still only going to consume about $600 more electricity than a comparable LED TV. Even without factoring in the time value of money, you're still ahead by buying a plasma than an LED. If you do factor in the time value of money (i.e. a dollar today is worth more than a dollar 15 years from now), then you're WAY ahead by buying a plasma than an LED.

This comparison becomes even more in favor of a plasma when you look at how much your TV is on every day. It's likely less than 8 hours, which means 15 years of being on 8 hours every day is going to cost you a whopping $200. Show me a 50" LED TV that rivals a 50" plasma TV for only $200 more, and I'll stop countering your energy-consumption FUD.

 

[vi edit]

I just gotta say that if you :

a) even notice the price difference between energy consumption
and
b) it's a big deal to you

then you
a) need to cut back on your TV useage
and
b) probably shouldn't be spending that much money on a TV.

 

[Anubis]

I just gotta say that if you :

a) even notice the price difference between energy consumption
and
b) it's a big deal to you

then you
a) need to cut back on your TV useage
and
b) probably shouldn't be spending that much money on a TV.

pretty much this

 

[rivethead]

You keep posting this FUD, and I'll just post the same reply I did last time:



Question 1: Do plasmas consume more energy than LEDs?

Answer 1: Yes

Question 2: Will buying a $3,000 LED instead of a $1,500 plasma ever save $1,500 worth of energy?

Answer 2: No

Even if you buy a display and have it on 24/7 for the next 15 years, a plasma is still only going to consume about $600 more electricity than a comparable LED TV. Even without factoring in the time value of money, you're still ahead by buying a plasma than an LED. If you do factor in the time value of money (i.e. a dollar today is worth more than a dollar 15 years from now), then you're WAY ahead by buying a plasma than an LED.

This comparison becomes even more in favor of a plasma when you look at how much your TV is on every day. It's likely less than 8 hours, which means 15 years of being on 8 hours every day is going to cost you a whopping $200. Show me a 50" LED TV that rivals a 50" plasma TV for only $200 more, and I'll stop countering your energy-consumption FUD.

How is this FUD?

You AGREED with my first point that LEDs use less power than Plasmas!

I guess if I'm guilty of spreading FUD then so are you.

And I don't know where you're getting a $1500 price disparity on similar sized LEDs vs Plasmas but I guess if you compared the best to the worst you could do that. A 58" Samsung Plasma is $2600 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0p_Plasma.html

A 55" Samsung LED of equivalent quality (mid-tier) is $2600 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...55_LED_TV.html

In addition, you have two other weaknesses in your analysis:

1) you assume the price of energy will stay constant. It won't and I alluded to such (all politics aside, the cost of electricity will likely increase considerably over the next 15 years....ignore that if you wish).

2) Plasmas kick off a lot more heat than LCD/LEDs. If you're in a warm climate (I'm in Austin, TX) that might be something to consider too. I've got a neighbor with a 50" Panny Plasma in his gameroom and he's constantly complaining about how low he has to keep his A/C set at to keep that room cool. This wasn't a problem for him before he got the Panny last year. But damn it has a nice picture (S1 I believe). In most places, A/C cost money to operate.

Like I said in my first post (and others)....I think it's something to consider. I'm not saying it's the only factor or that it should be the deciding factor.

Sorry I'm not a Plasma fanboy like you.

 

[vi edit]

LCD's put out a buttload of heat too. The heat coming off the front panel of my 46" LCD is enough to shift the thermostat near it a couple degrees. Even walking by it you can feel the heat radiating from it.

FUD away.

 

[Anubis]

i dont really care about your arguement buy why would you link from B&H you can get both much cheaper if you look. the plasma you can get for under 2k

 

[kalrith]

Sorry I'm not a Plasma fanboy like you.

Using word fanboy really solidified your argument

I'm not a fanboy for any certain technology, brand, etc. If LCD cost less than plasmas and performed as well or better, then I would recommend LCDs to people. Since the opposite is true, I recommend plasmas to people. It's the same with computer components. If AMD is producing a better graphics card for the money, then I'm certainly going to steer people away from nvidia and towards AMD. However, that doesn't make me an AMD fanboy.

I guess I will agree with your statement about it being something to consider. However, I think it gets blown into proportion and makes people think they're going to spend an extra $100+ every year in order to own a plasma, or that in 15 years their plasma (that they're obviously going to still be using as their main display ) will have cost them so much more in electricity that it will make their plasma hundreds of dollars more expensive than a comparable LED TV.

 

[rivethead]

LCD's put out a buttload of heat too. The heat coming off the front panel of my 46" LCD is enough to shift the thermostat near it a couple degrees. Even walking by it you can feel the heat radiating from it.

FUD away.

Yes that's true. And I never stated otherwise. But there are plenty of comparisions/articles/reviews that indicate plasmas give off more heat. I tend to agree based on my own personal experiences with both types of displays (while a Samsung LCD is cooler than a Panny Plasma, a Samsung Plasma is noticeably hotter than a Panny Plasma - again - my own experience while shopping).

So where's the FUD again?

 

[yuppiejr]

As a Panasonic Plasma owner now suffering from the 7-blink of death issue and fearful of the latest models and their premature loss of black level problems I decided to take a look at Samsung... AND the extended warranty.

I settled on one of two options - the 50" PN50C550G1F Plasma or the 46" 120hz LCD, LN46C630K1F . The LCD is about $80 cheaper but obviously smaller... Both seemed to handle motion very well, the LCD was clean and bright with surprisingly good black levels... Pretty sure either would be a fine choice for your situation, LCD will never have issues with screen burn or image retention if you game for long sessions and would probably be better for gaming. I'd give the nod to the Plasma for Blu-Ray/DVD movie watching - probably equal for broadcast/cable/satellite HD content.

I opted for the extended warranty after my Panny shit itself less than 3 years after I purchased it... $50 a year for 4 years of in-home service and full coverage of everything including burn-in seems like a good value to me on a large ticket purchase. I loved the picture on my Panasonic but will be avoiding their plasmas for a couple of years until they deal with the rash of bad power supplies and screwed up black level/premature panel failure issues they seem to be having.

 

[Anubis]

the Samsung plasmas aren't free of issues either. I'm sure you have read the threads on AVS.

Unless you shell out the big bucks quickly disappearing Pioneer KUROs you cant really find a "perfect" display anymore

Im picking up my Panasonic P50G20 tomorrow
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...TVs/model.TC-P50G20_11002_7000000000000005702

 

[JackBurton]

the Samsung plasmas aren't free of issues either. I'm sure you have read the threads on AVS.

Unless you shell out the big bucks quickly disappearing Pioneer KUROs you cant really find a "perfect" display anymore

Im picking up my Panasonic P50G20 tomorrow
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...TVs/model.TC-P50G20_11002_7000000000000005702

Runco plasmas are still up for grabs.

 

[Anubis]

Runco plasmas are still up for grabs.

yea i didnt feel like robbing a bank this week

 

[yuppiejr]

the Samsung plasmas aren't free of issues either. I'm sure you have read the threads on AVS.

Unless you shell out the big bucks quickly disappearing Pioneer KUROs you cant really find a "perfect" display anymore

Im picking up my Panasonic P50G20 tomorrow
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...TVs/model.TC-P50G20_11002_7000000000000005702

Fair enough, much of the consumer experience is subjective and Panasonic makes a great plasma (my first was their TH-42PZ700U). I'm just not willing to invest money in another Panasonic after mine died less than 3 years after purchasing it due to a well documented power supply design fault that the company never felt compelled to acknowledge. I was also steered to look elsewhere by the "floating blacks" issue that's been discussed at length at AVS and documented elsewhere (YouTube link) was also a major component in my choice. The "rising blacks" (permanent lightening of the black levels on Panasonic plasmas per a firmware/configuration within the set after a set number of hours in use) is less an issue since I think the Panasonic has a slightly better black level to start with compared to the Samsung plasmas and it basically puts them at the same level after the setting takes effect.

To your point, I don't think either is perfect - some users of the Samsung 2009 and 2010 plasmas report a "buzz" coming from their set (I have not noticed this) but I think they have a solid line of plasmas that compete well with Panasonic and are worth a look. I don't think a buyer will be poorly served with either a Panasonic or Samsung Plasma set as long as it's the right display technology for their source material and room conditions.

 

[Anubis]

yea im aware of that and there are slight work arounds. and TBH for what i will be using the TV for i don't think i will be an issue for me. if so i can just return it/exchange it for the sammy 550 or 590 but the talk of the loud annoying buzzing worries me more then black issues

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Good choice.

How much are they getting for Kuros these days?

 

[Anubis]

3500+ if you can find them. which isnt a bad price, just more then what i was gonna spend

 

[SphinxnihpS]

3500+ if you can find them. which isnt a bad price, just more then what i was gonna spend

I got the non-elite 5020fd for under $2k last year. PQ is better than my dad's Panny 1080p which is newer. You should look into those.