Low-end 55" LCD vs. middle-range 46"

[0roo0roo]

yea i didn't bother.
audiophiles will claim you need leave headphones blasting for X hours to break them in, whether this backed by any science is dubious, but they do it anyways.

while there is some truth to the idea that the phosphors on plasma age fastest early on, it probably really isn't necessary to break them in unless you know you are leaving the tv in the hands of someone who can't be trusted. otherwise normal tv viewing during the first weeks should be fine, who just watches one channel after all.

 

[simonizor]

I have a 46" Panasonic Plasma and I love it. I don't have any issues with image retention. If you leave the same image (static image; not HUD on video game) on the screen for maybe 3 hours, it'll stay there for a few seconds when you turn the TV off, but it goes away. It has a thing that wipes across the screen to get rid of any image retention that doesn't go away (haven't had any in my 2 years of having it).

The only thing that you really have to worry about getting retained is something like a computer screen that has the task bar on it for a long period of time. Video games, TV, movies, etc are all designed so that the HUDs, logos, etc don't stay on the screen long enough to cause image retention. In a game, the HUD goes away when a cut scene comes up or when you pause the game. On a TV show, the logo is never there for more than a few minutes because they're always going to commercial breaks.

When I watch content that isn't widescreen, my TV has an option to stretch the image to take up the whole screen, eliminating the need to worry about burn in from black bars.

Overall, I have no regrets in choosing a plasma TV. The image quality is much better than comparable LCDs, and the refresh rate is usually better, too.

 

[Zivic]

I have 4 plasma displays
42" panny 60u
60" pioneer 600M patched - chad B calibrated
60" pioneer 151fd - chad B calibrated
46" panny C2

even my lowest end 500 buck panny bests nearly all LCD panels I have seen. My pioneer's are the best of the best. I laugh when people brag about their high buck LED displays - most are so stupid they don't even realize they bought the same crappy LCD panel that next guy... what do you mean it's an LCD??? it says LED.

videophiles know plasma is still king.... those that think they know buy LCD

 

[Nebor]

Congrats on the LCD. I think you'll be happy that you didn't get a plasma. It's tough to find a forum where plasma owners aren't sitting around blowing each other while moaning "Black levels! Unnggghhh, refresh rates!" I know that's all I found. People told me that image retention and burn in wasn't a problem with the "new" plasmas. Someone's got to be the dissenting voice.

I may not have a lot of "facts," or "experience," or even much "common sense," but I've got an opinion damn it.