What HDTV?

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: five40

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Plasma sets are basically plasma gas kept between two sheets of glass. Once the seals start losing their ability to hold the gas in (usually 3 - 5 years), the brightness of the display goes out the window. Unless you get a plasma set that can be re-charged (about $10k set), you are out of luck and will need a new set.

Link? I knew this was true for older plasmas, but newer plasmas are much better.

this was info I learned last year...if the newer sets no longer have this issue, then I apologize (but could it have changed that much in one year??)

Anyway, my vote would be for the DLP...

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: BostonRedSox
I couldn't be happier with my Toshiba 51HX83 RP HDTV. Looks better than my buddies 46" DLP. It's almost like I'm sitting in center field when watching Red Sox homes games in High Def.

sounds like your buddies' DLP isnt calibrated properly...don't get my wrong, my 4 year old Toshiba still kicks a$$...

 

[royaldank]

Plasmas start to "burn out" from the second you turn them on. Granted, newer gen sets are expected to last 10-20 years but they still start loosing brightness from the first time you turn them on.

Unless you get a plasma set that can be re-charged (about $10k set), you are out of luck and will need a new set.

You cannot recharge plasma screens. Once they are done, they are done.

 

[Robor]

Don't get a Plasma unless you absolutely need the small footprint and brightness they offer. A good LCD/DLP set will give you a great picture for a fraction of the price.

I've got the Sony 50" LCD and I love mine. I opted for LCD over DLP because I don't like the idea of the fast spinning mirror in the DLP's. I only wish my set had more DVI inputs and an HDMI input.

 

[blurredvision]

Please, for the love of god, do not buy an EDTV. 480p pales in comparison to a true 720p/1080i picture (when you can get a true picture and not compressed). IMO, you're wasting money. In my mind, if I was to spend that much money, you might as well get the good stuff. I'd hate to spend $2000 and get low-end equipment.

 

[PKPunk]

why not get a smaller LCD HDTV in that price range?

 

[Apex]

Ugh, so much misinformation all in one place. 🙂

1. Plasmas are sealed, it cannot lose gas, unless the screen is cracked or shattered.

2. The vast majority of quality plasmas these days have a 60,000 hour halflife. This is the time it takes to reach 1/2 brightness. For reference, there are plenty of plasmas with 1000 cd/m2 brightness. At 500 cd/m2, it's still about 4x as bright as your typical tube based TV. Panasonic is about to launch their 100,000 hour halflife panels. IF you watch a full 12 hours of TV a day, 7 days a week, every week of the year, year after year after year, it would take almost 23 years to reach 1/2 brightness with this panel.

3. ED plasmas do not look like crap. Crappy plasmas look like crap. There's a difference. When watching HD video material on a 42" plasma, most people with 20/20 vision cannot tell the difference between an ED set and an "HD" set from distances further than about 8 feet away or so. Our eyes simply do not have the resolving power at those distances for moving pictures. For those distances ED sets are superior to HD sets for DVD and lower quality source materials. The problem with ED sets are mainly two fold:

_ A. Misinformation.
_ B. Poor panel quality. The biggest problem is contrast & black level, though scaling/processing and color also tend to play an important role.

4. Plasmas are not going away. Plasma technology is not standing still, as much as LCD proponents think it is. In general, when you ask around on computer type forums, people prefer LCD. If you as in home theater type forums, people prefer plasma.


Anyhow, for 7-10 feet, 42" is a reasonably good size. I personally prefer 50" at those distances, but it's a matter of personal tastes. You have a good mix of source quality. I'd suggest a high quality ED or an inexpensive HD.

I've suggested the same thing in another thread, but the 42" ED Panasonic (either the NEW consumer set, ending in part number 50, or the industrial set ending in 7Uy) or the latest LG "HD" panel based sets (ie. V.Inc Visio P42HDe) would be good choices. I'd lean towards the LG based one if your ambient light control is not great.

 

[aeroguy]

Originally posted by: AMDZen
Its funny how most people don't know this, but Plasma TV's are Piles of Sh~t. This is a truism. There isn't many on the market now that will last more then a couple years. So I definetely wouldn't go out of my way to get one which is probably even more of a pile.

Seriously, don't plan on it lasting more then 5 years, irregardless of the brand. I would buy a projector instead. At least then you can replace the Bulbs when they go out. With a plasma TV, it just dies and it costs as much to fix it as it does to buy a new one.

Like I said. Its amazing most people don't know this about plasma, but one day you can rest assured that this will bring uproar in the consumer market. Its jut that they aren't popular enough now for people to know about their low quality. And most people haven't owned them even now, for long enough to see how long they will last.

Any posts with the word irregardless should be ignored.

 

[spidey07]

Thanks Apex, you saved me the typing.

Its amazing the misinformation floating around about plasmas. Especially when they offer "near" video nirvona.

 

[Caesar]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: BostonRedSox
I couldn't be happier with my Toshiba 51HX83 RP HDTV. Looks better than my buddies 46" DLP. It's almost like I'm sitting in center field when watching Red Sox homes games in High Def.

sounds like your buddies' DLP isnt calibrated properly...don't get my wrong, my 4 year old Toshiba still kicks a$$...

:thumbsup: nice

 

[cerebusPu]

my problem right now is i cant decide between plasma or projector. or maybe a powerbook.

 

[Caesar]

Originally posted by: cerebusPu
my problem right now is i cant decide between plasma or projector. or maybe a powerbook.

ahh now thats a tough decision 😉

 

[royaldank]

Apex - I agree with pretty much all you wrote. I think your halflife numbers might be a bit inflated, but that's all (most companies will claim 20-50K hours). My only concern with plasmas are burn in and fading. Most folks wont be concerned with this, but I've seen burn-in on plasmas and CRTs that developed within just a year or two. Also, I've seen plasmas that are beginning to fade. These are older sets and I'd assume 1st gen models, but that would be something to consider.

But, overall, plasmas are a solid technology. I think they are bit overpriced for my budget, but I'll agree they have incredible picture quality. I don't think I'd buy a cheap plasma. If I was going that route, I'd pick review them on PQ and reviews way before looking at the price tag. I'm not a huge of LCD tvs but that's just my eyes.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: royaldank
Apex - I agree with pretty much all you wrote. I think your halflife numbers might be a bit inflated, but that's all (most companies will claim 20-50K hours). My only concern with plasmas are burn in and fading. Most folks wont be concerned with this, but I've seen burn-in on plasmas and CRTs that developed within just a year or two. Also, I've seen plasmas that are beginning to fade. These are older sets and I'd assume 1st gen models, but that would be something to consider.

But, overall, plasmas are a solid technology. I think they are bit overpriced for my budget, but I'll agree they have incredible picture quality. I don't think I'd buy a cheap plasma. If I was going that route, I'd pick review them on PQ and reviews way before looking at the price tag. I'm not a huge of LCD tvs but that's just my eyes.

Most of the top tier ones (NEC, Panasonic, Pioneer) claim 60k hours, except for the new 100k hour Panny's. The 2nd tier claim 30k.

Plasmas do burn in, though their tendancy to burn in is tied to their halflife: longer the halflife, the more resistant to burn in they tend to be. Another thing to note is some of the previous gen sets are far less resistant to burn in than current sets. This encompasses sets even as new as a year or two ago.

 

[five40]

Originally posted by: Apex
Ugh, so much misinformation all in one place. 🙂

1. Plasmas are sealed, it cannot lose gas, unless the screen is cracked or shattered.

2. The vast majority of quality plasmas these days have a 60,000 hour halflife. This is the time it takes to reach 1/2 brightness. For reference, there are plenty of plasmas with 1000 cd/m2 brightness. At 500 cd/m2, it's still about 4x as bright as your typical tube based TV. Panasonic is about to launch their 100,000 hour halflife panels. IF you watch a full 12 hours of TV a day, 7 days a week, every week of the year, year after year after year, it would take almost 23 years to reach 1/2 brightness with this panel.

3. ED plasmas do not look like crap. Crappy plasmas look like crap. There's a difference. When watching HD video material on a 42" plasma, most people with 20/20 vision cannot tell the difference between an ED set and an "HD" set from distances further than about 8 feet away or so. Our eyes simply do not have the resolving power at those distances for moving pictures. For those distances ED sets are superior to HD sets for DVD and lower quality source materials. The problem with ED sets are mainly two fold:

_ A. Misinformation.
_ B. Poor panel quality. The biggest problem is contrast & black level, though scaling/processing and color also tend to play an important role.

4. Plasmas are not going away. Plasma technology is not standing still, as much as LCD proponents think it is. In general, when you ask around on computer type forums, people prefer LCD. If you as in home theater type forums, people prefer plasma.


Anyhow, for 7-10 feet, 42" is a reasonably good size. I personally prefer 50" at those distances, but it's a matter of personal tastes. You have a good mix of source quality. I'd suggest a high quality ED or an inexpensive HD.

I've suggested the same thing in another thread, but the 42" ED Panasonic (either the NEW consumer set, ending in part number 50, or the industrial set ending in 7Uy) or the latest LG "HD" panel based sets (ie. V.Inc Visio P42HDe) would be good choices. I'd lean towards the LG based one if your ambient light control is not great.

Thank you so much for your post. I really appreciate the information. I've been looking through the EDTV's and they all have half-lifes of 60,000 hours. That's a TON of TV watching. If I get one that looks good for 5+ years I'll be plenty happy. Looks like I'll be shopping for a nicer EDTV this week/weekend.