Little Help with a new TV

Rizzo
Profile picture for user Rizzo
Posts
1019
Joined
2/2/2010
Location
US
Rizzo
Edited Date/Time 1/19/2012 11:39pm
I'm looking to purchase a new TV. The LCD vs Plasma debate continues. I'm talking 60 in or more. The new Samsung 2D 3D plasmas(63 C7000 and C8000) and the LG PX 950 have great reviews in both dimensions and for the money, are hard to beat( $2000-$3000). The new LED TV's in the same size are $1200 or more in comparison. The main room it will go in has a lot of natural light so the darker blacks of Plasma will be a benefit. Opinions, facts, etc will help out.

THX.
|
JPT
Profile picture for user JPT
Posts
7208
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Cedar Falls, IA US
JPT 1/18/2011 11:06pm
1/18/2011 11:06pm
You can get opinions on here, but facts are damn hard to come by.
Fleece192
Profile picture for user Fleece192
Posts
506
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Equinunk, PA US
Fleece192 1/19/2011 2:26am
1/19/2011 2:26am
I just got a 46" LCD. I ended buying it from a local guy. He helped me out and was very knowledgeable about them. One thing he said was that Plasma uses allot more power and puts out more heat..Good Luck.
txmxer
Profile picture for user txmxer
Posts
9770
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Weatherford, TX US
txmxer 1/19/2011 5:54am
1/19/2011 5:54am
I don't know that 2X price is worth it, but, there is a difference between low end and high end.

Was looking at buy.com sales email today on their products. Although I wouldn't buy a TV online, it's a good way to price check.

The next generation TV features that I think are most important are connectivity.

Everything is going to internet streaming and video via USB storage device connectivity...i.e., plugging in a harddrive, memory stick, video card from a camera, etc. and playing back videos.

The 3D stuff? Cool idea, but not worth big bucks to me.
TripleFive 1/19/2011 8:28am
1/19/2011 8:28am Edited Date/Time 1/19/2011 8:29am
I just got a LG LED/LCD tv.



PHENOMENAL picture!

The LED will give you plasma-like blacks.

The Shop

See All »
ns503
Profile picture for user ns503
Posts
4211
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
NS Toolies CA
ns503 1/19/2011 8:35am
1/19/2011 8:35am
We got a 52in Quattron LED (2D) over the holidays.

Spent a fair amount of time comparing pictures between different brands & types, in various displays at different stores - the Quattron stood out every time. Awesome TV.
Rizzo
Profile picture for user Rizzo
Posts
1019
Joined
2/2/2010
Location
US
Rizzo 1/19/2011 9:35am
1/19/2011 9:35am
TripleFive wrote:
I just got a LG LED/LCD tv.



PHENOMENAL picture!

The LED will give you plasma-like blacks.
What is the type of LED? The TV companies are confusing customers with the title LED. They have 3 versions of LED. Edge lit, where just the bottom of the screen is LED, Dynamic, where it is top and bottom of the screen and then full screen LED. Trying to unravel the mystery is the biggest problem......oh yea, and paying for the damn thing.
TripleFive 1/19/2011 11:36am
1/19/2011 11:36am
TripleFive wrote:
I just got a LG LED/LCD tv.



PHENOMENAL picture!

The LED will give you plasma-like blacks.
Rizzo wrote:
What is the type of LED? The TV companies are confusing customers with the title LED. They have 3 versions of LED. Edge lit, where just...
What is the type of LED? The TV companies are confusing customers with the title LED. They have 3 versions of LED. Edge lit, where just the bottom of the screen is LED, Dynamic, where it is top and bottom of the screen and then full screen LED. Trying to unravel the mystery is the biggest problem......oh yea, and paying for the damn thing.
I believe it's full screen?

'LED Backlighting'

http://www.lg.com/us/tv-audio-video/ces-product/LG-LV3500.jsp
FreshTopEnd
Profile picture for user FreshTopEnd
Posts
12492
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Sacramento, CA US
Fantasy
4765th
FreshTopEnd 1/19/2011 12:30pm
1/19/2011 12:30pm
The new plasmas are not the energy hogs of old. They got the highest marks in Consumer Reports. I would lean to Plasma (and will be getting one soon at 46"), but I don't think you can go wrong between a full LED backlit in the 240 refresh rate area and a plasma.
txmxer
Profile picture for user txmxer
Posts
9770
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Weatherford, TX US
txmxer 1/19/2011 12:51pm
1/19/2011 12:51pm
FreshTopEnd wrote:
The new plasmas are not the energy hogs of old. They got the highest marks in Consumer Reports. I would lean to Plasma (and will be...
The new plasmas are not the energy hogs of old. They got the highest marks in Consumer Reports. I would lean to Plasma (and will be getting one soon at 46"), but I don't think you can go wrong between a full LED backlit in the 240 refresh rate area and a plasma.
you can't go wrong--if you can afford top of the line that is. Nothing wrong with that, but, I believe you are looking at some higher end TVs (correct?)



Rizzo
Profile picture for user Rizzo
Posts
1019
Joined
2/2/2010
Location
US
Rizzo 1/19/2011 1:25pm
1/19/2011 1:25pm
FreshTopEnd wrote:
The new plasmas are not the energy hogs of old. They got the highest marks in Consumer Reports. I would lean to Plasma (and will be...
The new plasmas are not the energy hogs of old. They got the highest marks in Consumer Reports. I would lean to Plasma (and will be getting one soon at 46"), but I don't think you can go wrong between a full LED backlit in the 240 refresh rate area and a plasma.
txmxer wrote:
you can't go wrong--if you can afford top of the line that is. Nothing wrong with that, but, I believe you are looking at some higher...
you can't go wrong--if you can afford top of the line that is. Nothing wrong with that, but, I believe you are looking at some higher end TVs (correct?)



I know I'm looking at 60 in or more. Full LED back lit in that size is $4000 and up. Sony only goes to 60 in max with LED. Samsung has 65in LED but that is closer to $5k. In contrast, a Samsung 63 in Plasma WITH 3D, their 2 top models are $2300 and $2700 respectively. Sure, you can't go wrong if you are dropping your wad, but I'm trying to get the best bang for my buck.
jib-tmb
Profile picture for user jib-tmb
Posts
835
Joined
8/8/2008
Location
Meadville, PA US
jib-tmb 1/19/2011 1:57pm
1/19/2011 1:57pm
FreshTopEnd wrote:
The new plasmas are not the energy hogs of old. They got the highest marks in Consumer Reports. I would lean to Plasma (and will be...
The new plasmas are not the energy hogs of old. They got the highest marks in Consumer Reports. I would lean to Plasma (and will be getting one soon at 46"), but I don't think you can go wrong between a full LED backlit in the 240 refresh rate area and a plasma.
txmxer wrote:
you can't go wrong--if you can afford top of the line that is. Nothing wrong with that, but, I believe you are looking at some higher...
you can't go wrong--if you can afford top of the line that is. Nothing wrong with that, but, I believe you are looking at some higher end TVs (correct?)



Rizzo wrote:
I know I'm looking at 60 in or more. Full LED back lit in that size is $4000 and up. Sony only goes to 60 in...
I know I'm looking at 60 in or more. Full LED back lit in that size is $4000 and up. Sony only goes to 60 in max with LED. Samsung has 65in LED but that is closer to $5k. In contrast, a Samsung 63 in Plasma WITH 3D, their 2 top models are $2300 and $2700 respectively. Sure, you can't go wrong if you are dropping your wad, but I'm trying to get the best bang for my buck.
Just before Christmas I bought a 58" Panasonic plasma from Sears. Consumer Reports rated it a best buy plus, and one of the main reasons I bought the plasma, the picture doesn't wash out as much as other types when you're not sitting directly in front of it.
Rooster
Profile picture for user Rooster
Posts
4432
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Edmonton CA
Rooster 1/19/2011 2:00pm
1/19/2011 2:00pm
Plasma will show fading of the colors faster than an LED set will. LED is lighter and less prone to damage than a plasma as well.

Bottom line is you may get slightly better color from a plasma set, but it will fade to look worse than an LED set in a couple of years.

If you buy a new TV every few years then a plasma is a good buy for the money. If you want a set that will last ten years then buy the LED.
jib-tmb
Profile picture for user jib-tmb
Posts
835
Joined
8/8/2008
Location
Meadville, PA US
jib-tmb 1/19/2011 2:27pm
1/19/2011 2:27pm
In the comparisons I looked at they said both LED and plasma, especially the newer ones, had good quality picture/color till around 100,000 hours of use so longetivity between the two was really not an issue.
txmxer
Profile picture for user txmxer
Posts
9770
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Weatherford, TX US
txmxer 1/19/2011 2:41pm
1/19/2011 2:41pm
Rooster wrote:
Plasma will show fading of the colors faster than an LED set will. LED is lighter and less prone to damage than a plasma as well...
Plasma will show fading of the colors faster than an LED set will. LED is lighter and less prone to damage than a plasma as well.

Bottom line is you may get slightly better color from a plasma set, but it will fade to look worse than an LED set in a couple of years.

If you buy a new TV every few years then a plasma is a good buy for the money. If you want a set that will last ten years then buy the LED.
I'm not sure where you are coming up with this. I've got a 6 year old Plasma in my bedroom that gets used daily and spent some time as an XBOX display. It looks as good now as it did new--but, there may be some fade. The brightness is still probably down around 50%.

My point is, I don't think you will see significant fade in a normal TV life cycle of about 10 years. And, to the best of my knowledge, plasmas are much better than they were 6 years ago.
txmxer
Profile picture for user txmxer
Posts
9770
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Weatherford, TX US
txmxer 1/19/2011 2:42pm
1/19/2011 2:42pm
The LED display is useful mainly because if one LED burned out, you wouldn't notice it, whereas if you lose one of the fluorescents in less expensive LED's it's pretty much trash.
Rizzo
Profile picture for user Rizzo
Posts
1019
Joined
2/2/2010
Location
US
Rizzo 1/19/2011 3:24pm
1/19/2011 3:24pm
Rooster wrote:
Plasma will show fading of the colors faster than an LED set will. LED is lighter and less prone to damage than a plasma as well...
Plasma will show fading of the colors faster than an LED set will. LED is lighter and less prone to damage than a plasma as well.

Bottom line is you may get slightly better color from a plasma set, but it will fade to look worse than an LED set in a couple of years.

If you buy a new TV every few years then a plasma is a good buy for the money. If you want a set that will last ten years then buy the LED.
the 63 plasma I'm considering is 83 lbs, the 60 LCD/LED is 68 lbs. A difference, but not dramatic, especially when you factor the extra 3 inches in screen size for the plasma. The color fade and brightness, I'm not up to date on. Thx for the responses.
Rooster
Profile picture for user Rooster
Posts
4432
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Edmonton CA
Rooster 1/19/2011 4:01pm
1/19/2011 4:01pm
txmxer wrote:
I'm not sure where you are coming up with this. I've got a 6 year old Plasma in my bedroom that gets used daily and spent...
I'm not sure where you are coming up with this. I've got a 6 year old Plasma in my bedroom that gets used daily and spent some time as an XBOX display. It looks as good now as it did new--but, there may be some fade. The brightness is still probably down around 50%.

My point is, I don't think you will see significant fade in a normal TV life cycle of about 10 years. And, to the best of my knowledge, plasmas are much better than they were 6 years ago.
It's difficult to notice the degradation when you watch it every day.

You need to measure the colors when new and then compare measurements over time. I profile all my monitors and I can see substantial fade in a fluorescent lit monitor after only a year. Plasmas fade about as quick as the fluorescent lit screens do.

Without a colorimeter it's difficult to tell, but if you threw a new model of the same set you have now next to the one you've been using, you'd see a substantial difference in color depth. My monitors look great, but when I compare measurements against how they performed when new they fall off pretty quick. In less than two years my monitors have lost about 19% of their color depth. In 4-5 years I expect them to have lost 35-50%
txmxer
Profile picture for user txmxer
Posts
9770
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Weatherford, TX US
txmxer 1/19/2011 7:40pm
1/19/2011 7:40pm
txmxer wrote:
I'm not sure where you are coming up with this. I've got a 6 year old Plasma in my bedroom that gets used daily and spent...
I'm not sure where you are coming up with this. I've got a 6 year old Plasma in my bedroom that gets used daily and spent some time as an XBOX display. It looks as good now as it did new--but, there may be some fade. The brightness is still probably down around 50%.

My point is, I don't think you will see significant fade in a normal TV life cycle of about 10 years. And, to the best of my knowledge, plasmas are much better than they were 6 years ago.
Rooster wrote:
It's difficult to notice the degradation when you watch it every day. You need to measure the colors when new and then compare measurements over time...
It's difficult to notice the degradation when you watch it every day.

You need to measure the colors when new and then compare measurements over time. I profile all my monitors and I can see substantial fade in a fluorescent lit monitor after only a year. Plasmas fade about as quick as the fluorescent lit screens do.

Without a colorimeter it's difficult to tell, but if you threw a new model of the same set you have now next to the one you've been using, you'd see a substantial difference in color depth. My monitors look great, but when I compare measurements against how they performed when new they fall off pretty quick. In less than two years my monitors have lost about 19% of their color depth. In 4-5 years I expect them to have lost 35-50%
thanks Rooster. I guess I learned something new.

Pit Row

See All »
level
Profile picture for user level
Posts
6184
Joined
8/27/2006
Location
Acworth, GA US
level 1/19/2011 8:13pm
1/19/2011 8:13pm
I have a 63" samsung plasma and a 65" panasonic plasma. From all the research I did it's hard to find a better picture quality than a plasma. Also, my Samsung plasma is better picture than my panasonic. I wouldn't go any bigger than a 63-you start noticing too much pixelation if you do. My samsung 63" plasma is awesome. One thing I don't like about it is the slight buzzing noise but it just may be my model.
dcmx326
Profile picture for user dcmx326
Posts
899
Joined
11/19/2010
Location
Washington, DC US
dcmx326 1/20/2011 2:11pm
1/20/2011 2:11pm
Isn't plasma a lot cheaper too?
dcmx326
Profile picture for user dcmx326
Posts
899
Joined
11/19/2010
Location
Washington, DC US
dcmx326 1/20/2011 4:37pm
1/20/2011 4:37pm
dcmx326 wrote:
Isn't plasma a lot cheaper too?
TripleFive wrote:
I think it's the opposite.
Plasma started out more expensive but now it is much cheaper than LCD and LED.
txmxer
Profile picture for user txmxer
Posts
9770
Joined
8/21/2006
Location
Weatherford, TX US
txmxer 1/20/2011 4:44pm
1/20/2011 4:44pm
dcmx326 wrote:
Isn't plasma a lot cheaper too?
TripleFive wrote:
I think it's the opposite.
dcmx326 wrote:
Plasma started out more expensive but now it is much cheaper than LCD and LED.
I haven't seen that--but, most MFR's quit making Plasma displays. I think there is only one MFR left right now, so what's being sold may be the closeout merchandise.
level
Profile picture for user level
Posts
6184
Joined
8/27/2006
Location
Acworth, GA US
level 1/20/2011 6:33pm
1/20/2011 6:33pm
They have come down in price but I still see plasmas 63" on best buy for little over $2000 and I paid about that 2 years ago. I think they just keep coming out with newer models and keep the price about the same. They are pushing the shit out of LED though. So you have LCD, plasma, and the new thing LED. And of course 3D which I just don't get the fascination with that at all.

Post a reply to: Little Help with a new TV