So its time for me to upgrade my tv and since so many places are having great deals for the Christmas I think Im gonna buy myself a present. So everything I have seen says that Plasma is the better of the 2. Id really like to get an LED tv but theyre really expensive. I would like to get something between 42 and 50 inches if possible. With that size in mind whats the better of the 2 types to get?

 

in the 40-50" range, I think either is fine. I like LCD for 42 and under, and plasma for over 42"

when I was doing research a year or two ago, this was true, but I don't know if things have changed since then:
Plasma has a glass screen, and LCD has more of a felt screen, thus Plasma will have more of a glare if there's a big window or light source nearby.

I'm not sure where you live, but I think there was a thread here about California banning oversized TVs with large power consumption.

 

I used to sell home theatre stuff so I thought i would shine in a bit.

Plasma does have one thing over any LCD out there currently. It has a much higher True contrast ratio.

Contrast ratio basically measures the difference capability between a dark pixel and a light pixel on the screen at the same time. The higher the contrast ratio the more natural your blacks will look. It's measured on a grey scale and at the extreme ends are white and black. Everything in the middle is grey.

What companies do will measure it grey to grey instead of a true measurement of black to black. So when you look at a pioneer with a contrast ratio of 2000:1 that doesn't mean that an LG with a contrast of 2000:1 will be the same. since they're measuring from grey to grey which can be anywhere on the scale. hard to explain.

Lcd's will have this Dynamic contrast ratio which they claim will have 40000:1 contrast ratio. What it does is sort of smartly disables a pixel if it needs to be black. This does actually work BUT an LCD with a dynamic contrast ratio of 40000:1 vs a plasma with 40000:1 the plasma will always display it's blacks a lot better.

The downside to plasma is it draws a lot more power as well as what he mentioned about the glare.

Side by side you will notice that on HD the picture looks more natural but now adays it's very hard to notice when not side by side.

Go for LCD better energy use and value for the size.

 

Plasma. Inch for inch, they're cheaper and look better. They no longer have the problems they used to... short life and sagging screens. LCD's still have dead pixel problems though. The 60" LG plasma my buddy just bought has a 2M:1 contrast ratio.

 

LED backlit LCD smile.gif

I have a Samsung UN55B6000 and LOVE IT TO DEATH!!! Got it for $2200 at Sears.

 

Plasma's all the way! Although, Plasma's do generate alot more heat than LCD's.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (liveD83 @ Dec 11 2009, 10:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What companies do will measure it grey to grey instead of a true measurement of black to black. So when you look at a pioneer with a contrast ratio of 2000:1 that doesn't mean that an LG with a contrast of 2000:1 will be the same. since they're measuring from grey to grey which can be anywhere on the scale. hard to explain.</div>
To expand on this, it's my understanding that there's no industry standard for measuring contrast ratios, so any company is able to measure by their own standards, as long as it's consistent within the brand.

I like LCD because the picture is more natural. Colors on a plasma appear too cartoonish to me, too bright and unrealistic. However... I have been looking for a 50" plasma lately.

 

For me personally, I prefer LCD's in the 42-47 inch size range. I don't even want a larger TV.

I like the way the picture looks overall. No fancy way of saying this is better vs. something else, just that I prefer it.

When I went TV shopping, I looked at a lot of TV's, played with their picture settings (it was amazing how much better you could make ALL the pictures look by doing this) and compared them. I ended up buying a Westinghouse LCD because it looked the best IMO. It was also a good price vs. the competition but I did not buy it because of the price.

I say, ignore everything else and go see what you like. There's not a hell of a lot of reason to buy a TV other than how much you like the picture and how much it costs IMO.

 

LCD, Plasmas, and LED all of pros and cons, so dont pick a TV based on price or if its a LCD, Plasma, or LED. Go to Best Buy or whatever store your going to buy from and just stand back from the TV's and pick the one you think has the best picture.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Visionz @ Dec 11 2009, 09:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Plasma's all the way! Although, Plasma's do generate alot more heat than LCD's.</div>
Heat = wasted energy smile.gif