LCD or Plasma? And where to buy.

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TheYak

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Okay... so... I've given up trying to get my projector to give me a decent quality picture, so now I'm looking at spending even more money to get my damn Windows Media Centre setup to work nicely. *grumble*

My question is: which is the best to buy? LCD or Plasma? What size should I be looking at? Where's the best place to buy 'em?

Anything specific that I need to look out for or be careful of? I'm a completely noob as far as this stuff is concerned... so take it easy on me :)
 
Lots of different opinions, lots of information on the web.

Imho plasma looks far better on SD broadcasts - and we will primarily have SD broadcasts for the foreseeable future. So I suppose it depends on what media format you view the most.

720p is pretty decent, 1080p is better future-proofing. For me the sweet-spot now is 42 inch plasma, preferably 1080p, otherwise 720p.

There's a couple of threads on this forum - a lot of people punt the Sinotecs at Makro.
 
This chart will help you decide what size of TV you need:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/

As for plasma vs LCD, your best bet would be to compare a couple of sets in your price range and see what you like. LCDs are normally better in brighter rooms, but seeing as you had a projector, I assume the room is quite dark. At comparable pricing you will probably look at a Full-HD(1080p) LCD and HD-ready (720p) Plasma.

40"-40" is quite a popular size. Check out these:
Sony S-Series http://www.digitalexperience.co.za/products/detail.aspx?name=Sony Bravia S Series KLV40 S400
Samsung A550 http://www.digitalexperience.co.za/products/detail.aspx?name=SAMSUNG LA40 A550 LCD
Both of them are LCD and Full-HD and cost in the region of R12,000.

A good plasma you can have a look at is the Panasonic PV8 or PV80. They are more or less in the same price range.

Makro also had a nice special on the V-series Sony (one level up from the S-series) if you are a DSTV subscriber: http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=1578&prod=44903&SKU=000000000000156988|EA Basically the same price as the S-Series.

You can buy at Game, Makro, Stax, DionWired even Hifi Corp. The Panasonic plasmas are a bit scarce. I have only seen then at the Nashua Electronics and Sounds Great Stores. If you tell us where you are, people might be able to suggest other shops.
 
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Hi,

Not sure what your budget is..

I'd say go for a LCD, Samsung/Sony/LG. If budget is good, get a Samsung LED 46" HD and you'll be the happiest man alive!
 
Panasonic plasmas are pretty much out of stock everywhere - they will be in stock again in August. I was told that the Panasonic distribution compnay has changed, that is the reason for lack of stock (this applies to pojectors and other AV equipment as well).

I would definitely recommend you compare some LCDs and Plasmas, and view the material you intend using it with (DSTV? Gaming?)
 
TheYak said:
Well... the budget is negotiable. How much are those Samsung LED 46 inchers going for?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't look at the cheaper Samsung LED options. They are not true LED sets and have some issues. Equally priced LCDs are probably better at this stage.

If you have the money for the 9-series Samsung or X-series or Z-series Sony LED TVs then go for it.

You will find some indication on prices on these on this website:
http://www.digitalexperience.co.za/products/Sony TV, DVD and Blu-Ray.aspx
http://www.digitalexperience.co.za/products/Samsung TV, DVD and Blu-ray.aspx

Looks like about R50k for a 46" Sony Z-series and R43k for the X-Series.

Another nice option is the Sony W-Series. Makro has the 40" one on special for R17k
http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=1182&prod=44800&SKU=000000000000157498|EA
 
Damn, they're still pricey, eh? Phew!

Another stupid question: what's the difference between "HD" and "HD Ready"? I know the one is 720P and the other one is 1080P, but what does that actually mean? And is there a big difference between the two?

And judging by the answers I've been getting so far, I take it LCD is better than Plasma?
 
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TheYak said:
Another stupid question: what's the difference between "HD" and "HD Ready"? I know the one is 720P and the other one is 1080P, but what does that actually mean? And is there a big difference between the two?

And judging by the answers I've been getting so far, I take it LCD is better than Plasma?
Click to expand...

You can check for the exact definition on wikipedia, but basically HD-ready means the set can display at least 720p. Most HD-ready sets have a native resolution of 1376 x 768. 42" Plasmas normally have 1024x768 resolution.

Full-HD requires a display that can show 1080p, i.e. a resolution of 1920x1080.

LCD is not neccessarily better than plasma. I think it is a case of us in South Africa having only a small range of plasmas to choose from. Panasonic makes excellent Plasma sets but availibilty is a problem. Panasonic in South Africa has also been a generation or 2 late with introducing new models, so basically you can only buy last year's model in SA. Pioneer is also very expensive in SA and not well supported.
 
So would I be correct in assuming that Full HD is better and that's what I should be going for? It's obviously also more expensive.

I suppose the best thing to do would be to actually go and look at the different sets and decide from there...
 
TheYak said:
So would I be correct in assuming that Full HD is better and that's what I should be going for? It's obviously also more expensive.

I suppose the best thing to do would be to actually go and look at the different sets and decide from there...
Click to expand...

Full-HD is better yes. HD-ready LCDs are starting to disappear and most of the decent sets of at least 40" are now Full-HD anyway.

I would say start off looking at those 40" Sony and Samsung LCDs of about R12k. Then compare more expensive sets and see if it is worth the extra cash.
 
I would be happy to get a Samsung. A friend of mine bought the 42" Samsung Plasma and it's a great TV, I think. She does say, however, that she would buy an LCD if she had to choose now. So I think I'm pretty settled on getting an LCD.

The only thing I need to do now is to find the biggest one I can get at the most reasonable price. Game has a Samsung 46" Full HD LCD for R17999, so I might look at that. They also have a 50" HD Plasma for R13999. *ponder*.

This is going to be fun... :)
 
Myrrdin said:
LED

http://www.nashuaelectronics.com/tv...cmp=specials&gclid=CJzb8rj_kJsCFUYA4woduTctpQ

gifs: Why not Samsung, Sony contrast ratio 1000000:1 Samsung 3000000:1 Almost beats the Bravia on all levels if you compare plus a lot cheaper. Been added on tv a lot lately.

I want one and hopefully get it end of month. Will let you know.
Click to expand...

The B6000 and B7000 isn't an LED set in the true sense of the word i.e it doesn't have local dimming and uses edge lit LED technology. The biggest with this is the uneven screen uniformity.


Also contrast ratios stated in the product information is worth nothing. Here is a good read on Contrast Ratios:
http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/contrast-ratio.html

A good read on LCD in general:
http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/LCD-Tv.html

And LED in particular:
http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/lcd-panel.html#led-lcd
 
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TheYak said:
I want to use it on my Windows Media Centre PC to watch DVDs and DSTV.
Click to expand...

For DVD and DSTV, I'd choose plasma, which will probably be 720p. I'd wait for the Panasonic stock to come.

The only way you'll see 1080p (full HD) in the near future is via blue-ray, and at a few meters on a 40" display, you'll probably not notice the difference (compared to 720p).
 
So if I can get a Full HD Plasma, then that should do the trick? I don't want to buy something now and have to upgrade again in a year or two from now, so I'd rather spend a few extra thousand now to get a decent LCD if the plasma is inferior to it. Knowing myself I'd probably be all paranoid because it's not the "best" of what I could get - relatively speaking, of course.

R17999 for a Samsung 46" Full HD LCD is what I have on my wishlist for now...
 
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