Numbers be damned, plasma eats LCD's cake in DisplayMate's tests

[Beetman]

But manufacturers dont make alot of full HD plasmas, not sure why...

especially the smaller sizes such as 32" you wil mostly only get HD ready.

 

[MrSmith]

But manufacturers dont make alot of full HD plasmas, not sure why...

They do make them, just go to London or Hong Kong and you will see loads in the stores, the manufactures just do not seem to bring them into SA

 

[greg_SA]

But manufacturers dont make alot of full HD plasmas, not sure why...

The 50" plasmas are normally full HD - they are starting to become available in 42" as well. For a typical living room, full HD is only really necessary at 50" and above, so maybe that is the reason?

 

[sand_man]

But manufacturers dont make alot of full HD plasmas, not sure why...

Very odd. The LCD, as stated in the article, has been better marketed than the Plasma. I've always believed LCD's were the way to go. I listened to the sales and marketing hype around them. Clearly this is a misnomer...

 

[MrSmith]

Spoke to someone today at Audio Vision and they said that Panasonic will be back in stock with new models around mid August.

Apparently Panasonic Japan have now taken back direct control of the SA operation so hopefully there will be a better selection of Plasmas available soon.

 

[Londo]

Having finally looked at the difference between LCD and Plasma I can only conclude that Plasma is superior to LCD.Now I need to find a 32 inch Plasma TV.This is for my new men's den which is only 3 by 3 metres.This conclusion was reached by looking at various angles on all Plasma and LCD sets at Game.Furthermore the pub I drink at run Plasma TV,s which are exceptionally clear.

Very kind of the wife to give you the walk in closet for your den.

 

[MrSmith]

And the debate continues but Panasonic seem to be firm favorites, check out the comments section.
http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/07/22/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-plasma-to-pick-up-in-2009/

 

[milomak]

i went plasma over lcd after reading reviews. even a site called something like lcdreview gave more pluses to plasma over lcd.

lcd has better marketing. but there is certainly nothing to suggest it is better than plasma, yet at the margin one could possibly say the opposite is true for plasma.

 

[leonb]

But manufacturers dont make alot of full HD plasmas, not sure why...

'cause full HD is a lot of hot air. Very little (no) benefit of full HD over HD ready. Even Blu-ray, although the cover say is 1080p, doesn't utilize the full benefit of full HD.

I would say not many sources exist where a person will see difference between a full HD and HD ready set.

 

[milomak]

'cause full HD is a lot of hot air. Very little (no) benefit of full HD over HD ready. Even Blu-ray, although the cover say is 1080p, doesn't utilize the full benefit of full HD.

I would say not many sources exist where a person will see difference between a full HD and HD ready set.

Depends on what size screen you are talking about. And also viewing distance from screen.

So yes buying a 32" Full HD LCD (if such a thing exists), negates the Full HD benefit. But from 40" (or thereabouts) plus, the difference between 1080p and 720p can be seen by most.

 

[leonb]

Depends on what size screen you are talking about. And also viewing distance from screen.

So yes buying a 32" Full HD LCD (if such a thing exists), negates the Full HD benefit. But from 40" (or thereabouts) plus, the difference between 1080p and 720p can be seen by most.

Difference between 720p and 1080p can only be seen if the source (e.g. movie transfer) is good enough. I'll be surprised if there are currently many blu ray movies that can show the superiority of Full HD vs HD ready.

 

[MrSmith]

Panasonic's TC-P54V10 plasma crowned king, so sayeth the HD Guru
http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/07/26/panasonics-tc-p54v10-plasma-crowned-king-so-sayeth-the-hd-guru/
http://hdguru.com/the-new-king-of-hdtv-displays-panasonics-tc-p54v10-reviewed/458/

Panasonic FTW

 

[Tag11]

Is this model available locally yet? Prices?

 

[Silver82]

Plasma also eats more electricity than LCD. Carbon Footprint anybody?

I still say that regardless of tests and benchmarks, the LCD vs Plasma debate totally depends on indivual users and their needs and preferences.

Now, to move on from the yesteryear debate, has anybody seen MotionFlow? Wow!

 

[Silver82]

The 50" plasmas are normally full HD - they are starting to become available in 42" as well. For a typical living room, full HD is only really necessary at 50" and above, so maybe that is the reason?

I have a 50" Sony Bravia and it's not full-HD, only HD ready (bought it more than 2 years ago). But I guarentee you that you won't be able to tell the diff between 720p and 1080p when I switch my PS3 on and pop BBC's Planet Earth in.

Lots of Blurays are also only 720p and broadcast (around the world) is still only 720p.

 

[JK8]

'cause full HD is a lot of hot air. Very little (no) benefit of full HD over HD ready. Even Blu-ray, although the cover say is 1080p, doesn't utilize the full benefit of full HD.

I would say not many sources exist where a person will see difference between a full HD and HD ready set.

I can see a difference... are you sure there is no difference?
If you watch DSTV HD you can see a difference over SD...
If you play PS3 without the HDMI cable compared the playing PS3 with the cable, theres is an alarming difference, could be game specific.
Watching movies off a media player, normal movies compared the HD format big difference.

Difference between 720p and 1080p can only be seen if the source (e.g. movie transfer) is good enough. I'll be surprised if there are currently many blu ray movies that can show the superiority of Full HD vs HD ready.

I think you should buy the Iron man Blu ray disc... and try the above tests I mentioned...

 

[Silver82]

I can see a difference... are you sure there is no difference?
If you watch DSTV HD you can see a difference over SD...
If you play PS3 without the HDMI cable compared the playing PS3 with the cable, theres is an alarming difference, could be game specific.
Watching movies off a media player, normal movies compared the HD format big difference.

Of course there is a difference between HD and SD, but not that much between 1080 and 720. However, when you start comparing 100-200hz and tvs lower than that, then there's another massive difference (MotionFlow).


I think you should buy the Iron man Blu ray disc... and try the above tests I mentioned...

Iron Man is definitely going to be one of the better transfers out there, but check any of the bluray review sites and you'll be surprised at how bad the video quality can be (often no better than the SD dvd).

 

[ipodmusicman]

Yep, this article confirms my long term views that plasma is better than LCD with regards to picture quality. I still ask myself the question why people don't look at picture quality above anything else (besides price) when choosing a flat panel display.

 

[Silver82]

I still ask myself the question why people don't look at picture quality above anything else (besides price) when choosing a flat panel display.

I suppose it's because marketing walas and moronic sales people try and sell you on the idea of a 'thinner' TV, ala LED ('I'm not saying it's a bad TV, I'm saying the thickness should be irrelevant).

"Really? It's that much better? So what's the picture like if I stare at the frame from the side?"

 

[Tag11]

I have a 50" Sony Bravia and it's not full-HD, only HD ready (bought it more than 2 years ago). But I guarentee you that you won't be able to tell the diff between 720p and 1080p when I switch my PS3 on and pop BBC's Planet Earth in.

Lots of Blurays are also only 720p and broadcast (around the world) is still only 720p.

The difference between 720p and 1080p is in fact noticeable, if the source and display are of appropriate quality. That's not to say you absolutely need to have FullHD, especially when one considers the size of the screen versus your viewing distance, but 1080p from up close is superior.

I can see a difference... are you sure there is no difference?
If you watch DSTV HD you can see a difference over SD...
If you play PS3 without the HDMI cable compared the playing PS3 with the cable, theres is an alarming difference, could be game specific.
Watching movies off a media player, normal movies compared the HD format big difference.

I think you should buy the Iron man Blu ray disc... and try the above tests I mentioned...

The difference between SD and 720p (HD Ready) is substantial... but that isn't what Silver82 was referring to. He was claiming that FullHD and HD Ready (1080p vs 720p) are very similar. This isn't true, although I will acknowledge the difference is nowhere near as marked as the jump from SD to HD Ready.

Iron Man is definitely going to be one of the better transfers out there, but check any of the bluray review sites and you'll be surprised at how bad the video quality can be (often no better than the SD dvd).

As always, it depends on the transfer. Checkout The Dark Knight on Blu-ray on a good quality screen, absolutely amazing picture! If you watch that on DVD afterwards it will be like comparing Mnet-HD to VHS tape!

Yep, this article confirms my long term views that plasma is better than LCD with regards to picture quality. I still ask myself the question why people don't look at picture quality above anything else (besides price) when choosing a flat panel display.

Plasma is my personal preference, but yes, you're spot on. Judge it with your own eyes! Don't trust the technical mumbo jumbo!