Plasma vs LCD

Pitbull

Pitbull

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Morning guys,

I'm busy shopping for a new TV as the lightning struck my old one :p

Anyway, I'm shopping for a TV which is at least 40" leaning more towards 42".

My problem new is the mixed reviews when it comes to the Plasma vs LCD :( From what I gather, the Plamsa is better this heavier (May be wrong) I can't really see that much of a price difference between the 2 so I'm pretty confused.

As an example:

SAMSUNG SA TV 42” PLASMA 42B430 - R 8499.99 (HD ready)
HD Ready
High contrast Ratio
100 Hz
SRS TRU Surround HD


SAMSUNG SA TV 40” LCD 40B532 R10999.99
Full HD (1920 x 1080p)
3 x HDMI Connections
High Contrast
USB 2.0

WTF is full HD and HD ready? :confused:
 
Plasma = better quality for movies and DSTV etc, but uses a lot of electricity and gets very hot.
LCD better for gaming and uses up to 70% less electricity.

HD Ready = 1280 X 720
HD = 1920 X 1280
 
mercurial said:
Plasma = better quality for movies and DSTV etc, but uses a lot of electricity and gets very hot.
LCD better for gaming and uses up to 70% less electricity.

HD Ready = 1280 X 720
HD = 1920 X 1280
Click to expand...

O that makes sense :)

Ok so I should just get a Plasma then ? Since it is for DSTV mainly...
 
There are pros and cons either way. Plasma will give you slightly better colour reproduction & truer blacks. As merc said they're generally regarded as a bit better for movies and such, and they do tend to handle Standard Def. content (like DSTv) better than LCD. BUT they're still a bit prone to image burn-in which LCDs aren't.

Personally I prefer the matt finish of an LCD, as most plasmas tend to have glass covering the screen. But then mine was bought more for my Xbox than for TV/BluRay/DVD and it's not as if it makes a mishmash of those, anyway.
 
Pitbull said:
That looks good :)

How big a difference is 2" when it comes to watching TV though?
Click to expand...

Who actually says "size doesn't matter"... women, or okes with small wieners? :p Honestly though, it's not much - 2" is about 5 centimetres & it's measured diagonally, corner to corner. I wouldn't necessarily pay extra dollah for 2 inches.
 
enigma243 said:
There are pros and cons either way. Plasma will give you slightly better colour reproduction & truer blacks. As merc said they're generally regarded as a bit better for movies and such, and they do tend to handle Standard Def. content (like DSTv) better than LCD. BUT they're still a bit prone to image burn-in which LCDs aren't.

Personally I prefer the matt finish of an LCD, as most plasmas tend to have glass covering the screen. But then mine was bought more for my Xbox than for TV/BluRay/DVD and it's not as if it makes a mishmash of those, anyway.
Click to expand...

I forgot about that :eek:

My kids sometimes leave the DvD's they watch on where it just shows the load screen for hours before I realise it, since I don't watch TV much. In that case a Plasma is out of the question then. I nearly made a big mistake :D Thanks for reminding me.
 
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Pegasus said:
It's not sex.
Click to expand...

Lol, ok ok :p

enigma243 said:
Who actually says "size doesn't matter"... women, or okes with small wieners? :p Honestly though, it's not much - 2" is about 5 centimetres & it's measured diagonally, corner to corner. I wouldn't necessarily pay extra dollah for 2 inches.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. So I guess that 40" from Makro will be it then, thanx Pegasus.

And WTF is with the different amount of HDMI thingies? Doesn't matter though as that one from Makro has x4 which I think is around the most I have seen tbh :)
 
Pitbull said:
That makes sense. So I guess that 40" from Makro will be it then, thanx Pegasus.

And WTF is with the different amount of HDMI thingies? Doesn't matter though as that one from Makro has x4 which I think is around the most I have seen tbh :)
Click to expand...

I don't think you can ever have too many inputs. That being said, if you've got a (semi-decent) home theatre setup, or are planning to get one at some stage, your receiver should take care of most of the switching for you. What are you planning to connect to it?
 
Burn-in is a myth with new plasmas - there are numerous built-in functions that prevent it. If you are mostly watching DSTV then plasma is the way to go. Sorry, but LCD looks horrendous. 42" plasmas are well priced.
 
enigma243 said:
I don't think you can ever have too many inputs. That being said, if you've got a (semi-decent) home theatre setup, or are planning to get one at some stage, your receiver should take care of most of the switching for you. What are you planning to connect to it?
Click to expand...

The DSTV PVR and DVD player.
 
SiriS said:
Burn-in is a myth with new plasmas - there are numerous built-in functions that prevent it. If you are mostly watching DSTV then plasma is the way to go. Sorry, but LCD looks horrendous. 42" plasmas are well priced.
Click to expand...

But is it worth the risk?

Maybe I should then just be more hands on when it comes to the kids watching DVD's instead then. I don't know :(
 
Pitbull said:
But is it worth the risk?

Maybe I should then just be more hands on when it comes to the kids watching DVD's instead then. I don't know :(
Click to expand...

Search a bit on the net - forums and articles (just be aware of the dates). It's not an issue.

And with regards to SD viewing - my 3 year old 42" Panasonic plasma looks much better on DSTV than my 6 months old 32" Samsung LCD.
 
SiriS said:
Search a bit on the net - forums and articles (just be aware of the dates). It's not an issue.

And with regards to SD viewing - my 3 year old 42" Panasonic plasma looks much better on DSTV than my 6 months old 32" Samsung LCD.
Click to expand...

This is all the TV will be doing, DSTV and DVD's. No Blu-Ray and all that other Jazz. O and Wii from time to time for the kids.
 
Stick with LCD. Plasma is old technology, and isn't even sold in Europe anymore. A few years ago, there was a big difference between LCD and plasma - plasma generally better at fast moving images and truer colour reproduction. A lot has changed since then, and most new LCD panels display's are on par with plasma, if not better. SD content on LCD's looks just as good as plasma nowadays. Go instore and check the difference yourself. LCD also uses a lot less electricity than plasma displays.

I have a Sony Bravia 40" LCD TV at home, and SD content like DSTV looks awesome. Only buy a full HD TV as well. Don't go for HD ready.
 
SiriS said:
Burn-in is a myth with new plasmas - there are numerous built-in functions that prevent it. If you are mostly watching DSTV then plasma is the way to go. Sorry, but LCD looks horrendous. 42" plasmas are well priced.
Click to expand...

Sure, pixel shifting and whatnot lessens the risk, but I don't think it's quite reached the level of the mythical...

PB, plasma would probably suit your needs a bit better, but you'll need to smack the kids upside the head if they leave the thing on. There's also a whole breaking-in procedure for plasma which should have your new telly look better for longer... I don't remember the details but I'm sure someone else will be able to advise.

And as for HD vs HD Ready - unless you sit on top of the TV and you're feeding it genuine HD content (BluRay, NOT DSTv HD) there won't be a difference.

*EDIT*

Pitbull said:
Bloody hell.

This is harder than buying a car :D
Click to expand...

Yes, yes it is. Ask 10 people and you'll get 17.5 opinions. ;)
 
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SiriS said:
Search a bit on the net - forums and articles (just be aware of the dates). It's not an issue.

And with regards to SD viewing - my 3 year old 42" Panasonic plasma looks much better on DSTV than my 6 months old 32" Samsung LCD.
Click to expand...

Whilst googling, you'll find a lot of these...

Europe may ban Plasma screens in energy use crackdown :
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/europe-may-ban-plasma-screens-in-energy-use-crackdown-20090113/

Plasma TVs to be Banned in Europe?
http://www.highdefforum.com/high-de...-articles/88024-plasma-tvs-banned-europe.html
 
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