TV: Plasma or LCD ?
Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:31 pm
There have been many discussions on TVs, and pretty much the same questions
what to buy ? where to buy ? what features to look for ? others
Here are a few key topics.
Plasma VS Lcd
Which one is a better option ? To address this we have to compare various things. This topic has been beaten to death and there is no clearcut winner.
http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/0,239035250,240036500,00.htm
http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/plasma-vs-lcd-TV.html
Both are similar in that they are flat panels, at the same time they are not similar in that they use different technologies for processing images. Here are a few things used for comparison.
Size and Price
Plasma has an advantage in big screens 42" and higher even though the gap is closing all the time. For 37" and lower, Lcd has the advantage.
Picture performance
Both Plasma and Lcd are pretty close in overall performance, but there are differences as well.
Plasmas have high contrast ratio which means they can display deep blacks and details in simultaneous dark and light conditions. A higher contrast ratio increases the device's perceived picture quality.
Contrast Ratio is a measurement of the difference in brightness between the whitest white and the darkest black within an image. A ratio of 300:1 means the brightest point in the image is 300 times as bright as the darkest point.
Picture quality : Both are equally good in reproducing original signals, be it a dvd, cable or satellite. Images are crisp and clear and there is very little to choose between the two. One thing to note though. Plasmas perform well under controlled normal light conditions, whereas Lcds perform well even in brightly lit rooms.
Viewing angle: Plasmas have slight advantage as they have better viewing angles. This is changing quickly and Lcds are catching up fast.
Life
This is a non issue as both plasmas and lcds have long life. Manufactures claima half-life of 60,000 hours for both.
Burn-In
Burn-in can be considered as a permanent image retention. Image retention occurs when a static image is displayed on the screen for extended periods of time. This could be caused from pausing a picture for a long time or static logos of channels displayed in the same spot constantly. Image retention is temporary as it disappears after a while when you switch channels or watch something without logos for a while. Burn-in is more permanent, as a display may or may not recover from it.
Burn-in and IR (Image Retention) used to be a problem with plasmas, but with the technological advances is no longer an isssue. Even Lcds are not immune to IR and as long as the displays are not abused, should not affect them.
Important Note:
Plasmas have to be broken-in properly, the first few hours of turning them on. The first 100 to 1000 hours are very important for plasmas and proper care has to be taken. I will address this separately.
Response time
Traditionally, Plamas have had better response time which makes them perfect for videos. Lcds are getting better, but still haven't caught up with plasmas. What does this mean ? Slow response time will result in blurred images during fast moving scenes in sports and movies. Fast response time results in smooth images. If you want to learn more about it, here's a link.
http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/lcd-response-time.html
Features:
There are various features to look for in a tv for a person R2I.
1) NTSC and PAL compatibility.
2) Dual Voltage.
There are other things also but don't necessarily affect tv buying decision.
What to Buy and Where to Buy
There are two types of models, namely, consumer and commercial. Most cosumer models (there could be exceptions) are made for US market and hence are NTSC only. If you are able to find a consumer model which is both NTSC and PAL, please update this thread for the sake of others. I haven't come across any of them yet. Not all commercial models support NTSC and PAL and one has to verify that the model selected supports both.
There are various differences between consumer and commericial (industrial) models. Commerical models are meant to be used as displays, so they don't come with "bells and whistles" like tuners, speakers, and stands. They also come with less number of input connections like hdmi, component etc. If you need to add a particular type of connection, then you have to buy the corresponding input board (called the blade) from the vendor. They are purely displays and can be found in commercial places like airports, public buildings etc. Consumer models on the other hand cater to the consumer needs and have any or all of the features mentioned.
Buying a tv is dependent on various factors
1) Brand name
2) Size
3) Model (consumer, commercial)
4) Price
Always buy a good brand name tv like panasonic, sony, samsung or pioneer as they have good quality video processors. Never buy a tv because it is cheap. You pretty much get what you paid for.
If you are settled on buying a consumer model, then there are various choices for buying them.
1) Local electronics' stores: Various stores keep running specials all the time and especially around major holidays. Most of them price match their competition and you can get the lowest price by scouting around. If you look in the proper places online, coupons are available for various stores which sweeten the deals. Some times you can't combine specials with coupons, but coupons can be used at all other times. Some of the places to look for deals and coupons.
www.slickdeals.net
www.Fatwallet.com
2) online vendors : There are many as listed in the next section.
If having both NTSC and PAL is an issue, then most likely the only choice is buying from online vendors (commercial) . You can also get consumer models from them. Buy only from a reputed online store. Here are a few vendors. I haven't dealt with them personally. Maybe others members can help with their feedback.
www.visualapex.com
www.dtvcity.com
www.plasmadepot.com
www.onecall.com
www.jr.com
www.vanns.com
P.S: Buying the right tv depends on brand name, model (consumer, commercial), size, features (ntsc, pal, dual voltage etc), price and performance. Too many variables, right ? If you think it is too confusing, simplify it by narrowing it to down to a couple of models before shopping around for price.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you decide to get a plasma tv, then there are certain precautions to be taken especially in the first few days of use.
Break-in :
Plasmas are most vulnerable in the first 100 to 1000 hours of use. Manufactures have taken care of Burn-in issue with advanced technology like pixel shifting etc. But, plasmas have to be broken-in properly in their early age. There are many ways to do it. First of all, all plasmas and lcds come with highest settings (vivid) from the factory. This is good for displaying in stores as they meant to catch the eyes of consumers. But, it is torture for the tv if it is left at this setting. It is critical to reduce all the settings to their lowest possible and still be able to see tv. Here's the setting I use for panasoncic plasma. Brightness, picture, contrast, color, tint and sharpness all set to zero or less. Secondly, don't watch channels with static logos for long periods of time. Keep switching channels. You can watch channels without logos for any length of time. Don't leave it on pause for long periods of time. Also don't watch dvds or channels with black bars on the sides and or top and bottom. You can change the color of side bars to grey and stretch the content to fill up the screen. Thirdly, you can use a break-in dvd to properly break-in the plasma. The first 100 hours are very critical for the plasma. There are a few places to get the break-in DVD. Here are a couple of links to them.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=583089
http://www.eaprogramming.com/
Read the instructions carefully. You are better of downloading in ISO format and recording the same to dvd.
You can watch normal tv, and use break-in dvd when you are not watching anything. After the first 100 hours and upto 1000 hours, you can increase the settings to a more pleasing level but still use caution.
There is no need to baby a plasma tv, but most problems stem from abusing them. Even Lcds can have burn-in if they are abused. Even Lcds have to be set to a normal setting as opposed to the vivid factory setting for them to have longer life.
Calibration:
Calibration is an essential key to getting the tv to perform at its best. Most tvs need calibration, be it Lcds or Plasmas or DLPs. There are various options available. The cheapest way is to do it on your own using a calibration dvd. Serious videoholics get it done by professional calibrators who really do a fabulous job. Professional calibration is very complex as it involves using proper instruments and tweaking service menus etc. Simple calibration can be done by individuals using simple color filters and calibration dvds. Here are a few sources:
1) Digital Video Essentials
2) Avia Calibration
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/Video-calibration.html?gclid=CMq528eDz4oCFQ9jgAodMiokdg
http://www.amazon.com/dp/630551982X?tag=geekwithfamil-20&creative=373489&camp=211189&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=630551982X
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005PJ70?tag=geekwithfamil-20&creative=373489&camp=211189&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=B00005PJ70
3) GetGray DVD
http://www.calibrate.tv/
I personally used GetGray dvd to calibrate my tv and it is very good. The only thing is, you need to buy color filter(s) with GetGray whereas the filters are included with the other two.
All the above calibration DVDs include various test patterns which can be used to properly calibrate tvs.
Benchmark Tests:
The performance of the various devices like DVD, plasma, LCD or DLP can be tested by using Benchmark tests. One of the best benchmark dvds is the HQV dvd. It can be found here.
http://www.hqv.com/benchmark.cfm
Usually it is $30, but use the coupon "smarthqv" to get it for $20. This can be used on various devices and it will show the true quality of the device. It has about 8-10 benchmark tests for various features.
A HDTV has to do a lot of processing before displaying the image and the dvd will test all of them. Some of the prominent processes include de-interlacing and scaling. Only the top brands with good video processors pass most of the tests. See the attached table on how the top brands fared in the benchmark tests. New models have been introduced this year and we have to wait on their reviews.
This is to help you get started and by no means exhaustive. I encourage all the forum members to read the post and leave their feedback on discrepancies, inaccuracies, corrections, and updates.
Disclaimer: With Technology changing ever so rapidly, what is good today may not be entirely accurate tommorow. So, as always use your own judgement when using this post. I claim no responsibility for any mistakes or inaccuracies made inadvertently.
what to buy ? where to buy ? what features to look for ? others
Here are a few key topics.
Plasma VS Lcd
Which one is a better option ? To address this we have to compare various things. This topic has been beaten to death and there is no clearcut winner.
http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/0,239035250,240036500,00.htm
http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/plasma-vs-lcd-TV.html
Both are similar in that they are flat panels, at the same time they are not similar in that they use different technologies for processing images. Here are a few things used for comparison.
Size and Price
Plasma has an advantage in big screens 42" and higher even though the gap is closing all the time. For 37" and lower, Lcd has the advantage.
Picture performance
Both Plasma and Lcd are pretty close in overall performance, but there are differences as well.
Plasmas have high contrast ratio which means they can display deep blacks and details in simultaneous dark and light conditions. A higher contrast ratio increases the device's perceived picture quality.
Contrast Ratio is a measurement of the difference in brightness between the whitest white and the darkest black within an image. A ratio of 300:1 means the brightest point in the image is 300 times as bright as the darkest point.
Picture quality : Both are equally good in reproducing original signals, be it a dvd, cable or satellite. Images are crisp and clear and there is very little to choose between the two. One thing to note though. Plasmas perform well under controlled normal light conditions, whereas Lcds perform well even in brightly lit rooms.
Viewing angle: Plasmas have slight advantage as they have better viewing angles. This is changing quickly and Lcds are catching up fast.
Life
This is a non issue as both plasmas and lcds have long life. Manufactures claima half-life of 60,000 hours for both.
Burn-In
Burn-in can be considered as a permanent image retention. Image retention occurs when a static image is displayed on the screen for extended periods of time. This could be caused from pausing a picture for a long time or static logos of channels displayed in the same spot constantly. Image retention is temporary as it disappears after a while when you switch channels or watch something without logos for a while. Burn-in is more permanent, as a display may or may not recover from it.
Burn-in and IR (Image Retention) used to be a problem with plasmas, but with the technological advances is no longer an isssue. Even Lcds are not immune to IR and as long as the displays are not abused, should not affect them.
Important Note:
Plasmas have to be broken-in properly, the first few hours of turning them on. The first 100 to 1000 hours are very important for plasmas and proper care has to be taken. I will address this separately.
Response time
Traditionally, Plamas have had better response time which makes them perfect for videos. Lcds are getting better, but still haven't caught up with plasmas. What does this mean ? Slow response time will result in blurred images during fast moving scenes in sports and movies. Fast response time results in smooth images. If you want to learn more about it, here's a link.
http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/lcd-response-time.html
Features:
There are various features to look for in a tv for a person R2I.
1) NTSC and PAL compatibility.
2) Dual Voltage.
There are other things also but don't necessarily affect tv buying decision.
What to Buy and Where to Buy
There are two types of models, namely, consumer and commercial. Most cosumer models (there could be exceptions) are made for US market and hence are NTSC only. If you are able to find a consumer model which is both NTSC and PAL, please update this thread for the sake of others. I haven't come across any of them yet. Not all commercial models support NTSC and PAL and one has to verify that the model selected supports both.
There are various differences between consumer and commericial (industrial) models. Commerical models are meant to be used as displays, so they don't come with "bells and whistles" like tuners, speakers, and stands. They also come with less number of input connections like hdmi, component etc. If you need to add a particular type of connection, then you have to buy the corresponding input board (called the blade) from the vendor. They are purely displays and can be found in commercial places like airports, public buildings etc. Consumer models on the other hand cater to the consumer needs and have any or all of the features mentioned.
Buying a tv is dependent on various factors
1) Brand name
2) Size
3) Model (consumer, commercial)
4) Price
Always buy a good brand name tv like panasonic, sony, samsung or pioneer as they have good quality video processors. Never buy a tv because it is cheap. You pretty much get what you paid for.
If you are settled on buying a consumer model, then there are various choices for buying them.
1) Local electronics' stores: Various stores keep running specials all the time and especially around major holidays. Most of them price match their competition and you can get the lowest price by scouting around. If you look in the proper places online, coupons are available for various stores which sweeten the deals. Some times you can't combine specials with coupons, but coupons can be used at all other times. Some of the places to look for deals and coupons.
www.slickdeals.net
www.Fatwallet.com
2) online vendors : There are many as listed in the next section.
If having both NTSC and PAL is an issue, then most likely the only choice is buying from online vendors (commercial) . You can also get consumer models from them. Buy only from a reputed online store. Here are a few vendors. I haven't dealt with them personally. Maybe others members can help with their feedback.
www.visualapex.com
www.dtvcity.com
www.plasmadepot.com
www.onecall.com
www.jr.com
www.vanns.com
P.S: Buying the right tv depends on brand name, model (consumer, commercial), size, features (ntsc, pal, dual voltage etc), price and performance. Too many variables, right ? If you think it is too confusing, simplify it by narrowing it to down to a couple of models before shopping around for price.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you decide to get a plasma tv, then there are certain precautions to be taken especially in the first few days of use.
Break-in :
Plasmas are most vulnerable in the first 100 to 1000 hours of use. Manufactures have taken care of Burn-in issue with advanced technology like pixel shifting etc. But, plasmas have to be broken-in properly in their early age. There are many ways to do it. First of all, all plasmas and lcds come with highest settings (vivid) from the factory. This is good for displaying in stores as they meant to catch the eyes of consumers. But, it is torture for the tv if it is left at this setting. It is critical to reduce all the settings to their lowest possible and still be able to see tv. Here's the setting I use for panasoncic plasma. Brightness, picture, contrast, color, tint and sharpness all set to zero or less. Secondly, don't watch channels with static logos for long periods of time. Keep switching channels. You can watch channels without logos for any length of time. Don't leave it on pause for long periods of time. Also don't watch dvds or channels with black bars on the sides and or top and bottom. You can change the color of side bars to grey and stretch the content to fill up the screen. Thirdly, you can use a break-in dvd to properly break-in the plasma. The first 100 hours are very critical for the plasma. There are a few places to get the break-in DVD. Here are a couple of links to them.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=583089
http://www.eaprogramming.com/
Read the instructions carefully. You are better of downloading in ISO format and recording the same to dvd.
You can watch normal tv, and use break-in dvd when you are not watching anything. After the first 100 hours and upto 1000 hours, you can increase the settings to a more pleasing level but still use caution.
There is no need to baby a plasma tv, but most problems stem from abusing them. Even Lcds can have burn-in if they are abused. Even Lcds have to be set to a normal setting as opposed to the vivid factory setting for them to have longer life.
Calibration:
Calibration is an essential key to getting the tv to perform at its best. Most tvs need calibration, be it Lcds or Plasmas or DLPs. There are various options available. The cheapest way is to do it on your own using a calibration dvd. Serious videoholics get it done by professional calibrators who really do a fabulous job. Professional calibration is very complex as it involves using proper instruments and tweaking service menus etc. Simple calibration can be done by individuals using simple color filters and calibration dvds. Here are a few sources:
1) Digital Video Essentials
2) Avia Calibration
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/Video-calibration.html?gclid=CMq528eDz4oCFQ9jgAodMiokdg
http://www.amazon.com/dp/630551982X?tag=geekwithfamil-20&creative=373489&camp=211189&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=630551982X
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005PJ70?tag=geekwithfamil-20&creative=373489&camp=211189&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=B00005PJ70
3) GetGray DVD
http://www.calibrate.tv/
I personally used GetGray dvd to calibrate my tv and it is very good. The only thing is, you need to buy color filter(s) with GetGray whereas the filters are included with the other two.
All the above calibration DVDs include various test patterns which can be used to properly calibrate tvs.
Benchmark Tests:
The performance of the various devices like DVD, plasma, LCD or DLP can be tested by using Benchmark tests. One of the best benchmark dvds is the HQV dvd. It can be found here.
http://www.hqv.com/benchmark.cfm
Usually it is $30, but use the coupon "smarthqv" to get it for $20. This can be used on various devices and it will show the true quality of the device. It has about 8-10 benchmark tests for various features.
A HDTV has to do a lot of processing before displaying the image and the dvd will test all of them. Some of the prominent processes include de-interlacing and scaling. Only the top brands with good video processors pass most of the tests. See the attached table on how the top brands fared in the benchmark tests. New models have been introduced this year and we have to wait on their reviews.
This is to help you get started and by no means exhaustive. I encourage all the forum members to read the post and leave their feedback on discrepancies, inaccuracies, corrections, and updates.
Disclaimer: With Technology changing ever so rapidly, what is good today may not be entirely accurate tommorow. So, as always use your own judgement when using this post. I claim no responsibility for any mistakes or inaccuracies made inadvertently.