Plasma or LCD?

I am upgrading my old TV for a new flat panel. I'm leaning toward a 60" Pioneer Plasma. The only drawbacks are that our TV gets left on a fair amount to entertain the little ones, and there is a lot of natural light in the viewing room. However, I really don't like seeing the jaggy athletes on the slower refreshing LCD sets and I like dark movies.

Any thoughts?

 

Samsung DLP

 

It really depends on how you use your TV. I actually like the picture better on the higher end Plasma but they have there drawbacks. There is a break-in period and they still can get burn-in even with the new models but it is more rare then earlier models. If your going to be playing any video games on your TV I would select for sure LCD. If you watch a lot of SD TV I would select a higher end Plasma but some of the higher end LCD's are getting a lot better. The LCD's are getting better and I have a Samsung but the high end Sony's are probably the best LCD IMO. If you are buying a lower priced model I would go with LCD. I would suggest going to a good store and compare all the different models and see what you like. If I was going to buy a Plasma I would go with a Pioneer or Panasonic. If I was going LCD I would go with Sony, Samsung and maybe a couple more of the higher priced vendors.


If your TV is going to be in a room with a lot of sunlight I would go with LCD because Plasma are not as bright. You can also go with the 120mz newer model LCD's and get a lot better picture on fast moving movies and sports. I have a higher price Samsung LCD and don't get any jaggies or ghosting.

I would say you probably want to go with Plasma if the room doesn't have to much sunlight. I tried a plasma in my TV room and it was just to much sunlight and went with an LCD.

 

Plasma does give you darker darks, but you have to factor in the glossy screen finish as opposed to the matte finish of LCD displays. If you've got a room where there are a lot of windows or skylights, you can get some nasty glare issues in daytime. Plasma runs hotter and uses more energy, but gives you more bang for your buck on screen size.

 

A 60" Pioneer Plasma is a great HDTV especially if your looking at the elite modles but any of the Pioneer are great sets. The Pioneers have great blacks especially for movies. I would first check to make sure you don't get to much sun though.

 

I agree you might get a lot of reflection. I did in my TV room and had to go LCD if I wanted to watch anything in the daytime.

I didn't vote in your poll because it depends on how your using the TV and what room and how much you want to spend.

 

I just bought a 46" Sony Bravia LCD on Saturday. I went for the LCD because the room in which I put the TV has a skylight, so the glassy Plasma covering would have had a glare on it. If you are going to go HD for your sports, then the refresh rate doesn't really matter, plus either Sony or Samsung have the new generation LCD that makes SD viewing much easier than in the past.

 

One more thing to think about is Plasma weigh a lot more and a 60" Plasma would weight a lot. If your mounting on the wall it would be hard.

 

I remember reading somewhere(or somebody told me?) that all LCD and Plasma sets are all primarily made at the same place, and the only major difference between brands is the casing they put it in. Does anybody know if that is true/false?

 

I know that Sony and Samsung both have their LCDs made at the same place, and maybe not so coincidently, they are both the highest rated.

 

Does anybody know who makes Best Buy's store brand (Insignia)?

 

I don't, but I bought my TV at Best Buy on Saturday, and they didn't even try to push their own brand on me. Of course, I had done a lot of research beforehand.

 

I just did some googling about my last 2 questions. It appears that there are only 4 manufacturers of LCD/plasma TVs out there. And Best Buy's TVs are made by many different companies. One model might be made by Sony while another might be made by Samsung. I bought a Insignia LCD TV a couple years ago (impulse buy, no research) and it has been great so far. For the price I paid, I think it was worth it.

 

I think almost all LCD and Plasma panels are made by 2-3 companies but the actual TV is made by the major mfg; Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba etc. You can take the best LCD panel and depending on how and what other components and software you use the picture can be a lot different. Also even if a major mfg has someone else making the panel they have input in how they are made.

 

All Best Buy equipment is called Insignia and I think mfg by different companys depending on what it is. I think their Blu Ray player is made by a company out of Korea Funia not sure the correct spelling. I'm not 100% sure but I think LG makes their LCD TV's but I could be wrong.

 

Some more detail. I don't do video games (have three daughters and poor hand eye coordination). I get morning sunlight in the room, but the windows are on the side, and the main viewing location is on the same side so the windows don't reflect off the screen.

The refresh time is important to me as I've seen some very pixelated running backs moving across the screen on LCDs and didn't like it. From what I understand, current 120Hz LCDs have a refresh time of 3-5ms, where plasmas are 0.5-1ms. Unfortunately, most high end stores don't show broadcast HD football on their screens so I can't compare the two in a non-Costco environment.

 

At this point, plasma and LCD are pretty much on the same level, so my advice would be to get the best deal you can, and make sure to purchase an extended warranty.