Remember a few months ago, I was inquiring about what would be the best TV to buy if I was buying a Plasma TV??? I was eyeing a Visio 42" Model at the time, and the consensous was that I should pony up and consider buying a Panasonic or a Toshiba (which I do not disagree with that assessment 100%).
Well People....... I'm still stuck (kind of).
Yesterday, after leaving my part-time job at a local shopping center in Prince Georges County, Maryland, I went to the new Circuit City that happens to be across the street from the mall I work at. I met a gentleman who seems to be QUITE knowledgeable about HDTV's in general, and he pretty much gave my ass a crash course on the difference between Plasma and LCD TV's. I am beginning to start saving up for the TV at the end of this month. Until yesterday, I was set to go with a Plasma as Plasmas as a whole seem to provide better blacks than an LCD model could ever dream of. But after looking at a Toshiba 42HL167 (a 1080p LCD set, mind you) hooked up to a Toshiba HD-A20 HD-DVD Player yesterday, I was stunned at the black level this set was producing, as well as the fast refresh rate this set was doing when it was doing a sports scene. This set was producing a picture that was close to any Plasma set that inside the store. If I didn't know any better myself, if I hadn't known that it was an LCD set yesterday, I would've said that had to be a Plasma set. The picture was so crisp, so sharp and so vivid, my jaw just dropped inside the store. After seeing that set, I also asked the saleman to show me the 720p variant (the Toshiba 42HL67) of the same set (so I can see if I can see enough of a difference to warrant paying an extra $400.00 for the 1080p version of this set (the 42HL167)), and quite frankly, I couldn't see that much of a difference off the bat. After looking at these sets yesterday, I still kind of want to go Plasma because of the quality of blacks they tend to produce. But after looking at these Toshiba LCD's yesterday, I'm starting to have second thoughts and starting to second guess myself.
I guess, the question I'm am getting at is are LCD as a class are really THAT good today (as far as picture quality, black level and fast refresh rates are concerned)??? Because these were the VERY things that LCD's took a lot a flack and criticism for in the past. Are the differences between LCD and Plasma really THAT narrow??? Because after looking at these two Toshibas yesterday, I am almost sold on the pictures these sets produce, and that's not to say that they're attractively priced to boot.
Any feedback on experiences between LCD and Plasma, as well as any opinions are appreciated in advance.
thank you chaskelljr2001 you obviously have seen the new panasonic and are impressed... chadnliz... y would anyone listen to you? if he really likes the lcd thats fine but i challenge him to see the panasonic hooked up to the same source and he would easily tell how much better a 1080p plasma is than an lcd... if you got a problem with that you are ignorant
The Panasonic Plasma that was purchased replaced a Pioneer Eilte Projection unit so there was alot of Pioneer video loyalty, the unit never failed and was great. I mention this because when looking at Pioneer Elite for a new HDTV the Panasonic was chosen, you may or may not agree but I just wanted to offer my real world experience. I think you should purchase your unit from a hi-end dealer because while you may pay a bit more you will get it installed for free (most likely and you can always haggle to get it included) plus if it should need service you have a direct smaller outfit to handle any needs, at BestBuy and like minded stores you get a discount, but could quickly regret it if any issues arise. Just remember you get what you pay for and I think most would agree the bigbox stores are not very good with service.
I hope everyone here had a good 4th of July w/o any unfortunate incidents.
But anyway, my shortlist of TV's is as follows for right now.
Plasmas:
1st Choice: Panasonic TH-42PZ700U (1080p w/Anti-Glare Coating On Screen) -- $2,500.00 (but will be less than $2,000.00 by X-Mas Time)
2nd Choice: Panasonic TH-42PX77U (1080p w/Anti-Glare Coating on Screen) -- $1,600.00 (but with fewer features than the "700U")
3rd Choice: One of the Pioneer Models (when I finally get to see one of them. When it comes time to buy, I may put the Pioneer model up against the Panasonic I may choose for a final face off before opening up the wallet and pulling out the plastic (which will probably be the championship))
Why would anyone listen to an Htnovice? When making a purchase in December my choise was the 58in Panasonic Plasma but if LCD looks as good as Charles found I would have maybe leaned towards LCD.
if you are going to get one in december wait for the panasonic 42pz700u to come down from the 2200 dollars it is now and it is an awesome tv i just set one up at work today and it is BRILLIANT much better and sharper than the lg 42pc5u it is next to even with a 720p signal coming in (its a 1080p) it is still sharper and much better contrast along with an antiglare screen
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA hold on lemme catch my breath *ha* sorry freediver dude u r missin out lol ill take your best lcd against the new 8th generation 1080p elite pioneer plasma you wanna talk about a screen door effect? have u even compared a plasma next to an lcd.... lol why dont u go back to playing your atari and come back to the new technology when you aren't so ignorant to the facts
PLASMA SHMASMA!!!I happen to own the exact LCD you are considering.Sourced by a Denon DVD 2930ci this tv ABSOLUTLY ROCKS!I would never own a plasma.Why?Screen door affect.I have a small home theater & sit fairly close to my screen.With the black level control on the dvd/p properly set the blacks are just fine.Better than that the color saturation is almost 3 dimensional!LCD ALL THE WAY!!!
Am I going to be using a 1080p source all the time???
No....... Not really. Well actually, I don't know really. I still have to determine whether or not I can tell a difference between 720p and 1080p. I know that if I opt for a 1080p set, then I would have to pay the $400.00 to $500.00 difference that a 1080p set would entail. And from what I am reading on this thread, it's going to be hard to tell the difference between 720p resolution and 1080p resolution on a 42" set be it LCD or Plasma. But from the outset, I know I'll be using regular DVD's with my new flat screen (the source is going to be a Denon DVD-2910 Universal Player (which upsamples to 1080i I believe)).
I will entertain the thought of adding an HD-DVD or a Blue-Ray DVD Player when the dust settles on the two formats, so the TV will have to be ready when I make the switch over from standard DVD to High Definition DVD (whichever format emerges).
shadorn, panasonic just came out with a model chek bestbuy.com its liek the 42px700u or something like that its 1080p and only 2300
I know. I needed a new TV several months ago (when the Sony 36" XBR CRT HDTV died) and native pixels was not yet available in a plasma of that small size (42"). A salesman insisted LCD was better anyway....I was not sure and it is very hard to tell in a store...but I did know that I wanted the full pixel resolution so I went LCD (Sharp Aquos actually, with an impressive 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio ....a BS specification IMHO but I bought it hook line and sinker...) and I regret it...although it is not a bad HDTV I am slightly disappointed in nighttime scene quality. Daylight scenes blaise out at you - almost like looking into the real SUN - not something I was really looking for!! You live you learn and that is the beauty of A'gon, you get to share both the good and the bad lessons learned....so others do not make the same mistake!!
In addition to the Toshiba LCD's that I have explained about in my thread, I do have a couple of Plasmas on my shortlist as well (a Panasonic TH-42PH77U (because of the Anti-Glare coating on the screen ($1,500.00)), a Samsung HP-T4254 and probably, an LG Model...... And in regards to Plasmas, I am leaning toward the "Panny"), the reasons being, the pictures tend to be sharper and more vivid as well as producing a better black (which is vital for the home theater experience) than LCD (but that's until I saw the Toshiba 42HL167 and the Toshiba 42HL67 last Sunday). But right now, I'm just not going to discount LCD's either.
But since I won't be getting the TV until about December (at least), I am going to take a look at all the options that are going to be out before then (which means I will be on the lookout for the Pioneers when they come out as well).
I would only buy a plasma. They look way better than LCDs to me, much more vivid colors and deeper blacks. Burn in is a non issue unless you are negligent.
My understanding is that LCDs use less power and weigh less than equivalent size plasmas, but they tend to be more expensive. The new upper end LCDs, e.g. 1080p Sony XBR, have excellent picture quality and high refresh rates. The new Pioneer Elite and Fujitsu plasmas look great as well. I too have an old well loved 36" Sony XBR CRT, and its black level may be superior to our two new Sony LCDs, but not the overall picture quality in my judgement.
I don't go to either Best Buy (not sure there is one in Santa Barbara) or Circuit City (heard they were closing the store) to look for a TV set. Making judgements about picture quality without knowledge of the signal being fed to the TV or how it is set up makes little sense to me. In my experience, mass marketers drive a zillion TVs from a single source and do a horrible job (if not right out of the box) of setting up their TVs. Specialty stores will usually match their prices model for model, but may not carry the lower end of a product line. Caveat emptor!
Do you plan on using a 1080 source all of the time? You may want to compare them in the store with your own dvd and maybe even a non high def local channel.
I have both in 42" size. I still prefer the plasma. I would have bought plasma again but could not find a 1920 x 1080 pixels in a 42" size TV and I wanted something that would take proper advantage of Blu-ray.
I don't like mercury back light of the LCD's. I find it is slightly uneven across the screen and this is noticeable in a darkened room for movie watching. Also the contrast is still better on plasma's for night scenes or movies shot mainly with dark scenes, IMHO.
As Chadnliz says....neither is quite as good as a perfectly setup older Sony Wega XBR CRT HDTV...but the alignment on my Sony was a bit off in the corners and it also had a curve on the horizontal axis and it died after only six years (power supply) ....so I went LCD to replace it whilst staying with plasma in the kitchen.
Thanks to all who have responded so far, please keep the answers coming, as I expect more to come in over time.
"Htnovice" -- Thanks for the advice on a surround sound system, but I have one of those already. I have upgraded my sound system over the last 2.5 years.
It is as follows:
Headphones: Sennheiser HD-580 Headphones Speaker System: KEF 2005.2 5.1 Speaker System Package Audio/Video Receiver: Yamaha RX-V1600 "Natural Sound" Audio/Video Receiver DVD Player: Denon DVD-2910 Universal Player DVD Recorder: Toshiba RD-SX34 DVD Recorder w/160 GB Hard Disk Cables: Monster Cable "M" Series Power Conditioning: Monster Cable HTS-1000
Thanks again all for your feedback thus far. Keep it coming.
first off... 90percent of people cant tell the difference between 1080p and 720p on a 42 inch set. the purpose of 1080p, in my opinion is to let people sit closer to their tv's in order to create a bettwer home theater experiece... being closer makes the screen seem bigger and will consume you. its an awesome feeling. now, any television hooked up to that source will give you a clear, well defined picture. in my opinion i would buy a plasma. LG is a great television. the 42pc5d is on sale for 1300.
the refresh rate on any lcd cannot match that of nearly any plasma. watch the price of the 7th generation pioneer plasma. it is going to be replaced soon and the price has been as low as 1500 bucks. obviously chadnliz is biased because any person who knows about the 2007 plasmas knows it is nearly impossible to burn in.
dont second guess yourself plasma is a superior technology especially since they are also coming out with 1080p sets for reasonable prices. panasonics new plasma model is 1080p and has 2.5 times less glare than the model that came out in april. or so the panasonic rep tells me i am a best buy employee and for your price range i would definitely go with a plasma. don't forget surround sound the complete the experience
If the LCD produces the picture you desire I would go LCD as long as cost isnt a factor. What you describe as the strength of the LCD is exactly what would seal the LCD deal for me because of easy placement (no glare issues and burn in that plague Plasma). I wish Plasma and LCD could get to the point of the good old High Def glass tube monsters, my Sony XBR WEGA is far better then any offering from either camp, but the screen can only get so big, and the rest of the unit can only get so small.
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