Will put a stop to the LCD vs Plasma arguments

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  • noise747noise747 Posts: 30,691
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    It really does depend on the lighting conditions of the room. Blacks can be good on an LCD in a room with plenty of light but in a darker room I have yet to see an LCD that can give good blacks.

    I have still not seen a LCD/LEd set that gives true blacks and I have seen sets from the cheap Tesco own brand, right up to a £1,500 LG. That was funny to be honest, this person I know was showing off this new LG TV and saying how good the picture was, which I agree, it was pretty good, and then I noticed the blacks still was not black. He was not impressed.


    I am thinking maybe at some point in getting a projector, still a bit pricey at the moment, but could be good for films.
  • Deacon1972Deacon1972 Posts: 8,171
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    noise747 wrote: »
    I have still not seen a LCD/LEd set that gives true blacks and I have seen sets from the cheap Tesco own brand, right up to a £1,500 LG. That was funny to be honest, this person I know was showing off this new LG TV and saying how good the picture was, which I agree, it was pretty good, and then I noticed the blacks still was not black. He was not impressed.


    I am thinking maybe at some point in getting a projector, still a bit pricey at the moment, but could be good for films
    .

    Depends what you call pricey.

    You can pick up some very good entry model HD PJ's for less than £350 - there's an Optoma HD600x HD ready 3D on eBay for £309.

    I wouldn't rely on prices coming down much more, they seem to have stabilised for the time being. When I bought my first PJ a few years ago the price went up several times during the first year of its release.

    The classifieds are worth a look, especially if your budget is tight.
  • njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    noise747 wrote: »
    I am thinking maybe at some point in getting a projector, still a bit pricey at the moment, but could be good for films.
    Well, they are good for films. But the blacks still aren't black. They are the colour of the screen, which will be illuminated by whatever light falls onto it. So you have an additional limitation over and above the limitations of the projector technology. Even if the projector is capable of completely blocking light to dark areas of the image (and most aren't), unless the entire screen is black, and the room itself is completely dark, some light will usually find its way back to the screen and be reflected off it.

    This used to bother me when I first got my projector, but then I realised that blacks aren't really black even in a "proper" cinema. It is possible to obsess too much!
  • Pink KnightPink Knight Posts: 24,773
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    Most decent made TV's look good if the settings are tweaked a bit from the factory settings, don't they ?
    The hassle of moving a plasma and the fact I play video games means I kept away from them. Plus the life of them ?

    The only danger if I need a new one is to make sure I don't get rebadged tat. Which is becoming a bigger concern for me.
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,329
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    Most decent made TV's look good if the settings are tweaked a bit from the factory settings, don't they ?
    The hassle of moving a plasma and the fact I play video games means I kept away from them. Plus the life of them ?

    What 'hassle' moving a Plasma?, and no real problem with video games once they are 'burnt-in' - I leave mine running on the XBox for extended periods.

    Basically it's all about a little common sense while the set is still new.

    The only danger if I need a new one is to make sure I don't get rebadged tat. Which is becoming a bigger concern for me.

    Ask here before you buy :D
  • njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    What 'hassle' moving a Plasma?
    Well, they are more fragile, aren't they? Lying them flat always used to be a no-no, and I can still recall reading a forum post from a chap who'd transported one on its back in his car (at a time when Plasmas were still eye-wateringly expensive), and heard the screen crack as he drove over a slight bump...

    Then again, I'm sure the early ones used to demand specialised courier delivery at £100 a pop, whereas mine just arrived in a regular delivery truck. Either they got less fragile or people stopped worrying. Or early adopters were being ripped off.

    And then of course you have to let the gas settle for a week before switching the thing on...;)
  • lionelmortonlionelmorton Posts: 558
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    Switched from LCD to a 3D Panasonic plasma.
    Apart from giving my wife headaches I found it very annoying not being able to set the brightness and contrast to levels that give me image quality I like.
    As a last ditch attempt at justifying the plasma I tested Toy Story 3 on Bluray - one of the most superb examples of HD clarity ever.
    On the plasma it was hard to tell it wasn't dvd.

    Exchanged it for a Panasonic LED 3D and wow . Clarity superior to even the LCD.
    And the wow factor returned for HD and no headaches either.

    Plasma was disappointing , even on the day Richer Sounds sold me the LED.
    They had a 50" Panny plasma on the wall and it looked dreadful .

    The only + I found on plasma was that the SD looked quite good in comparison to the HD but only because the HD was so poor
  • 1saintly1saintly Posts: 4,197
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    The hassle of moving a plasma and the fact I play video games means I kept away from them. Plus the life of them ?

    :confused: Those old wifes tales about plasmas just wont go away.
    You forgot about regassing it :D
  • 1saintly1saintly Posts: 4,197
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    Switched from LCD to a 3D Panasonic plasma.
    Apart from giving my wife headaches I found it very annoying not being able to set the brightness and contrast to levels that give me image quality I like.

    Isnt that the problem though, switching from LCD - Plasma.
    LCD tend to be high contrast and bright.
    But that doesnt make it life like?
  • njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    As a last ditch attempt at justifying the plasma I tested Toy Story 3 on Bluray - one of the most superb examples of HD clarity ever.
    Is it? According to who?

    It used to be the case that TV shops demonstrating their then-new flat screen LCDs routinely showed animated material, precisely because this masked the limitations of the technology when displaying real-life images.

    Things have improved a lot since then, but I'd be surprised if anyone now regarded animated material as a definitive test-piece.
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,329
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    njp wrote: »
    Well, they are more fragile, aren't they? Lying them flat always used to be a no-no, and I can still recall reading a forum post from a chap who'd transported one on its back in his car (at a time when Plasmas were still eye-wateringly expensive), and heard the screen crack as he drove over a slight bump...

    Pretty much a myth - we've always transported unboxed Plasmas lying down (it's far worse if it falls over :eek:) on their backs. Just take it steady, and don't do sixty over speed bumps :p

    If someone genuinely broke the screen they either had the set positioned in some peculiar way, or more likely drove over a bump at a silly speed.

    We've never had one damaged, nor heard of any customer damaging one in that way.

    I've always presumed this myth came about because of instructions to couriers - who would normally just throw the box in the back of the van, and then drive like a lunatic - which could easily smash the screen.
  • lionelmortonlionelmorton Posts: 558
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    1saintly wrote: »
    Isnt that the problem though, switching from LCD - Plasma.
    LCD tend to be high contrast and bright.
    But that doesnt make it life like?
    I had LCD first so I had it set based on my CRT viewing.
    The plasma was lifeless.
    And when I went to Richer Sounds to get the Panasonic LED the plasma up on the wall was the only dull lifeless picture in the store.
    The other sets varied but only the plasma was shocking .
    I believe staff at Richer Sounds are knowledgeable enough to be able to set things up correctly so its not as if I saw it in John Lewis or Tesco
    Winston_1 wrote: »
    But LED sets are LCD.
    Newer technology seems to have improved the sets greatly
    njp wrote: »
    Is it? According to who?

    .
    According to me and my collection of several hundred Blurays .
    Admittedly good modern live action looks stunning when its good quality but the visible detail in TS3 is superb.
    And it was that visible detail I was looking for but couldn't really see when watching it on plasma.

    Of course its purely a personal preference and those who are used to plasma may well find LED sets too bright but at least you can turn them down .
    The plasma wasn't capable of the brightness I wanted.
    Annoyingly an engineer at the shop where I got the plasma and who delivered it agreed with my assessment but didn't mention it until I sent it back
  • Pink KnightPink Knight Posts: 24,773
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    1saintly wrote: »
    :confused: Those old wifes tales about plasmas just wont go away.
    You forgot about regassing it :D

    I don't tend to believe old wives tales. I bought a Sony LCD about 5 years ago and it still looks fine with Blu Ray and an HD freeview box.
    Would a 5 year old plasma TV definitely be working now. After heavy use ?
    I don't think plasma is needed now and some people are too picky about everything being just so.
  • meltcitymeltcity Posts: 2,262
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    Of course its purely a personal preference and those who are used to plasma may well find LED sets too bright but at least you can turn them down .
    The plasma wasn't capable of the brightness I wanted.
    Annoyingly an engineer at the shop where I got the plasma and who delivered it agreed with my assessment but didn't mention it until I sent it back

    I went the other way from a shiny Samsung 'LED' that was giving me headaches to a Panasonic 3D plasma and am delighted with the result.

    Plasmas are obviously less bright than LCD. I have no problem with the brightness levels, though again it's all down to personal preference.
    Would a 5 year old plasma TV definitely be working now. After heavy use ?

    Why don't you buy one and find out?:p
  • Deacon1972Deacon1972 Posts: 8,171
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    I don't tend to believe old wives tales. I bought a Sony LCD about 5 years ago and it still looks fine with Blu Ray and an HD freeview box.
    Would a 5 year old plasma TV definitely be working now. After heavy use ?
    I don't think plasma is needed now and some people are too picky about everything being just so.

    My plasma is coming up to 8yrs old and still going strong. My sons is over 5yrs old and still working too. So the answer to your question is yes, but then why would you think they would not be working?

    Come back in 3yrs and lets see if your LCD is still looking fine. :p
  • hardylanehardylane Posts: 3,092
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    I don't tend to believe old wives tales. I bought a Sony LCD about 5 years ago and it still looks fine with Blu Ray and an HD freeview box.
    Would a 5 year old plasma TV definitely be working now. After heavy use ?
    I don't think plasma is needed now and some people are too picky about everything being just so.

    Yes, it would still be working now. Mine is. It's 6 years old.

    What do you regard as "heavy use"?

    Couchpotato use (24 hours a day)?

    or regular family use (6 hours per day)... if you are the latter, then yes, it's just fine...

    According to most estimates, it's 60,000+ hours (i.e. approximately 13 years @ 12 hours/day).

    Depends on the make and model I guess.
  • hardylanehardylane Posts: 3,092
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    Deacon1972 wrote: »
    My plasma is coming up to 8yrs old and still going strong. My sons is over 5yrs old and still working too. So the answer to your question is yes, but then why would you think they would not be working?

    Come back in 3yrs and lets see if your LCD is still looking fine. :p

    My mate's 1080p LCD screen went blotchy and rubbish after 2 years.
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,329
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    Deacon1972 wrote: »
    My plasma is coming up to 8yrs old and still going strong. My sons is over 5yrs old and still working too. So the answer to your question is yes, but then why would you think they would not be working?

    Come back in 3yrs and lets see if your LCD is still looking fine. :p

    Statistically Plasma sets are considerably more unreliable than LCD's, as is obvious from their much higher power consumptions, much higher running temperatures, and far greater complexity.
  • Deacon1972Deacon1972 Posts: 8,171
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    Statistically Plasma sets are considerably more unreliable than LCD's, as is obvious from their much higher power consumptions, much higher running temperatures, and far greater complexity.

    Plasma may be statistically less reliable than LCD, but it's ridiculous to think they only have a 5yr lifespan.
  • RagnarokRagnarok Posts: 4,655
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    Switched from LCD to a 3D Panasonic plasma.
    Apart from giving my wife headaches I found it very annoying not being able to set the brightness and contrast to levels that give me image quality I like.

    your wife is not the only one. I not only get headaches from Panasonic plasma's, I can pick out panasonics from other TV's by the flicker on them from the opposite end of most big PC world stores.

    On the other hand I've never found a LCD that produce a decent picture IFC calibrated picture except in the sweet spot. The 40fl of light out of my pioneer plasma is plenty for daylight viewing.

    I still haven't seen a TV that produces a natural picture with no artificial enhancements matches the Pioneer KRP-500 and KRP-600's from 2008 yet.

    Samsung where getting close last year. Panasonic where too but I cannot watch them for long.
  • RagnarokRagnarok Posts: 4,655
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    Deacon1972 wrote: »
    Plasma may be statistically less reliable than LCD, but it's ridiculous to think they only have a 5yr lifespan.

    They are not built to last, Plasma's run too hot and will probably ruin even some of the best parts in 5 years, unless you don't use it much!!

    That said i'd repaired a few LCD TV's with lousy PSU's mostly.
  • bobcarbobcar Posts: 19,424
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    Ragnarok wrote: »
    They are not built to last, Plasma's run too hot and will probably ruin even some of the best parts in 5 years, unless you don't use it much!!

    Well my Panny came with a 5 year guarantee (from Panasonic) so they must have had a reasonable degree of confidence that it would last that long - and it must be getting near 5 years.
  • njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    Ragnarok wrote: »
    They are not built to last, Plasma's run too hot and will probably ruin even some of the best parts in 5 years, unless you don't use it much!!
    That's verging on being meaningless. What is "too hot"?

    People like to refer vaguely to reliability statistics but they seldom actually provide any!
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    Ragnarok wrote: »
    They are not built to last, Plasma's run too hot and will probably ruin even some of the best parts in 5 years, unless you don't use it much!!

    That said i'd repaired a few LCD TV's with lousy PSU's mostly.
    Tell that to NEC then.:) In our Reception there is a NEC PlasmaSynch screen that has been in service for 13 1/2 years and it is probably left on for 12 or more hours continuously at least 5 days a week and more than a few times has been left on 24 hours for days on end.

    Still works perfectly well. And nor does it run particularly hot either.
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