[berncol]

I've been researching HDTVs for the last couple of months now. Initially, I looked at Plasmas without paying attention to LCD TVs. More recenly it's been vice versa.
I finally opted to buy a Toshiba LCD.
Just scanning down the threads here I notice a distinct lack of Plasmas mentioned.
Is the general opinion here that LCDs are the way forward?

[soulboy77]

Well I read that picture quality of new LCDs are set to be on a par with Plasmas in 2007. This coupled with the fact they are generally cheaper, now go up to v.large screen sizes, use less power and don't suffer screen burn makes the argument for LCD over Plasma very strong.

Plasma's only go down to 32" whereas LCDs do a complete range of sizes to suite every individuals needs. For the majority of our pockets LCDs are generally more attainable.

... despite the above case for LCDs I plan to purchase a new hi-def plasma next year, once I have saved up enough pennies!

[JTHM]

It is inevitable that LCDs will eventually match, perhaps even surpass, plasma displays (one magazine article even suggested it had happened already! ) BUT by my eyes they have a looonnnng way to go yet. Across the board they are still exceedingly let down by the dullness, poor colouration and contrast (especially dark scenes) and their motion blurring. In my eyes plasma still wipes the toilet floor with LCD every time. Yes LCD technology is improving at a pace but plasma technology is still improving also so perhaps next year the very, very best LCD panels coupled to the the very, very best signal processing may catch up with an average model plasma but the price difference will be a marked one with the LCD being much more expensive.

I don't believe that necessarily LCDs are cheaper than plasmas when you compare apples to apples. The difference is neglegable at best and if anything my research shows LCD to still be slightly more expensive. True, the historically more expensive manufactures are tending to stick with plasma for the time being but this means I am not comparing Panasonic with the likes of DMTECH or even Sharp. I'm looking at Sharp vs. LG, Toshiba vs. Hitachi, Panasonic vs. Sony, Loewe vs. Bang & Olfsen. Though there are many more manufacturers producing LCDs than there are producing plasmas. This is also borne out with manufacturers who produce both LCDs and plasmas in their range whereby you'll find a 32" LCD is only marginally cheaper than a 37" plasma of otherwise the same model spec and a low spec 37" plasma will be substantially cheaper than a high spec 32" LCD. This makes LCDs more attainable purely because of their smaller sizes.

With respect to power consumption, at stand-by there is usually nothing to choose between them. In use, plasma screens have a varying power consumption characteristic depending on what is being displayed whereas LCDs have a pretty constant one. In actual fact in dark scenes plasmas are substantially less power hungry than LCDs but substantially moreso in bright scenes. If you were to measure watts consumed over time you would find that both are pretty equal but as strides are made to improve contrast and brightness on LCD panels (as they need to to match plasmas) then you will find that LCD panels need to start consuming substantially more power over time than plasmas need to.

The single biggest worry that people who are new to large screen TVs have with plasma is the issue of screen burn. To my knowledge there is only one manufacturer of plasmas in 2006 who has actual screen burn problems and that is Pioneer (and they also have problems with HDCP compatibilty over HDMI too) so for an HD set I wouldn't consider their current 2006 range anyway. More prevailant is 'image retention' and this is something that all plasmas do suffer with to a greater or lesser extent. Panasonic are quite possibly the leaders in this area at the moment with their Gen. 9 panel where after images usually only take a few minutes to dissipate. However, that said, LCDs are also not immune to image retention/screen burn either and the line between the two is much finer here as, though they are less prone to image retention, if you do get an after image on an LCD it is more likely to have burned in rather than just be being retained for a short while.

Big screen LCDs do have the edge when it comes to true native HD resolution as affordable (sub £4000) plasmas currently only go up to 768 lines resolution. Whereas there are many LCDs below this price point that do the full 1080 lines. However, no LCD of this resolution is able to scale SD signals anywhere near as well as a plasma (because plasma doesn't have to scale them as far) - even the otherwise gorgeous Sony Bravias are severely let down by their SD scaling.

Oh, and yes I do own a plasma - a Panasonic TH-37PX600BCAB to be precise. It took me nearly two years of waiting and a further 7 months of incessant trawling of websites, forums, shops and magazines to spec. it and I wouldn't swap it for anything (except maybe a bigger one!!! ) because it really is the puppy's parts!

I do hope you enjoy your Toshiba and I do genuinely hope that over time you still feel you've made the right choice because it is a nice feeling.