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Curry`s £999 LG50" deal... |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 9
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Curry`s £999 LG50" deal...
Was very impressed by this weeks deal in Curry`s for the 50" LG plasma with stand and free home cinema kit. Can anyone vouch for the quality, as it is always hard to tell from in store displays. Or am I just better saving up for the full HD LCD`s, as I noticed the plasma display seemed a little darker.
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: dorset
Posts: 2,102
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i may be mistaken but i dont think you will get a 50" LCD at present.
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#3 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,020
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This is a good price, but plasma technology is older and cheaper at the larger-end screen sizes. When you say the display is darker, that's just probably the in-store settings (I saw one in Currys today, too), but the blacks are very good - contrast ratios are far better on plasmas than on LCDs. If it's 'dark' in that respect, that's a good thing and adds to the 'cinematic' feel that plasmas are good at. If you intend to have the TV on most of the day though, plump for an LCD 42"/46" @ 1080p. Plasmas consume more power and have a shorter life span and there's always that screen-burn worry.
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#4 |
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 323
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Depends what you mean by shorter life span.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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Screen gases dissipating over time, brightness reducing etc. Granted, you'll still likely get a good number of years viewing out of it but LCDs are expected to last longer. When I bought my LCD 18m ago, plasmas at the time were quoted as having c.30,000hrs v LCDs of 60,000hrs (or similar) of viewing time - a lot of hours nonetheless.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Aug 2005
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By the time of any noticeable lost of quality a plasma screen will be classed as old technology.
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#7 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
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Quote:
Screen gases dissipating over time
Quote:
brightness reducing Quote:
Granted, you'll still likely get a good number of years viewing out of it but LCDs are expected to last longer. Quote:
When I bought my LCD 18m ago, plasmas at the time were quoted as having c.30,000hrs v LCDs of 60,000hrs (or similar) of viewing time - a lot of hours nonetheless. Incidently, we've just had an ex-rental 32 inch Sony LCD come back in, the manufacture date on the back is December 2004. Checking on the service menu it's been running for 8546 hours so far - it's still a great picture though, the customer has merely swapped it for a new one. |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Pomgolia
Posts: 1,162
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Quote:
Screen gases dissipating over time, brightness reducing etc. Granted, you'll still likely get a good number of years viewing out of it but LCDs are expected to last longer. When I bought my LCD 18m ago, plasmas at the time were quoted as having c.30,000hrs v LCDs of 60,000hrs (or similar) of viewing time - a lot of hours nonetheless.
Yea get a LCD I would hate to think I'll only get 10yrs+ from my Plasma |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 323
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10 years is a hell of a long time in the ever changing world of home cinema, you've more chance of upgrading long before a plasma screen has outlived its allotted number of hours.
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#10 |
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 9
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I agree, if I get 10 years I`d be happy. What does worry me is that I can`t find much ref to its HD status. I know its HD ready and 1080P input- a bit of marketing spin in that it can recieve the signal just not necessary disoplay it at that. Anyone else shed some light on this?
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#11 |
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 6,355
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Quote:
That's a complete myth, PDP's aren't gas filled.
Yes, but you get exactly the same with LCD, CRT and household flourescent tubes - in all four cases the phosphurs wear out with time. The oldest Plasma's I've seen (that are still working) are still pretty good pictures. I would agree, but not for any of the reasons you're suggesting - simply because Plasma sets are less reliable than LCD - a proven statistic!. All the blurb I've seen suggests similar lifes for Plasma screens and LCD screens, as far as 'wearing out' goes. The sets are more likely to be scrapped long before that due to them going faulty. So far I've scrapped probably half a dozen Plasma sets, due to failure of the panel - but no LCD's so far. I've changed plenty of duff LCD panels (and Plasma panels), but while still under guarantee. Incidently, we've just had an ex-rental 32 inch Sony LCD come back in, the manufacture date on the back is December 2004. Checking on the service menu it's been running for 8546 hours so far - it's still a great picture though, the customer has merely swapped it for a new one. |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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Quote:
Just out of curiosity can all flat panel sets be checked for running hours? or just Sony?
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#13 |
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 8,812
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Samsung and LG certainly can, Vestel don't seem to show it on their service menu (FACTORY MODE) though.
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#14 |
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: In the Shrine to Hantuchova UK
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We sold a shed load of this deal at PCWorld this weekend, you'll be lucky if they still have some in stock.
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#15 |
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hartlepool, England
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Quote:
That's a complete myth, PDP's aren't gas filled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_display http://www.homecinemauk.com/home_cin...ced_guide.html http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-plasma-tv.htm |
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#16 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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OK, I'll rephrase it! ![]() Plasma screens aren't filled with any gas that requires replenishment or wears out in any way! ![]() They are 'filled' with a partial vacuum with trace amounts of noble gases. The Wikipedia article is also wrong on some counts, such as Quote:
Plasma displays use the same phosphors as CRTs, which accounts for the extremely accurate color reproduction.
They don't use the same phosphurs because they work in entirely different ways - CRT's convert electron energy to light, and Plasma's convert ultraviolet light to visible light. Plasma screens are no where near as accurate as a CRT, and the differences are well documented - even CRT though doesn't meet the specified requirements, but it's a lot closer than Plasma. I've never seen similar comparative graphs for LCD?, but I would expect it to probably be better - as it uses simple coloured filters from white light, rather than phosphurs. From a viewers point of view, all are pretty well as good as each though.
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#17 |
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 9
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Kind of getting bogged down into a technical debate on plasma V LCD. So what if it lasts 5 years or 10 years. In 5 years time it`s resale value will be buttons such is the changing nature of technology. That said I feel that going for full 1080 HD might be worth the extra cash now as opposed to buying just HD ready with no apparent HDMI inputs, as appears to be the case with the curry`s offer. Any thoughts?
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#18 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
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Quote:
That said I feel that going for full 1080 HD might be worth the extra cash now as opposed to buying just HD ready with no apparent HDMI inputs, as appears to be the case with the curry`s offer. Any thoughts?
Personally I don't see much of an advantage of Full HD over HD Ready - we've run sets side by side from the same HD box source , and you can only just tell a difference. Seeing the sets on their own I wouldn't be able to tell which was which. Perhaps the difference might be greater from Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?, but from Sky HD I don't think it's worth the price premium. |
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#19 |
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#20 |
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Join Date: Sep 2007
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It does have HDMI and component, it is also £120 cheaper in Dixons http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/stor...uct&sku=008514
acording to their website it has 2 HDMI, 2 Scart, 1 Component and 1 from a PC (I would asume DVI) |
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#21 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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Quote:
acording to their website it has 2 HDMI, 2 Scart, 1 Component and 1 from a PC (I would asume DVI)
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#22 |
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Banned User
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 58
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Quote:
If the set is HD Ready it has to have either HDMI or DVI, complete with HDCP - most use HDMI, but a few (like Philips) use DVI, so you need an adaptor or a different lead.
Personally I don't see much of an advantage of Full HD over HD Ready - we've run sets side by side from the same HD box source , and you can only just tell a difference. Seeing the sets on their own I wouldn't be able to tell which was which. Perhaps the difference might be greater from Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?, but from Sky HD I don't think it's worth the price premium. But thats just an obvious, 'well durrrr' moment. Ive been reading these forums a while and seen you repeat this many times and for some reason it does my head in. Your comparing a full HD set and given its potential and just feeding it a 720p/1080i source. Its like saying a Ferrari Enzo is no faster than a Ford Escort because of the 70MPH limit. If you going to compare them, at least use a 1080p source. What gets me is why you keep repeating it. I thought you had some knowledge with TV's? |
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#23 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
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Quote:
[/b]
What gets me is why you keep repeating it. I thought you had some knowledge with TV's? Where it 'may' make a difference is the lower compression used from a DVD compared to a broadcast. |
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 1,323
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Quote:
It would be VERY unusual to have both DVI and HDMI, I would imagine the PC connector would be a standard 15 pin VGA socket, most are.
EDIT: Should also add the res is 1366 x 768 so only 720p, it does accept 1080p but obviously downscales. |
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#25 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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Quote:
EDIT: Should also add the res is 1366 x 768 so only 720p
As always, try all options you have, but don't think of your set as a 720P set - because it's not. |
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