HDTV Expert - Buy a Plasma TV While You Can – by Ken Werner

[720pete]

Videophiles prefer plasma TV to LCD, and plasma rates higher than LCD in side-by-side testing.  In addition, large-sized plasmas are less expensive than comparable LCDs, and their greater refresh rate allows them to produce cleaner 3D images.  Nonetheless, the days of plasma TV are numbered.
As consultant David Barnes observes, you need look no farther than [...]

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[ernestu]

Contrary to this report, I have never been impressed with the picture quality of a plasma TV. To me, the picture has always looked flat (no pun intended). The colors didn't seem rich to me and the picture was not crisp in comparison to an LCD TV. And since LED LCD TV's have come into the picture, they look even sharper to me than plasmas. Plus, I've heard that plasmas use more electricity and are more delicate. The only positives I see in a plasma is the better contrast ratio and better price. Other than that, I'm surprised they've stayed around as long as they have. Everyone I know either has an LCD or an LED LCD TV.

[Roger Halstead]

Like others I have never been impressed with plasma displays, other than their ability to generate interference to other communication devices. They can't get rid of the plasma display soon enough for me.

[Rodolfo]

I am surprised that readers of this magazine consider the image quality of LCD better than plasma when there have been a number of research material available for years that confirm the opposite in many areas, such as color accuracy, black level and detail, angle of view, motion issues and blurriness, natural imaging (rather than the cartoonist look of LCD), etc.

I agree that LCD is very bright, it is also lighter in lbs, and low in electric consumption, but those are factors that, unless they are crucial for the application, such as needing a bright image for an apartment in the beach, or need an under 42-inches panel and there is no choice of alternate technology, should not be factors to declare that LCD has better image quality than plasma.

I include below some links that could help understand the superiority of plasma and the weakness of LCD in many areas:

http://www.displaymate.com/LCD_Plasma_ShootOut.htm

And even today, by a CNET article (on the subject of RPTV but also covering LCD and plasma):

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57 ... ag=FD.epic

Unsuspected consumers may find very easy to get instantly attracted to the torching mode brightness of LCD displayed at Best Buy showrooms when comparing it to a plasma, but when you adjust the settings where they should be to appreciate the panel capabilities to render a correct image quality the torching mode is obviously masking LCD’s limitations, and of course, Best Buy would not do that.

Best Regards,

Rodolfo La Maestra

[Rodolfo]

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/20 ... oncept.php

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/20 ... r-eyes.php

Best Regards,

Rodolfo La Maestra

[jordanm]

I'll stick with our 2 year old Pioneer Kuro Elite 151FD until it dies. Three-D makes me dizy and nauseous, anyway.

[stevekaden]

Let me offer a subjective comment on Plasma. I live in a sea of non-technical family and friends who think I am an over the top obsessive nerd.

I have NEVER ever heard a one of them comment on any kind of LCD TV other than they are buying one (think generic anything).
I have NEVER not heard a "Holy Cow" when they see my calibrated Kuro (in a light controlled) room. Their faces somewhat glaze over as they are drawn into the image (think Dexter, Tru Blood...Tron...good images, not the Brady Bunch shows).

I have found I am able to get them to actually hear the words about and see what a quality image is. And bridge them to consider what they are seeing, buying and quality.

Now, am I considering a 90" LCD-LED Sharp? Heck yeah. For Football games, big images-immersive 3D, and overall group fun (and I have a piece of inheritance to blow...). But I still have another Kuro in my bedroom, and probably will not let my livingroom Kuro go to anyone but family, like the midcentury teak furniture the family has, some things are too good to loose.

So in the end, I love plasma, buy cheap LG plasmas for my kids (all three starting to live on their own) and fully expect any and all technologies to die of age and market forces. Long live Plasma - but I can't wait to see a mature OLED, and appreciate a good LCD. All in the proper contexts though.

[stevekaden]

One more comment - delicacy of LCD vs. Plasma.

Speaking to the screens, I am thinking LCD has thin, flexible glass which seems to be resilient to touches, but not hits. Plasma seems to have a very hard surface, with coatings that are delicate, but I am going to guess they break less often. I am not sure of failure rates I guess I'd have to read Consumer Reports info on that.

I would love to see a statistic of Wii controller impacts on the two sets and what the survival rates were. Or even better, get to watch/participate in a shoot out. You know, like Myth Busters, kids and adults launching controllers at screens at high speed and scoring the damage. Safety glasses required.

(my applogies for the irreverence)

[Roger Halstead]

My dislike for plasma is not the quality of the image, but rather the type of display tends to generate Radio Frequency Interference, or RFI.

OTOH video, like sound is beyond the average persons ability to discern those differences. The affectionate can discern audio and or video quality to a fine degree. I've been a photographer for most of my long life and can discern color, hue, and saturation. I could do so better than my professor at the University, but the human eye is highly adaptable and will soon discern what it's viewing as natural. For example, in target shooting we used to wear either Kalichrome Yellow, or a bright pink to increase contrast. Pink clouds look strange, but and I have to emphasize the but, after a half hour or so, every thing looked normal including white clouds. At that point if you took the glasses off the clouds would be green! You mind had filtered out the pink as it knew the clouds were white so it presented them as white through the pink glasses. It would take it a few seconds to a minute to readjust after taking the glasses off. It's a tiny % who view in darkened rooms which give me eyestrain anyway. Perhaps I should rephrase that and just say, controlled environment viewing.

[Rodolfo]

Like others I have never been impressed with plasma displays... They can't get rid of the plasma display soon enough for me.

I responded to your quote above referring to image quality, not your interference situations. Other than knowing that some plasmas at high altitude generate some buzzing noise, I have not experienced the interference you describe since HDTV was introduced in 1998.

Judging by the picture and color abilities you describe as having I am still surprised you have never been impressed with plasma but rather with LCD, perhaps you may not be analyzing the image using the correct factors of evaluation; reading the links I provided may help.

Regarding your last post, I do not see the relationship of what you describe on that post with the plasma subject.

Best Regards,

Rodolfo La Maestra