Plasma Tv Or Lcd

[Crash999]

I've got a Toshiba plasma and a Sony LCD. Burn-in isn't as big a deal as it used to be for plasmas (though it does temporarily happen, especially if one leaves a channel on all day with a static logo- like CNN) and LCDs handle motion much better than they used to.

My 2 cents are if you're planning to watch more TV and movies then go for the plasma. If you're planning to use the screen as a computer display then go for the LCD. Smaller LCDs have better resolution.

Ultimately both LCDs and plasmas look great, especially when paired with Blu-Ray or HD-DVDs.

Edited April 22, 2007 by Crash999

[DrDave]

I've got both a 50" Zenith (made by LG) plasma, and a 43" Samsung DLP back in the US. (Plasmas are considerably cheaper in the US than they are here in Thailand). While I'm very satisfied with the plasma's picture and features, the Samsung DLP's picture blows the socks off of any Plasma or LCD TV I've ever seen.

Here in Thailand, I've just bought the 50" Sony "3 LCD" model - mostly because of the price (39,900 baht). Sony's "3 LCD" technology and cabinet design is similar to the DLP technology that's very popular (and inexpensive) in the US.

While in PowerBuy (BKK Central World) a few days ago, we saw a couple of JVC LCDs (32" and 37") that had incredible pictures. I think these are true 1080 resolution. They were running a promotion with a 5,000 baht discount - putting the 32" at 25,000 and the 37" at 39,900. I'm really sorry I didn't buy that 32" model - its the cheapest 32", and the best picture on an LCD I've ever seen.

A couple of things to keep in mind when buying a large-screen TV:

(1) Plasma displays have a limited lifetime. 1st generation panels had a lifetime of only about 10,000 hours. Newer ones are rated around 30,000 hours, I think. Because of this limited lifetime - never, ever buy a "floor model" - one that's been running in a store for 12 hours/day, 7 days/week.

(2) DLP (and possibly the "3 LCD") have high-intensity lamps that must be replaced periodically (every 2-3 years, depending upon how much the set is turned on). These lamps are expensive - about $200 USD.

[DrDave]

A few thoughts on where large-screen TVs are headed in the future, for anyone who might be interested...

In about another 2-3 years, we should see the next generation technology for flat panel displays appearing in large-screen TVs. This is "OLED" (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology, which has been under development for a nember of years, by a few R&D companies. This new technology is very different from LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and Plasma. OLED screens can be virtually paper-thin, consume much less power, and have much faster response times (for handling motion) than LCDs.

We're just now seeing some OLED technology implemented in smaller displays. There are a few mobile phones and portable MP3/Video players that feature an OLED display.

One thing that makes OLED attractive to the manufacturers is the lower manufacturing cost of the display panel. LCDs require a special, expensive glass backplane. OLED displays do not. I don't fully understand the manufacturing process, but I think it's based upon inkjet printing - that is, the displays are created by "printing" the chemicals on a thin substrate with something like a large inkjet printer.

In the same way that LCD computer monitors made the older CRT's obsolete, I think the same will happen with LCD and Plasma TVs once OLED is fully commercialized. The price of a typical CRT computer monitor dropped from about $120 USD to about $50 once LCD monitors became widely available. I expect the same to happen with LCD and Plasma TVs once OLED TVs become widely available. Due to the huge demand for LCD displays (computer monitors, TVs, mobile phones, digital cameras, etc), the major Taiwanese LCD display panel manufacturers have built new plants and ramped up production over the past couple of years. I can't help but think that when the TV manufacturers switch over to OLED technology, there will be a glut of LCD TVs on the market, at bargain basement prices.

[Firefoxx]

The only JVC projection TVs that do 1080 resolution are the LCOS type, and they're expensive, similar to the Sony rear projection that do 1080 (the SXRD's). These offer images that are actually superior to LCDs/Plasmas in many respects.

The largest OLEDs being made commercially available now are about 20", by Sony. Not big, but it'll probably change considering that they only had cell-phone sized displays before. The other big technology is the hybrid CRT-LCD, but that, while being developed, hasn't seen production yet. LCDs will continue to be developed, and continue to get cheaper. The biggest advance was using LEDs for backlights, since they can be controlled individually to light up only certain areas of the screen, to produce extreme contrast. Commercial units should be available (for $$$) this year.

[Maigo6]

Maybe I will wait for when these beauties get into production!!

[bernie66]

im going to find one in BKK next month myself. What sells me hands down on the LCD is the life expectancy. yesterday i read 20 yrs. on www.tigerdirect.com. i would just buy a standard TV but the thai havent invented the closet yet so i am desperate for space. i am also consediring buying a drill some wall ancors and a tv stand and mounting my wifes old set to the wall. Still have to price the wall mounted stand to decide