Flat panel, plasma TVs?

[Greg]

We've been considering getting rid of our old-school TV's and upgrading our entertainment system.

I want a wall mounted TV, something that looks clean & clutter-free, problem is I know nothing about plasma TV's. What brands are perferred? What do you look for in a plasma TV? What's a contrast ratio??

Hopefully we'll be adding a surround sound system at the same time, plus we have a damn cable box that we'll be including. I'm somewhat worried about having a bunch of cables hanging from the TV. Is there a way to get around that crap?

I'm pretty TV-clueless, so if you have some insight feel free to add it!

 

[OCNORB]

I read somewhere that the plasma TV's only had a 6-7 year life span, so I quit looking at them after that. I'm looking into getting a projector style, hiding it in a coffee table so that it pops up when needed.

 

[fergusor]

I wouldnt buy a plasma tv. Like OCNORB said the go bad after 6-7 year. I would go with the LCD tv. They arent as thin as the plasma and I dont think they make a real big ones yet.

 

[spencurai]

If you are going to spend the money, go for the LCD instead of the Plasma. If you are planning on moving a lot dont get either of them because they are both more fragile than your mom's Hummel collection!! I don't know if you guys remember the pictures I posted a few years back of all the broken plasmas we had at my last job...it was sad. We shipped them in custom made hard side cases with 6 inches of foam on either side and they still broke. If you look at the shipping cartons for the plasmas, they have a crude accelerometer that, if triggered, means you should not accept delivery because the unit is probably broken.

That being said, the LCD does not have the life span issues that Plasma does. Lcd is more expensive but it has ghosting issues when bright things move quickly across the screen...they can tend to leave trails and some people cannot stand that.

Here is a picture of what happens to a plasma over time, I have to preface that this is in an AE store in Layton utah and this thing has been on for a long long time...

http://spence.phonese.cx/comments.php?558

Notice the yellow blotchiness.

OK now to answer some of your technical questions...

Contrast ratio is simply, the ability for the device to make the colors it is trying to make. The one that is most criticized is how black the black is. On cheaper televisions black ends up being in the grey spectrum. I would go for something approaching 750+. I am not sure what the norm for ratios are for plasmas but research it a bit.

If I were you, I would go for the DLP rear projection TV. They have much higher resolution, almost as bright, and they last for a long long time. I know they are not the bling factor of being able to hang it on the wall but the picture is much much better!

If you can deal with the fact that your TV is going to wear out, then get a plasma but get a good deal on it and treat it like its the most delicate thing you have ever seen.

 

[Cody]

yah, DLP is grand, if you dont' mind changing bulbs every couple of years.

Plasmas are great, they're not as fragile as people think they are but they are quirky. The lifespan on newer plasma's is over 10 years (before they lose 30% of their brightness) but it's such a new technology that who can say what you will see out of them. They are heavy as ****, and they consume a pretty decent amount of power. However, they have incredible color and almost unlimited side viewing angle. The best plasma's are Pioneers and Panasonics, however the Panasonic's are going to be in short supply through the holidays. Plasmas start at about 37" and go to 50" before they get super crazy expensive.

LCD technology has come a long way, especially with the new sony XBR LCD's which have color very similar to the Plasma's but are brighter--great for bright rooms. Don't have the same viewing angle as a plasma, but are lighter and consume less power. They also have about the same lifespan as a plasma, although dead pixels can be more of a problem on LCD than it is on Plasma. With the exception of the Sony XBR LCD's, none of the LCD's have the same bright vivid colors that Plasma's get. LCD"s start as smallas like 8" and get as big as 50+, but once you move past 37" they get spendy really fast. Hopefully by mid next year time LCoS technology (and maybe OLED)will have brought prices down on the bigger LCD's.

Rear projection TV's (i.e. rear projection LCD and DLP (I think there is LCoS RP tvs too but you don't see them as often). DLP's will get darker blacks, but on angles you can/will get a rainbow effect due to the spinning color wheel. Also, the moving parts in DLP frighten me long term, but these TV's aren't advertised as maintenance free anyways. RP LCD gets better colors than the DLP and you don't have the moving parts, but you still only get 2-5 years out of the bulbs just like the DLP (new bulbs are ~2-300 bucks). If you compare the new 1080P DLP and LCD tv's the LCD models look MUCH better. I'm just going on Samsun vs. Sony though as I haven't seen any of the 1080p toshiba's or others yet.

anywho, call me if you have questions.

Cody

 

[Herzog]

Whoa. Cody is the tv expert.

I've heard about problems with altitudes and plasma tvs. Is this still a problem?
I think I would also go with the lcd though...

 

[Brad J]

Whoa. Cody is the tv expert.

I've heard about problems with altitudes and plasma tvs. Is this still a problem?...

I believe its true, I replaced most of the parts in one up in Park City that had a loud high pitch hum but could never get it to go away. Finally Philips said it was the elevation. I haven't seen the same problem w/ ones in the valley.

I'd go w/ a Projection or an LCD but I'm poor

 

[Cody]

yeah, once you get up around 7000 feet, plasmas tend to have a hum to them. they make hi-altititude plasmas but they are proud of them.

Ya, they moved me out of car audio and made me Entertainment manager so thats what I play with all day now--tv's and such. I dont' even own a damn tv.

Cody

 

[spencurai]

My main selling point for the DLP is the crisp picture that I have seen in showroom models lately. I don't know if LCD has caught back up but I own a DLP Compaq projector and I like the technology. I don't like the moving parts so much but the cost difference between comparable sized DLP rear projection and Plasma/LCD is more than enough to justify a couple spare bulbs.

For me, in my house, I will be doing a motorized recessed drop down screen and a frenched in DLP home theatre projector. And if my pricing is still good, I will be about half the price of a quality plasma for a picture roughly twice to 2.5 times the diag measurement!!

 

[Cody]

My main selling point for the DLP is the crisp picture that I have seen in showroom models lately. I don't know if LCD has caught back up but I own a DLP Compaq projector and I like the technology. I don't like the moving parts so much but the cost difference between comparable sized DLP rear projection and Plasma/LCD is more than enough to justify a couple spare bulbs.

For me, in my house, I will be doing a motorized recessed drop down screen and a frenched in DLP home theatre projector. And if my pricing is still good, I will be about half the price of a quality plasma for a picture roughly twice to 2.5 times the diag measurement!!

I know DLP projectors are pretty nice, I dont' see too many projectors so I don't know much about them. Rear projection TV's it's 6's. I like LCD slightly better thand DLP, but some people would say the other way. It's juts a matter of getting them in front of you and seeing which one you like.

rear projection can deffinately be had for less than a large Plasma/LCD until you get into the 1080P stuff. We have a 50" rear projection LCD sony that just came in that is absolutely incredible. It makes me all tingly inside--and I'm an audio guy 3600 bones though.

Cody

 

[Brad J]

For me, in my house, I will be doing a motorized recessed drop down screen and a frenched in DLP home theatre projector. And if my pricing is still good, I will be about half the price of a quality plasma for a picture roughly twice to 2.5 times the diag measurement!!

That's what I'm doing, main reason is I got the Projector for free when my Father-In-Law got a really nice new projector. Can't wait to watch movies on an 8' diagonal screen when I finish my basement.

 

[Meat_]

yeah, once you get up around 7000 feet, plasmas tend to have a hum to them....

They make noise at any altitude, but most people can't hear them until you get them up high. I can't stand to be within 200ft of a plasma cluster for longer than it takes to make it through that section of the store at a brisk walk.

 

[Hickey]

I am totally going with a digital projector in the new house.

 

[RockMonkey]

Greg, check out http://www.homeimprovementforums.com . They have a sweet electrical forum over there that you could probably get some tips on the wiring.

 

[Hickey]

Greg, check out http://www.homeimprovementforums.com . They have a sweet electrical forum over there that you could probably get some tips on the wiring.

Ask for "Kamesh".....

 

[RockMonkey]

Ask for "Kamesh".....

 

[bigtruck]

Hmm.... What Tv

Plasma tvs are really good in brightness and picture quality. The biggest problem that you will have is burning a image into it. A LCD is really nice also the problem with a LCD is the screen size it depends on what size screen you are looking for and also the price range that you are looking for. I would personally go with a LCD projection tv. The DLP are nice but I would go with the JVC new HDILA it is a LCD projection A rear-projection LCD television basically works by passing a powerful light source through a transparent LCD chip made up of individual pixels (which displays the moving video image) and projecting that image through a magnifying lens, to a mirror, which then reflects that image, onto a screen. A normal crt tv has four spots of black in each pixel a DLP does a better job with only one, but with the HDILA they pretty much eliminate it all together which gives you a perfect color spectrum( If you go to a showroom floor and look at a panasonic up close you can see the black spots that im talking about then go look at the JVC). You can also get the Jvc in up to a 70 inch which is really nice the 61 is only about 3500 and they are not big and bulky and they look really nice. It is also HDMI compatable (High definition multimedia interface) Add a panasonic DVD Upscaler and some souround sound and you got it made.

Now I dont know if you are interested in a projector or not I know people have been talking about it alot. If you are going to go to a projector I would look at Knoll projectors they are DLPs and look really good.

I also have my thoughts about surround sound as far as speakers and receivers go so let me know if you need some input.

 

[skeptic]

I plan to go with a projector for a theater room when I get my basement finished, but I don't think I'd go that route for everyday TV watching. The last two TVs I bought were small LCDs. They are HD ready, but maybe it's because they were fairly cheap but the picture quality isn't great. The picture is a bit pixelated at times. My main TV is an old HD rear projection TV. I will never buy another TV that has the potential to have convergence issues. LCD/Plasma don't have this problem, and I suspect DLP doesn't either as consumer grade DLP gets all the colors from the same chip using a color wheel. What does concern me with DLP is flicker or the rainbow effect I've read about. I am very sensitive to screen flicker.

 

[Greg]

Thanks for all the info guys, after reading all this and looking around at diffrent sets I'm really liking the Panasonic LCD's. Something in the 32-42" range should be more than enough. We looked at many tv's today and there was a noticiable diffrence in the clarity & depth that you could see in the Panasonic LCD's vs other plasma tv's. I like them.

As for the sound, I'd love to have a surround sound system that's the same brand of the TV. Seems like Panasonic theater systems are pretty decent.

 

[Greg]

Is 32" enough tv? I can't get a LCD (in my price range, from the manuf. I want) over 32".

I might go for a plasma... 6-7 yrs of life is a lot, the tv I currently have might be 3 yrs old and it's on the way out. I'm still debating.

I found this, seems to be a decent plasma tv.-

Panasonic plasma