Plasma VS LED TVs...which is better?

[Lithwick]

Looking for a direct comparison of Plasma vs. LED TVs...below are the criteria I will base my purchase on...

- Best for sports watching
- Best in a condo family room with decent light
- Longest lifespan/reliability
- Better value (price vs. quality of performance/specs)

- Energy usage does not matter to me

Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!

Thanks,

Jonathan

[TobiIsNobody]

pretty sure new plasmas are superior to LED tvs. I have a 59 inch plasma in my basement and the colours are beautiful. I was unsure at first as well because LED tvs were new and really expensive so I figured they were better... but apparently plasma is alot better than it used to be (ie burn-in doesn't happen anymore, and im pretty sure plasmas have higher refresh rates than most lcd/led tvs.

Plus plasma's are super cheap for some reason... I got a 59 inch 3d plasma from Samsung for like $1000 a while back and the picture on it is amazing. I'd go with plasma personally. I even have an LED monitor upstairs on my computer and the colours are nice but nowhere close to my tv downstairs. On my LED monitor I can't seem to get true black just a very very dark grey but on my plasma its pure black. However, my monitor is also a $200 24 inch dell model, so it's not really fair to compare the two products.

[Doggie Dog]

Looking for a direct comparison of Plasma vs. LED TVs...below are the criteria I will base my purchase on...

- Best for sports watching ---- Plasma

- Best in a condo family room with decent light ----LED/LCD is generally better for well lite rooms, but as long as it's not super bright Plamsa would be ok (plasma can be bright as well, but if room is too bright you will get glare due glass screen)

- Longest lifespan/reliability ----- I think LED here, given the nature of the technology, they say plasma will not last as long

- Better value (price vs. quality of performance/specs) ---- Plasma

- Energy usage does not matter to me

Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!

Thanks,

Jonathan

Here goes my two cents... I have a plasma, LCD, and LED TV's. All I can say it is all a matter of preference. There is very little differences between LCD/LED, its pretty much the same thing, just different back lighting. The rest comes down to how the picture/colours are displayed, the best way to describe it is plasma displays a more natural looking picture and colours. Whereas the LED/LCD the colours are more exagerated, and brighter with more emphasis on red and greens I believe. There there is the backs, this is wear the plasma's do a better job then LED's again depending on the tv's some you will see dark blue as black. Finally, plasma's have an issue with burn in, this is where if you have still images left on pause for a long time, they kinda stay on screen, there features that correct this. The newer stuff has pretty much corrected this, either way I don't think it should deter you from plasmas

If were buying a TV as my main TV< i would buy plasma, but that's just my opinon

Cheers

[Doggie Dog]

On my LED monitor I can't seem to get true black just a very very dark grey but on my plasma its pure black. However, my monitor is also a $200 24 inch dell model, so it's not really fair to compare the two products.

Yes, that was what i was getting at, The TV's are the same way, it's not just your monitor! The blacks show up kinda grey

[Dangaizer3]

Is cost a factor for you? Which model range will you be looking at for each? If you're comparing a low/mid end led over high end plasma, I would get a plasma. The only experience I have with led TVs are viewing experience's at Costco where you can compare a few different models side by side. TBH idk if they are not calibrated or what, but i'm not entirely impressed with led TVs cept for maybe the fact they can be built a bit thinner. I do own 2 plasmas one low end(720), one mid range(1080) and once calibrated a bit, I am completely satisfied with both. The colors are are very good, the picture quality in movies are absolutely great(I really dislike watching movies on lcd's with 120hz on), and gaming on them produces no ghosting. They are both Samsungs, and both 60hz refresh rate. Don't let 600hz refresh fool you, IIRC that just means the panels are divided into 10 sections with 60hz per section giving the total 600 marketing number. I will most likely buy another plasma if I ever end up replacing either of these, but will go with whatever is current and probably strive for the top end if it's within budget, hope this helps.

[riccd2001]

I bought a small (19") Electrohome LED recently to compare viewing quality with LG plasma and LG LCD, both 42" . They are all 720p and bottom line, for me, best viewing picture is Plasma($Can400), LCD(550), LED(99). :)

[rahzel]

You can't compare cheap LED monitors to LED TVs. Most LED TVs have more complex backlighting (local or zone dimming, whether it's full-array or edge-lit), plus they use panels that have much better black level performance than cheap LED monitors (generally VA, IPS or UV2A).

With that said, Plasma generally has better picture quality overall and offers better value (especially in the lower-mid-range). Smoother color gradients, more natural color, better black level performance (although the difference isn't as much as it used to be) and better motion handling (again, LCD isn't as bad as it used to be). LED/LCD offers higher brightness and generally a slightly sharper picture.

LED/LCD (especially lower-midrange models) have backlight bleeding and uniformity issues. Usually models with a full-array of LEDs with local dimming don't have these issues, but this is usually only found in high-end models that cost upwards of $3000.

Plasma has it's share of issues, too. They use ~3x the power of an LED TV of equal size (not a huge difference in your monthly bill though), image retention is noticeable on some models, burn-in is unlikely but still possible, and some models have fairly minor brightness fluctuation issues. Some older models (pre-2011) weren't able to get very bright, so they weren't ideal for bright rooms, but 2011+ models can get fairly bright and most mid-higher-end models have decent screen filters.

If 3D is important to you, Plasma also has an advantage. Because their response time is considerably lower, there's less cross-talk issues between each side of the glasses. That's why many LED 3D TVs use passive 3D rather than active 3D, and if they use active 3D, again, most models have some cross-talk issues. Problem with plasma and 3D is it's noticeably dimmer than 2D.

As far as reliability, I would base reliability more on the brand than the technology behind the TV. They both have numbers like 30-60,000 hours, but something is likely to go wrong before you reach these numbers anyway.

I would wait for Panasonic's new 2012 models that should be released in a month or two in Canada, specifically the ST50 plasma. This year, they've increased brightness quite a bit, improved black levels a little, improved motion resolution, improved color gradation (on paper it sounds impressive, but in reality it's probably not very noticeable), lowered power consumption slightly and have better gamma than their 2011 models. If energy usage doesn't matter, then I think the ST50 plasma will be perfect for you.

[Lithwick]

Deal addict, thanks so much....Right now at BestBuy, they are offering me the ST30 floor model with a 4-yr warranty and the guy to come to my place to calibrate it for me all for 1,060 plus tax...I'm looking to spend approx. 999-1,099 before tax so should I take this offer, or wait for the ST50 (when do you think it would be around $1,050 before tax)?

[Lithwick]

Is cost a factor for you? Which model range will you be looking at for each? If you're comparing a low/mid end led over high end plasma, I would get a plasma. The only experience I have with led TVs are viewing experience's at Costco where you can compare a few different models side by side. TBH idk if they are not calibrated or what, but i'm not entirely impressed with led TVs cept for maybe the fact they can be built a bit thinner. I do own 2 plasmas one low end(720), one mid range(1080) and once calibrated a bit, I am completely satisfied with both. The colors are are very good, the picture quality in movies are absolutely great(I really dislike watching movies on lcd's with 120hz on), and gaming on them produces no ghosting. They are both Samsungs, and both 60hz refresh rate. Don't let 600hz refresh fool you, IIRC that just means the panels are divided into 10 sections with 60hz per section giving the total 600 marketing number. I will most likely buy another plasma if I ever end up replacing either of these, but will go with whatever is current and probably strive for the top end if it's within budget, hope this helps.


Between the Panasonic Plasma ST series and the Samsung LED 6500 series, which would you choose and why? I'd be going for the Panasonic in the 50" or the Samsung in the 46"....

Thanks so much!

Jonathan

[rahzel]

Between the Panasonic Plasma ST series and the Samsung LED 6500 series, which would you choose and why? I'd be going for the Panasonic in the 50" or the Samsung in the 46"....

Thanks so much!

Jonathan
The ST will have better motion resolution, viewing angles (I forgot to mention this in my above post), uniformity and more natural looking colors. It will also have less cross-talk issues in 3D. The 6500 has more calibration controls and will probably be able to calibrate better, but because the way LED/LCD displays color, it won't look as natural. It will look slightly sharper, have a brighter picture (ST50 is capable of a brighter picture than the ST30) and use less power though. I think it also has more features, like built-in WiFi (ST30 comes with a WiFi adapter though) and skype etc.

If you can't wait for the ST50, the ST30 is also good and you should be able to get it a little cheaper being a 2011 model.

This is all my opinion. You might actually like how the D6500 looks. It's hard to judge without owning both TVs though, because judging a TV in-store is not a good idea.

[Lithwick]

The ST will have better motion resolution, viewing angles (I forgot to mention this in my above post), uniformity and more natural looking colors. It will also have less cross-talk issues in 3D. The 6500 has more calibration controls and will probably be able to calibrate better, but because the way LED/LCD displays color, it won't look as natural. It will look slightly sharper, have a brighter picture (ST50 is capable of a brighter picture than the ST30) and use less power though. I think it also has more features, like built-in WiFi (ST30 comes with a WiFi adapter though) and skype etc.

If you can't wait for the ST50, the ST30 is also good and you should be able to get it a little cheaper being a 2011 model.

This is all my opinion. You might actually like how the D6500 looks. It's hard to judge without owning both TVs though, because judging a TV in-store is not a good idea.



So, do you think $999 plus tax with a free 4-year warranty for a floor model from Best Buy is a good deal? Or should I wait and get a newer model?

[rahzel]

So, do you think $999 plus tax with a free 4-year warranty for a floor model from Best Buy is a good deal? Or should I wait and get a newer model?
Personally, I wouldn't get a floor model, and I don't think that's a great deal anyway. If you can get a new one with extended warranty for that price, it's not bad. I find that you can get better prices at smaller electronics stores compared to big box stores like FS/BB (they're easier to haggle with). I guess it might be hard to find a new 2011 model seeing as how they stopped production fairly early.

FYI, the MSRP of the 50ST50 will probably be around 1600 (it's 1400 in the US). You could probably get 15-20% off that though. It's up to you whether you find the improvements in the 2012 model to be worth it (I listed the improvements in my above post). I'm a pretty big videophile so I would definitely wait for the 2012 models at this point, but that's just me. :)

[parry]

Although the power consumption is not a biggie for the OP but I out of curiosity, please share the power consumption difference between Plasma's and LED's. In other words how much difference are we looking at on a monthly/annual bill?

[rahzel]

Depends on the size, but I'd say a plasma uses about 3x the power of an LED TV and about 2.5x the power of a CFL LCD.

[parry]

Depends on the size, but I'd say a plasma uses about 3x the power of an LED TV and about 2.5x the power of a CFL LCD.

Okay. Lets say - 46" Plasma vs LCD vs LED . Lets say the current monthly bill is $100 without any TV usage. How much of a jump is expected with each of these TV's separately?

[rahzel]

Here in SK, if you had your TV on for 300 hours a month (so about 10h a day), a 46" LED (about 64w) would add about $2.04 a month and a 46" Plasma (about 192w) would add about $6.11 a month. That's based on 2011 models. I know Panasonic claims that they've slightly reduced the power consumption of their 2012 models.

FYI, ST50 reviews are starting to be posted. It performs comparably to the VT30 overall, which is Panasonic's flagship model from 2011.

[Lithwick]

What are your thoughts on the Panasonic UT50?!? How does that one compare to the ST50?! Would you take the UT50 over the ST30?

[Wingding]

Here in SK, if you had your TV on for 300 hours a month (so about 10h a day), a 46" LED (about 64w) would add about $2.04 a month and a 46" Plasma (about 192w) would add about $6.11 a month. That's based on 2011 models. I know Panasonic claims that they've slightly reduced the power consumption of their 2012 models.

FYI, ST50 reviews are starting to be posted. It performs comparably to the VT30 overall, which is Panasonic's flagship model from 2011.

Most people in Canada don't enjoy the kind of hydro rates you get from Sask Power. And it's becoming more of a concern because hydro rates are on the way up already, with no relief expected until some significant new production and distribution starts coming on-line. Remember, we're part of a North American power market, and as long as Americans are willing to continue paying ever more for electricity we in Canada are going to get dragged along with that pricing trend.

If you read the labels on the backs of larger TVs (40"+) I think you'll find that on average, the power consumption (wattage rating) of a Plasma set will be around double that of an LCD/LED set.

[rahzel]

What are your thoughts on the Panasonic UT50?!? How does that one compare to the ST50?! Would you take the UT50 over the ST30?
There aren't any reviews of the UT50 yet, but I'm assuming that the PQ will be similar to the ST30. The UT50 lacks the Infinite Black Pro screen filter (so glare may be an issue), some picture adjustments and it has fewer inputs. In a light controlled room, I think they would perform similarly.