lcd vs plasma

[gta1216]

i am thinking of getting either a lcd or plasma tv (between 46-52 inches). some friends said get lcd, some said plasma. i read some reviews and whatnot, but still confused. a friend told me that one of them (forgot which one now) has shorter bulb life or something. i forgot what that person said now. the friend who told me to go for lcd said its better if i plan to connect my pc to it as a monitor bc lcd tv is the same technology as lcd monitor so picture quality would be higher if used as a monitor.

[i6s1]

http://www.google.ca/search?q=lcd+vs+plasma

[gta1216]

this thread is almost a year old, but still havent made the purchase yet. with a new house, i think now is the time for a flat-panel tv. most of my friends said go for a lcd except 1 friend suggesting a plasma.

it seems like lcd is the way for us since we have lots of light from huge windows in the livingroom and lots of lighting. we normally have the tv on for many many hours at a time.

i have a question about widescreen. since we mainly watch satellite programming and i doubt the programs we watch come in widescreen format, would the screen be "flattened?" this is usually the complain most of my friends with widescreen have. is there any option on the menu that squeeze the screen so that it becomes 4:3 format? i rather have black area on both sides of the screen than to see everyone short and fat. =)

[tomthegreat]

this thread is almost a year old, but still havent made the purchase yet. with a new house, i think now is the time for a flat-panel tv. most of my friends said go for a lcd except 1 friend suggesting a plasma.

it seems like lcd is the way for us since we have lots of light from huge windows in the livingroom and lots of lighting. we normally have the tv on for many many hours at a time.

i have a question about widescreen. since we mainly watch satellite programming and i doubt the programs we watch come in widescreen format, would the screen be "flattened?" this is usually the complain most of my friends with widescreen have. is there any option on the menu that squeeze the screen so that it becomes 4:3 format? i rather have black area on both sides of the screen than to see everyone short and fat. =)

If you have hd channels, watch those (make sure you use the HD receiver and use the right cables), since they will look a lot better and be in the widescreen format.

But for your actual question, every t.v. I've seen will have an option for the different ways of viewing the picture, whether you want it squishd, zoomed in, normal 4:3 (black bars), etc.

[Viper98]

even given you're environment I'd still say get plasma

go to futureshop/best buy and look at the panasonic plasmas if you don't want to break the bank

normally I'd never suggest these stores for judging a tv but because they are brightly lit stores you'll be able to see what so of reflections you'll get on the tv. Panasonic is usually excellent with their antireflective screens so if you can get rid of reflections you'll essentially nullify the only advantage LCD has

[oneforme]

Plasma all the way. Image burn-in is almost like a myth -- it has yet to happen to me. I'm regretting my Sony Full-HD Bravia purchase for the living room (I had similar environmental conditions, which is why I went with LCD against my better judgement). This crappy Samsung 720p plasma I got for my bedroom produces better and sharper colours than the Bravia. Well, the Bravia is still a pretty good TV... maybe it just needs to be colour calibrated properly... I don't know.

[fl4wless]

if you watch sports, no question go for a plasma. Panny is your best bet.

[gta1216]

thanks for the responses. anyone has a panasonic plasma? how is the image quality?

i am actually considering between a panasonic plasma or sony lcd.

[loonie]

I would suggest the sony bravia kdl40s4100 or the 46" version for u. I have it and it is really good...I ended up getting the 40" for $980, which I think was an excellent price. The colors are great and videogames especialy stand out to me on this tv. I would recommend this tv to anyone.

[huyla]

thanks for the responses. anyone has a panasonic plasma? how is the image quality?

i am actually considering between a panasonic plasma or sony lcd.

Sony LCD is not a good investment.

[Viper98]

thanks for the responses. anyone has a panasonic plasma? how is the image quality?

i am actually considering between a panasonic plasma or sony lcd.

really it depends on your price range


what's your budget?

[loybond]

Here's what you need to know:

Pioneer and Panasonic make the best plasmas (in that order)

Sony's high-end LCDs are probably the best LCDs

Plasmas generally look better, especially for movies and dark scenes (nothing is better than the Pioneers in this area)

but LCDs are better for a bright room because they can be brighter

Pioneers are expensive, Panasonics are reasonable

Large LCDs are more expensive than plasmas

So, without knowing your budget, the best all-around compromise would probably be a Panasonic plasma. If you have the budget, get a Pioneer if you want the absolute best, or a high-end Bravia if you want the best LCD.

You can always watch TV in the 4:3 mode, every HDTV has that. You can also zoom the picture so that it fills up the TV, keeps the aspect ratio but cuts off the top and bottom slightly (usually this is a good option).

As for the computer monitor thing, are you really going to use it with your computer? If so, you can get a perfect picture on just about any 1080p TV, plasma or LCD. Keep in mind that it seems like fun, but it's not really that practical to use your TV as a monitor for anything other than casual browsing.

[Viper98]

been using my 40" LCD TV as the main PC monitor for the past couple of years, use it like a normal PC
eg. watching tv shows/movies, web browsing, d/l torrents.
Wouldn't want it any other way.
old pic (new PC added- HP slimline)

I've never been a fan of tvs as PC monitors
the dot pitch on a tv is so bad that it makes a lot of stuff typically look very dull

[loybond]

been using my 40" LCD TV as the main PC monitor for the past couple of years, use it like a normal PC
eg. watching tv shows/movies, web browsing, d/l torrents.
Wouldn't want it any other way.
old pic (new PC added- HP slimline)

I was so into the idea of the computer on the TV until I a) got a nice big proper monitor and b) tried the computer on the TV thing for a while. If you're a power user in any way, you probably won't like it. The best solution is to have an HTPC for viewing your TV shows/movies IMO.

[dell11]

I bought a Panasonic Plasma and I have relatively bright rooms. No complaints here. Can't go wrong at all with the Panny.

You can compare stats of different TV's, but at the end of the day your naked eye will love this tv.