Ludite Qn - LCD or Plasma TV?

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Swiss Toni

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Ludite requests advice (or point me in the right direction with a link!)....

Want to buy a 32" to 40" telly and spend less than £2k, what are the pros and cons of plasma vs LCD?

And if you want to recommend a particular make/model that'd be great too.

Cheers

:D
 
Can only spk from experience.Ive got a 43" pioneer plasma that I bought from costco last year for £2350. It is absolutely awesome.
I've seen a friends 32" Philips LCD - looks terrible, particularly for football.

Go plasma. Mine is HD ready but I am happy with standard picture at the moment!!
 
Any problems with burning the screen? eg from channel numbers?

Cheers
 
Just bought a 32" LCD (Toshiba 32WLT66) from John Lewis - 5 year warranty :) + they do a pricematch with any advertised deal that is in stock in a normal retail store (i.e. not Internet only prices) ... still managed to knock about £200 off the price - came in at well under £1k. If you are looking for any bigger than 32", then consider a Plasma, but there are big differences in picture quality and viewing angles possible, so make sure you actually look at what you are thinking of buying WORKING, rather than base your choice solely on reviews, and make sure you can live with the picture quality.

Very pleased with mine (but don't really watch the football, so any motion blurring which is mentioned above that might occur doesn't really bother me - check for a panel with a sub 10ms refresh rate.)

Also check out www.avforums.com for unbiased user opinions.

S.
 
It's vitally important you view both plasma and LCD in action. Preferably in a decent specialist independent store as opposed to the likes of Dixons or Comet.

32" then the only real choice is LCD
37" then you can choose between plasma or LCD
40 - 42" then plasma is probably more economically attractive as LCD's become really expensive at this size point.

Whilst I would also recommend AVForums, please bear in mind that alot of opinions/advice/etc may not be as unbiased as you may think. Pop into the LCD section and they'll tell you all the horrors of plasma, conversely jump into the plasma section and all the posters will tell you how their plasma beats any LCD TV hands down.

Screen retention or screen burn is not the major issue it once was for plasma screens but is still a possibility if you do something silly like leave a channel with logo on for 24hrs +. Bear in mind screen burn is more prone during the first couple hundred hours of viewing, after that it's no more an issue than it would be for a CRT TV.

I bought a Panasonic plasma approx 2 years ago and I'm still loving it. I much prefer the picture when compared to a CRT. When I bought 2 years ago the barriers between CRT, LCD & Plasma were more clearly defined. Today, LCDs and Plasmas are on a more even footing but they do produce subtly different images... go view and let your eyes be the judge for you.

S.
 
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Tony - I too am a ludite on this subject.

By coincidence, I was tempted by an LCD deal at Costco today.
Philips 42 LCD on offer till 7th June for 1320 inc VAT & 3 yrs warranty.
( Costco warranty is best in the business in my opinion)

Model No. PHILIPS 42PF7621D/10 ( 42 inch LCD in Black)
Looks superb in the flesh and is suitable to wall mount ( Quite thin)

The only web resource I could find for the exact TV, is shown below.
Worth a read & the general vibe is that this has an excellent spec.
( Only been released in last fee weeks so reviews thin on the ground)

AVFORUMS is a good resource to educate about LCD v Plasma etc etc.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338004&highlight=42pf7621d/10


I had considered changing - but probably after the world cup.
Felt their would be better deals by September time onwards.


Mike.
 
MPK said:
I had considered changing - but probably after the world cup.
Felt their would be better deals by September time onwards.


Good point, I figure they might come down in price once Ingurland drop out (Mid June?).

Cheers
;)
 
LCD TV's are very fragile - my 'little darlings' broke one (Toshiba 23") after a couple of months, and then broke it's replacement after 2 weeks.....

The slightest tap on the screen (which tends to be plastic and scratches easily) will break the LCD panel behind and that is it - they are not repairable.

Plasma screens have glass fronts so are more robust & I prefer their picture anyway.

Bob

PS The 3rd LCD TV is still in it's box, where I think it is safer:D

PPS Before they destroyed it, the 1st TV had a couple of pixels die - very noticeable, very annoying
 
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not just LCD v plasma, theres also DLP eg Sagem as I am also looking at what to get and DLP looks pretty good to me

Digital Light Projection Tvs offer an exciting new alternative to Plasma and LCD Tvs where wall mounting is not required. The Sagem Axiums offer one of the best quality home cinema experiences available for the money.
 
WE recently picked up a Panasonic Plasma (TH42PX60) for £1500.00 - very happy with it !
 
Maybe totally off topic, but I went through this debate when getting my parents house rebuilt last summer (in Italy) - we ended up going the projection way, and now have a mecchanic screen rolling down in front of a cupboard when needed. Personally, I think its amazing (2.5mx2m viewing area; then what you see depends on the aspect ratio of the actual program) - but then again I don't watch footy on tv.

I have heard horror stories of LCD's, mostly on dead pixels though. Fragility I neved really considered. Bob, In south kensington there is a frame maker who will make a nice wooden frame to mount your flat-panel in so that it will look like a painting... and they will put a glass over it if you ask; maybe something like that will help protect your third screen?

Michele
 
Swiss Toni said:
Good point, I figure they might come down in price once Ingurland drop out (Mid June?).

Cheers
;)

Somewhere around the 11th, I believe...
 
We got a 42" plasma Samsung for £1300 from Currys a few months back.

got £300 off the in-store price as they matched their online price but we still got it in-store....

Very pleased with it.
 
bobmedley said:
LCD TV's are very fragile - my 'little darlings' broke one (Toshiba 23") after a couple of months, and then broke it's replacement after 2 weeks.....

The slightest tap on the screen (which tends to be plastic and scratches easily) will break the LCD panel behind and that is it - they are not repairable.

Plasma screens have glass fronts so are more robust & I prefer their picture anyway.

Bob

PS The 3rd LCD TV is still in it's box, where I think it is safer:D

PPS Before they destroyed it, the 1st TV had a couple of pixels die - very noticeable, very annoying

I understood that plasmas were more fragile than LCD? is this wrong?

Do pixels still fail on the latest LCDs? and if they do, are they covered by guarentees (John Lewis?)

Cheers
 
Swiss Toni said:
I understood that plasmas were more fragile than LCD? is this wrong?

Do pixels still fail on the latest LCDs? and if they do, are they covered by guarentees (John Lewis?)

Cheers

i dont know how much of this is cr*p but the salesman told me that plasma will last about 5 years and LCD about 10 years...... :eek:
 
Listen to your prospective purchase with the sound down low if you can.

Reason is to find out if you can hear the cooling fans. :( I have a Hitachi 42" plasma and during quiet moments of a film the fan noise is very intrusive.

M.
 
SilverSaloon said:
i dont know how much of this is cr*p but the salesman told me that plasma will last about 5 years and LCD about 10 years...... :eek:


Oh Great, Ive had my 42"plasma for four years now, I better start saving for a new one next year!!!!!!!
 
Anyone able to recommend a website where I can get some more specialist advice?

Cheers
 
SilverSaloon said:
i dont know how much of this is cr*p but the salesman told me that plasma will last about 5 years and LCD about 10 years...... :eek:
Sorry to say but that does sound like BS from the sales guy! When he says that a Plasma will 'last' 5 years what on earth is he trying to say?

There is the 'half life' issue, but I wonder what this fellow's predicition of the life of CRT televisions is? Typically Plamsa TVs of today will last as long as a CRT or LCD screen. I'd have thought that excluding unusual breakdowns (which could affect any electrical appliance or screen) you'd be looking at a heck of a lot longer than five years. Some places use Plasma screens 24/7 for years and I am sure that represents a much harder life than the average home usage.

Doesn't sound as though he'll sell many £1K+ TV sets with that statement either!

Sorry if that sounds blunt ;)

Will
 
mw_C32 said:
Listen to your prospective purchase with the sound down low if you can.

Reason is to find out if you can hear the cooling fans. :( I have a Hitachi 42" plasma and during quiet moments of a film the fan noise is very intrusive.

M.


i know what you mean , i get the same with my 55" hitachi. but its worth it for the picture quality from the hitachi plasmas
 

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