LCD vs Plasma

[Omnivore]

OK, I want a new TV (old one choked) I wantHD, but can't make the call between LCD and plasma. Any tips? Models you are happy with? I know the plasmas come bigger, but heard of some potential longevity issues.

Thanks for the help/

[Elleth Faewen]

I just went through this and decided on DLP, which you didn't list as an option. I am considering an LCD for a bedroom TV. All TVs have their downside, and with LCDs they are expensive, and you cannot get them in the large sizes available in plasma and DLP. Also, LCDs can have blank spots where pixels are missing. This is typical of LCD and usually there are a certain number of acceptable mixing pixels that the mfr will not consider a warranty item. On the plus side, the missing pixels doesn't seem to happen as often as it used to, they don't burn in, they don't have bulbs to replace, and the picture will stay bright.

DLPs they are heavier, and they have expensive (around $400) bulbs that go out and must be replaced. The plus side is they do not burn in, and the picture stays bright as long as the bulb is working. The price is not too bad either. With the purchase of another bulb, the TV should easily last for 10-15 years. With no burn-in, it is safe to watch the TV guide, channels with a ticker, and channels with a logo at the bottom.

The plasmas have a much brighter picture initially and it looks fantastic. They also are so small and light, they can even hang on your wall. There are things made for plasma TVs that can hide them when not in use, such as pictures on the wall, or entertainment centers that they rise out of when time to watch TV. On the minus side, they are expensive. Also, the more you watch the TV, the more the picture dims. I wouldn't expect the bright picture to last more than a year or two, depending on how much you watch it, and would anticipate replacing the TV in about five years under normal use. Also, since the TV does burn in, you cannot play nintendo or play station type games on it, and you must be careful with the channels you watch or you'll get a ghost image of tickers or station logos.

For me, I could not justify the high cost of plasma for a TV that would just go dim on me. A DLP for my family room TV, and LCD for the bedroom TV. LCDs make great kitchen TVs too. There are things you can purchase that will let them flip up flat under the cabinets when not in use.

[Omnivore]

Wow! Thanks. I'll definitely go check out DLP.

[NulloModo]

What type of set are you looking for - a main room, a bedroom, multi purpose, home theater, something else? How big are you looking?

LCD, DLP, and Plasma all have benefits, but also tons of drawbacks. First of all, LCD is availible in direct view as well as projection. A direct view LCD set is just that, a big LCD panel, similar to an LCD computer monitor. A Projection LCD system combines elements of a traditional projection TV with an internal LCD panel. This allows projection LCD sets to be much larger (I think I have seen up to 80" diagonal), and cheaper than comparably sized direct view sets. You do get a few of the traditional drawbacks of projection as well, however - which are slightly reduced viewing angle, and a larger cabinet (though not as large as a traditional CRT projection TV).

LCD also has a major picture quality issue - LCD sets can't reproduce true blacks, thus the darkest color you will actually get is a dark grey. Some people can't notice, to others it looks rather washed out. Direct view LCD sets also have less of an acceptable viewing angel than Direct View CRTs. The Sony Grand Wegas and XBR lines of projection sets are examples of these.

Plasma - you can get much truer blacks, incredible image quality overall, and if you get a good one (Pioneer Elite or something similar) you do not have to worry about the set going dim after only a couple years. They do eventually burn out, this is true. As far as burn in goes, plasmas can suffer from it, but it is not nearly as bad as made out above. You can of course play videogames on them, and you can watch television programs with stationary objects, logos, tickers etc. To get burn in on an decent plasma you would have to leave a static image paused for more than a solid day. Not really an issue to worry about. The big issue with plasma is cost (you are going to pay over $5,000, closer to $10,000 for a good one) and that eventually yes, they do go bad.

DLP - DLP only exists in the form of projection, either a front projector (think the things they use to do presentations at work, projecting the image against the wall) or in Rear Projection (very similar to LCD RP). DLP, like LCD, suffers from poor black levels, and another bug most people call 'rainbow flicker' or something like that, where they can see multicolored noise along certain areas in the image. DLP does not have dead-pixel issues like LCD though, which is nice.

LCoS - LCoS (called D-ILA) is another technology that can be used in projection sets, and can sort of be seen as a hybrid form of DLP. You do get better black levels (though still not perfect), and a very large reduction in flicker from DLP. It is based on micromirrors or something, and i believe it uses a colowheel similar to DLP, but I can't remember too much more about it. The JVC D-ILA sets have been getting very good reviews.

SRXD - This is Sony's version of LCoS. Currently only used in one set, their ultra-high end Qualia 006. It is supposedly a nearly faultess set, but of course, I think it also stops in at around $13,000.

Direct View CRT - They make HD versions of your traditional tube TVs. Benefits are very good picture quality, great longevity, no burn in, no dead pixels, excellent black levels, and low prices compared to flat panels. Drawbacks - they are bulky, heavy, and you are limited in size to about 40".

Rear Projection CRT - This is where people should still be going, IMO. You get a ton of set for your money, the best possible image quality (a properly calibrated RP CRT set will destroy and LCD, DLP, or LCoS set in black levels, contrast, color depth, overall resolution, etc), and the option to go with large sizes. Drawbacks - very large and bulky (my 57" Hitachi weighs about 350 lbs and is two feet+ deep), burn in is possible (though hard, I play video games and watch all TV channels on it all the time, never had a problem), similar viewing angles to all other projection systems, that is, if you stand up too high or from too far from the side the picture dims, and finally you do need to do a convergence adjustment from time to time to keep the picture guns in line. Any decent set though will have an automatic option to make this easy.

[jroche5998]

I have the JVC 52" D-ILA and I love it. I would agree with Nullo about the blacks. Some very dark scenes (read mostly black) tend to look blotchy, but any other scene is simply amazing. Price wise they are coming down big time too. My TV is now selling for around $2500 (I paid $2800, when it was listing for $3500 just before christmas, coupons are awesome sometimes).