You have $600 do you.....?

[+Zeptari]

You have $600 do you:

 

A: Buy a Insignia - 37" 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV

 

OR

 

B: Buy a Panasonic - 42" 720P / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV

 

 

They're about the same price.... I'm leaning towards the LCD

because it supports 1080p...

 

any suggestions? I'm looking for a cheap upgrade... so my only choice's are

these two models.

 

thanks Rick

 

 

I really need something bigger then the 27" on playing on now... I want Reach to Rock!

[phaxda]

If you happen to see my thread about my search for an HDTV, you can read about how I ordered and expensive Samsung LCD that is now waiting to go back to Amazon.

 

Just returned from Best Buy with a Panasonic plasma, TC-P42U2. The difference is amazing, standard def programming is actually watchable on this--it was terrible on the Samsung LCD. If you watch any old stuff at all, the LCD is probably not what you want. Also, the 46" was way too big for us, but I guess that's pretty subjective.

 

I will say that football game were AMAZING on the Samsung. Really, really cool. But it just wasn't worth it to have everything else look crappy.

 

This is only my opinion, but it will be a long time before I ever consider an LCD again.

[Cliff Friedel]

I would go with the LCD. Plasmas tend to run hot and, because of that, break a lot earlier than LCDs do. I have had a few friends who bought plasma TVs from different manufacturers and run into this. Also, you get 1080P. Another thing I would look at is the contrast ratio. Higher is better in my opinion as it keeps the image from looking washed out on the LCD. Hope this helps.

[moycon]

I have a 40" Samsung 1080p LCD and have had no issues with it.

I've heard many times though if you aren't getting a screen over 42" the fact that it's 1080p doesn't matter much.

Never have had a Plasma so I cant really comment on them.

[HammR25]

Plasma screens also use a lot more power.

[Karyyk]

Go with the plasma (and you can get them for less than that, my 40" LG was $500 shipped, and I've seen 42" Samsungs for less than $450 shipped). A lot of the issues that they used to have are no longer around. They do use more power than an LCD, but it's nowhere near as bad as it once was. They have higher contrast, true blacks (most LCD's have issues displaying a true black, more like a dark charcoal gray, although the new LED LCD's are MUCH better, though also more expensive).

 

As far as Plasmas not lasting as long, that's not true. Again, this is another issue from about 10 years ago. Estimated life of the plasma screen is now estimated over 70,000 hours for new models (some 100,000 hours). I think that's a very hopeful estimate, to be honest, but that's similar to the hopeful estimates LCD's get. Chances are that, in either case, some other component in the TV will fail before the screen does.

 

Screen burn-in is also not an issue. I play games extensively on my 40" LG plasma. Occasionally something will stay on the screen if I leave it up there for a while, but it's washed away in seconds as soon as I get back to playing.

[Atariboy]

Another vote for the Panasonic plasma, I think you'll be much more pleased with that.

[Hyper_Eye]

The plasma is going to produce a higher contrast ratio and richer black than the LCD and at the size you are looking at those things are going to make for a much better image than 1080p will. Besides, using a 720p set generally produces a better SDTV image for when you are using a non-HD console or watching SD programming while still giving the HD experience. I have owned a number of mid-sized HD sets and, while the 1080p sets are spectacular when displaying content in 1920x1080, the 720p set gives the better all-around picture. When the whole world is producing nothing but 1080p this may change. What will be more important is that you are going to get much higher contrast, deeper blacks, and more vibrant color with the plasma.

 

But watch for 2 things. First, do not give advertised contrast ratios any weight whatsoever. They are pretty much made up out of thin air and they now always advertise DCR (Dynamic Contrast Ratio) values. DCR is the biggest swindle the television manufacturers have pulled on consumers in a long time. They turn the brightness all the way down (and sometimes even off) and measure the black. Then they crank the brightness, backlight, and contrast to the max and measure white. That does not represent any sort of viewing condition any consumer is going to have. But they advertise it that way and they come with DCR turned on which means the brightness of the set is going to dynamically change while you are watching. This is the first feature I turn off. I hate it and it drives me nuts to see my brightness changing from scene to scene. Sometimes, rarely, it works decently if set to low. Any higher is completely useless. I don't care how fast and accurate they make it DCR sucks. It is especially bad for gaming. Properly calibrated sets do not need DCR enabled. The second thing to watch out for is that plasmas absolutely can have permanent burn-in that can completely ruin the set. I have seen it happen to multiple sets. But, it requires that the same image be on the screen for a very long time. It does not happen by leaving an image up for 1 day. If you have a desktop with a bar on the bottom and you show it on the plasma for months without change then it will burn in. LCD's do not suffer true burn-in. They get persistent images. They are reversible by leaving the unit turned off for a very long time or by displaying a completely white image for a few days.

 

Whichever you get you need to go on the internet and find good calibration settings to start with and then tweak them for your needs. Do not just use the settings as they are from the factory. They are not calibrated for home use. Even if it switches to an in-home mode they are not well calibrated and they definitely aren't calibrated for your room. People hone these things in pretty good on places like avsforum.com and you can start with those calibration settings to get a good picture before tweaking for the best possible picture for your room. People who buy nice sets and then do no calibration waste their money. Their picture looks like crap and if you leave the room I am liable to grab your remote and start fixing your shitty picture. Also, buy your cables at monoprice.com. Don't let the assholes at the store sell you overpriced junk like Monster Cable.

 

To answer the original question... if I had $600 to spare right now I would buy a 360 dev unit so I could port Odamex to 360.

[Lord Helmet]

I have a 50 inch plasma and a 42 inch LCD. The plasma wins hands down. It's not even close.

[+remowilliams]

I had a Sony plasma as my primary for many years. I hate the way most LCDs look, and only with the advent of the LED LCD units did I finally pick one up.

[Video]

Plasma TV's are almost like old Tube TV's in how they look. They get black black, and white white. They run hot though, and the individual cells can burn out (or is that burn in) LCD doesnt' look nearly as good, but the LCD itself will last years longer than even the best plasma can hope to.

 

I'd gofor the resolution myself. Especially if your going to watch modern programs, play new consoles, or watch HD movies on it. Honestly, I'm not impressed with 720P (over ED 480) BUt when you step up to 1080P, that's worth it to me.

 

If you can, get a LED backlit LCD TV with local dimming. That still won't quiet be up to par with Plasma, but it should come a lot closer.

[Lord Helmet]

Plasma TV's are almost like old Tube TV's in how they look. They get black black, and white white. They run hot though, and the individual cells can burn out (or is that burn in) LCD doesnt' look nearly as good, but the LCD itself will last years longer than even the best plasma can hope to.

 

I'd gofor the resolution myself. Especially if your going to watch modern programs, play new consoles, or watch HD movies on it. Honestly, I'm not impressed with 720P (over ED 480) BUt when you step up to 1080P, that's worth it to me.

 

If you can, get a LED backlit LCD TV with local dimming. That still won't quiet be up to par with Plasma, but it should come a lot closer.

 

Plasmas DO run hot. When I stand in front of mine I can feel the heat coming from it.

[svenski]

I've not had much luck with Plasmas but I guess technology has moved on.

 

Resolution has to be an important factor though. The bigger the set the better although I was pretty amazed with my humble 32" LG LCD once I connected my Panasonic Blu-Ray to it.

[+Gemintronic]

Why not go all the way and get a projector? A buddy of mine found a deal on a Viewsonic and 100" screen for around $600.

[+Zeptari]

Just an update, i went with the Insigna set.

 

the picture is big and beautiful.

 

Once i put the xbox in 1080P mode and the TV in Game Mode,

Halo and Red Dead played nice and smooth. Great TV.

 

My total came to $580 with tax. Happy Bithday to me!

 

see you guys in Reach in a few days!!

 

-rick

[JamesD]

Plasma has better contrast than the non-LED backlit LCD TVs. LED backlit LCDs should be similar to plasma and faster.

LCD takes less electricity than plasma, LED backlit LCD TVs take the least.

LCD supposedly lasts longer than plasma, LED LCDs should last the longest.

Once the LED LCDs drop in price I'm guessing Plasma will be a thing of the past.