I’m looking for a new Plasma, if anyone can help choosing, it would be much appreciated…

I currently have a 40″ Sony LCD (W series). I really like it, but I should have bought a 50″, because like most people new to flat screens, I ignored everyone who told me to get a bigger screen, went for a 40″ and now want bigger.

I am after a TV really for just watching DVD and Bluray, I might watch a little bit of TV, but not much (i’ll do that on the 40″).

I went to look at TV’s over the weekend, the problem I found is that they nearly all looked terrible, because they were set to max contrast / saturation and fed with horrible signals. I did spend a bit of time comparing a Pioneer with a Panasonic V10 (fed by same signal), and the Pioneer looked much better in the blacks, but I can’t really afford it ;-(

I watched a DVD on the Sony last night, and I was really impressed with the picture quality, I certantly don’t need better than that, so my question is, how cheap a plasma can I buy, to get equiv. PQ to the Sony LCD, but at a 50″ screen size?

I saw an LG plasma (c.£1000) in John Lewis, and it looked awful, but as I said, I think it was not set up right, because it has good reviews. Would this be OK when I get it home and tweak the settings?

You get what you pay for to a point. dont let a bit of extra outlay spoil you viewing experiance, you always would have wondered what if. I have heard very good things about the new Pioneer 50″ panels, plus the panasonic pz range is very good value for money if you cannot stretch to the extra few quid of the Pioneer. take a look on AV Forums.

LCDs are better. They last far longer cause the plasma is a gas. They are also a lot cheaper to run cause a plasma has to have 3-4 cooling fans to keep them cool! The plasma will draw a lot more power than an lcd.( when was the last time you changed the batteries in you old calculator?)

Stoney, dunno if that’s completely true, latest generation of plasma’s are more energy efficient, and i’ll only be using it for 8-10 hours a week. I’ll be getting it with a 5 year warranty, so not to concerned with reliability, I am really after the best PQ for the money.

LCDs are better. They last far longer cause the plasma is a gas. They are also a lot cheaper to run cause a plasma has to have 3-4 cooling fans to keep them cool! The plasma will draw a lot more power than an lcd.( when was the last time you changed the batteries in you old calculator?)

I respectfully, but strongly disagree! Plasma TVs do not wear out within their useful life!(within a time we would use them for – say ten years). They install them in airports where they are left on 7×24 for years on end. The picture quality actually improves over time and plasma screens handle Freeview and standard definition material with far greater clarity. My Hitachi performs better at year 5 than in year 1! The problem is not longevity, it’s justifying buying a replacement and finding a home for the old set! I sometimes wish it would die, so I can upgrade!

On standard definition Plasma sets handle motion far better than LCD too. Motion artefacts are quite appalling on many LCD’s and at best are OK with everyday signals.

Most Plasma sets do not usually have cooling fans, but they do generate more heat than a comparable LCD. Most current LCD TV’s use a cold cathode tube for backlighting and there is no doubt these can fail. I know that laptops with a few years use fail with this problem, so I think this issue needs condideration. I’d wouldn’t expect a cold cathode to outlast the 100k hours a plasma would. So this notion that plasma’s wear out is a myth and people should really be focused LCD cold cathode failure.

LED backlighting is coming in now which will reduce consumption and be the ultimate in reliability. If they can get the image processing to a point where motion atrefacts are undetectable then plasma will be obsolete. I know that things have improved a great deal, but LCD remains inferior.

LCD can produce very sharp images with no motion artefacts when they have a Blu Ray source with the best interface, but this is not what you will be watching most of the time.

LCD is the greener choice however.

I have both LCD and Plasma sets and a mate of mine has two of each (he’s loaded). So I have had plenty of chance to experiment with picture settings. His 50″ Samsung LCD is impressive (faultless) when fed 1080p from a Blu Ray player over HDMI. On standard broadcast definition via Sky it is mediocre though. My aging plasma is better by a country mile.

As people correctly point out, comparing shop TV displays is a waste of time because the sets are rarely all set up properly. Some numpty salesmen think that max colour and max brightness etc looks best, but it just doesn’t! Then people in the shop fiddle around with them too.

I’m sure we will see some awesome new products withing a couple of years so my advice is to sit tight.

I’d go for a Samsung, Sony or Panasonic. Or Loewe if I was properly loaded.

50″ you must have a monster sitting room.

Tube TV’s still look better than flats.

Out of interest, the grading suites in a decent top end post prodution house
Is replacing its old and v expesive Sony tubes with pioneer kuro’s. They also
mentioned the new Panasonic viera as a good choice.

I think Plasma is pretty much dead since Pioneer pulled out. I’m a bit out of touch but I still get emails from various websites – I think the new generation of Samsung LED tv’s (they’re not true LED tvs they use LEDs for backlighting on LCD panels I think) get good reviews. Of course everyone is waiting for OLED technology to mature (ie get cheaper and bigger), as it will completely replace LCD+Plasma.

Here’s a bit of blurb about a Sony OLED TV

Too Small and expensive

For a plasma TV, buy LG. We’ve been so impressed we bought another for my grandma. Colours absolutely spot on, and it does an excellent job of upscaling SD. And they’re cheap.

Sorry but the LG I looked at was rubbish next to the Samsung I bought.
Go big, go plasma. You won’t wear it out in a hurry. LCD’s are ok for smaller sizes, but can’t keep up with fast motion sport on a broadcast tv. Onl wished I’d bought a 50in instead of a 42in.

I bought a Panasonic 42″ plasma 18 months ago and at that time it out performed even the top end Sony LCD’s. No motion blur, no artefacts, proper blacks, a reasonable price and the whole thing is well built.

I’d not hesitate to recommend them and still think that LCD’s are playing catch up.

What I will say though is that neither is perfect and my hope is that OLED becomes an affordable option within the lifetime of my plasma…….

Loewe = Old TV Technology bought from Panasonic, just in a fancy case.
Pioneer Kuro – truly a fantastic bit of kit & will stand on top of a big hill, urinating over some old-school crt.
Panasonic Viera = technology getting a little long in the tooth

Panasonic Commercia plasma range = fantastic too.

We’ve got an LG LCD in our demo flat, it’s alright, not a bad picture at all, but its no Kuro.

Honestly bud, if you have the money, a 50″ kuro will see you right, however I think there is a bit of a shortage of them (high demand) (rrp approx £2400)

hth
jt

blimey, you’ve got a 40″ and need a 50″… i’d just move the couch a bit closer!

I have an LG plasma. Once calibrated properly it’s great (I’ve never seen an LCD that’s even close).
The blacks aren’t as good as the expensive pioneers, but it’s a lot cheaper!

Calibration is so often overlooked, and its a massive shame, people spending £1K upwards, PS3 or whatever else connected and while it may be HD, they’re usually pretty out on the colour reproduction, contrast and brightness.

For the sake of a copy of Digital Video Essentials you can usually make a marked improvement in your picture quality.

the Panasonic 1080P panels are something to behold, use the 50’s a lot at work and they really are beautiful

Interesting, kiwijon. Our old TV was an expensive Samsung 32 LCD, and it was simply dreadful on standard definition content. Colours were never right and the artefacts drove us nuts. Eventually we sold it for £200 and considered it good riddance compared to the LG.

Respectfully, it’s only been in the last six months that Samsung seem to have made any improvement with their LCDs, and even they appear to lag behind Sony and other manufacturers.

I think the new generation of Samsung LED tv’s (they’re not true LED tvs they use LEDs for backlighting on LCD panels I think) get good reviews

Piss poor reviews I’ll think you will find.

Aye, saw one at the weekend, not impressed.

I was comparing LG & Samsung plasmas. They were both better than LCDs but the Samsung was the better plasma. A decent LCD is a lot more than a decent plasma.

Mr Michael Wright also doth speak the truth! 😉

I’ve just got one of the new Panasonic plasmas 42G10 – quite brill all round – it doesn’t get hot, blacks are good – no blur etc etc. But, must admit my old CRT 100Hz Toshiba is still a brill picture for normal resolution. As for demo in shops – they are all poo because they share the same feed. I did comment to one muppet in Dixons that I’d be suprised they sold ANY TV’s coz the piccie was crap.