My 60" Mitsubishi is 11 years old and finally starting to fail on me. I'd rather get a new TV than fix this one because the picture quality on an old projector just doesn't compare to new 720p and 1080p. So, I'm looking for something 50" or larger, and under $1,500 preferably. Picture quality is very important, as is the life of the product. Should I go with Plasma or LCD? Specific brands better than others? Specific features I should be looking for?
I think plasma versus LCD depends on where your tv is and how you sit around it. If you will have it in a typically brightly lit room then go with LCD. If you plan on sitting in front of it at wide angles then go with plasma. Other than that I can't help you
i hear plasma may be better for movies.. but if your planning to do some gaming too i say led-lcd is the way to go because of the plasma burn in period.. try to get something 120hz.. 240 if you can not a big jump but 60 to 240hz is like night and day imo samsungs seem to be the best in terms of picture quality and make sure you calibrate whatever hdtv you buy.. makes a huge difference
Not going to be any gaming on this system and Plasma seems to be what I'm leaning towards. I've read that the 120hz and 240hz modes should be shut off when watching normal TV or Movies. (Source) The TV is used to watch DVD's and TV shows like House, Desperate Housewives, etc. Also thinking about getting a Blu-Ray player in the near future. My largest concern for a Plasma is the chance of burn in, which I've also read isn't as big of an issue with the 2010 models but it still worries me.
Plasma is better in almost every respect. Better contrast, better black levels, wider viewing angle, cheaper than "comparable" LCD by size... The only major drawbacks are screen glare and power consumption. Once upon a time there was a burn in problem but those have been removed. I've got a 42" Samsung and a 50" LG and love both, but I would recommend a Panasonic as they are slightly better quality. It's a coin toss on all of them though, properly calibrated only the AV propeller heads could tell the difference.
After buying my 46" Samsung last week, and now viewing some Panasonic Plasmas, I would recommend the panasonic. The only thing stopping me from taking my samsung back to the store and then getting the panasonic at another store is all the red tape (seeing how I'm doing it on financing).
That's ignorant buddy. as MSP said, burn-ins were solved a few years ago. Unless of course you're viewing a single image for hours. And about calibration.. you sound like a Bestbuy guy. Of course you do that...
My only concern with plasmas (and I haven't seen them in person lately) is that the pixel are big and easily distinguishable close up. Is this still a problem? What about on newer 720p tvs? Bestbuy had a good deal on a 42" plasma and I was seriously considering buying it but I was too lazy to check it out for myself.
Whatever tv you get make sure you can disable frame interpolation. Each brand calls it something different, but the basic premise is covered here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_interpolation It's also referred to 'soap opera effect'. It make the on-screen motion look unnatural. Personally it gives me a headache. I just recently bought a new TV and went with plasma. MSP's previous post basically nails it.
Auto Motion Plus on Samsung TVs. It was cool for the first 5 minutes, but yeah...can give you a headache. Still trying to find a practical application for said feature. I've heard some people say it rocks in games but...I have a wii which really...I don't play all that much. Maybe once I give StarCraft II a try on the new tube, we'll see how well it works.
Oh yeah, that motion blur shit is terrible. Particularly if you're a movie buff like me, it totally destroys that "film" look. DLP is the absolute best at reproducing that movie theater look, but unfortunately two-piece and rear projectors are the only way to enjoy it. Mitsubishi has an 82" rear projection DLP... :drool:
I'd take plasma any day over a rear projection DLP. Actually I did - my old tv was a DLP set . I went from a 46" Samsung DLP to a 63" Samsung 3d Plasma.
