Plasma vs LCD TV. Halp

[Denchi]

So just moved into a new place and the roomies and I are lookin' into getting a TV. I get some deals on Panasonic through work and these are the two specific models we're trying to decide between.

42" Plasma

42" LCD

As far as the difference we don't know a TON about TV's so we're just trying to get maybe a better idea of what the pro's and con's might be. So what we know is:
-Plasmas are supposed to have better black
-LCDs have more blurring
-LCDs are lighter
-Plasmas have better viewing angles

Any tips would be helpful!

[isladar]

Moved to Tech.

[Denchi]

Whoops. Thanks.

[Senji]

If your room will have a lot of light, LCD, otherwise plasma.

[Kohan]

Recently, I spent a long time discussing the pros and cons of both plasma and LCD televisions with a good friend of mine. He was overly concerned regarding plasma burn-in, and I reassured him that it's currently a non-issue. The internet agrees, as the majority of burn-in troubleshooting discussions on forums -- even those dedicated solely to audio/video -- are anywhere from five to six years old. After doing ungodly amounts of research, and informing him that Panasonic has essentially replaced Pioneer as one of the top plasma makers (alongside Samsung), he plunked down a sweet amount of cash on a 50" plasma.

Was he happy?

He was...

Spoiler: show

Until an image burned into the screen, despite the fact that we lowered the brightness, regularly ran the built-in screensaver, and never left static images on it for an extended period of time. That "friend" I mentioned? He's my roommate. We're all nerds. We would never fuck up such an investment carelessly.

Everyone who says burn-in doesn't happen anymore is lying to you. Fuck plasmas. Get an LCD.

[Ejac]

LCD tv's have a much longer life span than plasma.

[Weeks]

Plasmas have a much better picture and will last you as long as you're going to want a current generation TV.

[Kohan]

Plasmas have a much better picture and will last you as long as you're going to want a current generation TV.

Would you replace a plasma after one month?

[Penthesilea]

Would you replace a plasma after one month?

Defective products exist, BUT

I've had my pioneer elite since 08, playing plenty of video games on it as well as using it as my PC monitor for the past 6 months. Your friend is retarded and left it on with a videogame paused while he went to grandmas house all weekend.

Only reason to get LCD is if you get issues with glare.

I've got a 60" NX720 Sony LCD and a 50" Pioneer Elite and it's my opinion that the Pioneer >> the Sony

[Pandum]

if you get a plasma it puts off noticeable heat in smaller rooms

[Senji]

if you get a plasma it puts off noticeable heat in smaller rooms

So does LCD.

[Isiolia]

I think it's mostly a confusion in terms. True Plasma burn-in is almost nonexistent now - as in, permanent damage to the screen. Plasmas still get image retention at times, depending on use/settings/etc, but that shouldn't stick around too long, and most sets include a screen cycle to get rid of it.

Plasmas also tend to have lower input lag.

However, they do have other potential issues - some based more with individual perception, like phosphor trails, buzzing, flicker...others with technology management like floating blacks/whites, rising black levels, etc.

Neither tech is perfect. Main thing if you're considering an LCD for gaming is to research whatever model(s) you consider to make sure you get something with low input lag.

[octopus]

Main thing if you're considering an LCD for gaming is to research whatever model(s) you consider to make sure you get something with low input lag.

Definitely this. Some major companies LCD models have notoriously bad input lag.

[Reality]

So does LCD.

difference between the two is Plasma's put out more heat due to the fact that they're not only giving off heat from the electronics housed inside the panel (Power Supply, Circuitry), but the plasma gas being charged to light the pixels, which gives off heat as well

Plasmas always put off more heat and use more power than LCD's

I'll always buy a Plasma over LCD's though

[Appie]

Would you replace a plasma after one month?

So he burned an image in his plasma within a month? You are aware you need to turn down the brightness for at least the first 200hours of a plasma? And be careful with anything that displays a fixed image for a good amount of time? I'd say anything with a fixed image longer than 30mins is a problem in the first 200 hours of a Plasma.

You mention you turned down the brightness, but I wonder if it was turned down enough. No current gen plasma should show that within a month unless you don't follow the rules. The worse I had on my Panasonic G10 is some image retention after playing a game with a fixed UI throughout the game for 2-3 hours (long after the first 200 hours) and I had the TV since 2009.

I'll consider LCD again when they fix the high input lag.

[shaddix]

Lag isn't a function of the panel technology, I have a plasma with ~70ms of lag and an lcd with 16ms. I've seen a G10 with burn-in on it. If you're going to play a game for long period of time(cod, mmos) on a plasma you are asking for burn-in.

[Kohan]

Apparently, this:

Until an image burned into the screen, despite the fact that we lowered the brightness, regularly ran the built-in screensaver, and never left static images on it for an extended period of time. That "friend" I mentioned? He's my roommate. We're all nerds. We would never fuck up such an investment carelessly.

Wasn't enough information, leading people to assume that either nothing had been done or that it hadn't been done well enough. As mentioned, we're all nerds; on top of that, one of us is a satellite operator with a detailed history in broadcast, et cetera, while I have to professionally game, record videos, and scrutinize them for various outlets, including IGN Media. In one way or another, all of us are obsessed with A/V (and none of us are retarded enough to make boneheaded choices, such as, say, buying a Monster cable).

With that said: yes, the brightness was lowered enough, and no, we never left anything on the screen. As I usually work at home (especially as of late, since I was laid off my day-to-day job a few months ago), I would have noticed. Whenever we would get up to use the restroom, we'd turn on the built-in screensaver; if we started talking and didn't feel like playing games or watching things anymore, we'd turn the television off. We were absolutely meticulous, as this was the first big investment (stove and refrigerator aside) we made for our new apartment.

I would like to believe that we received a defective unit, just as someone suggested. Unfortunately, burn-in is not covered, no matter what. Unless the television has a malfunction clearly covered in the warranty, it doesn't matter that it's defective (if it is), as we can be judged at fault since it's not simply a retained image, but burn-in.

We've watched colorful movies, have run all sorts of things without static images on repeat (including a collection of color slides that was originally put together as a VCD in 2004 or so for early plasmas), and so on. It's not a retained image, it's burn-in, and we're fucking pissed that there's absolutely nothing we can do about it.

I'm especially burned because I was always a plasma advocate before, and this completely embarrassed me, since the roommate I sold on the idea wanted an LCD and nothing but.

In short, don't be fooled into thinking burn-in never happens. It does, and it can happen to you. As long as you are fully aware of that, I don't care if you still buy a plasma anyway. Just don't be an idiot and believe it can't occur.

[Darus Grey]

Problem is you're too close to the issue to be objective, tons of us, myself included, and most plasma owners period, own a plasma(or several) and have never had an issue like you describe. You clearly got a defective unit, which sadly can happen.

I'd pursue the warranty a lot more if you haven't, you might get told no 10 times but push it enough and you'll get a yes eventually. I hate to advocate for a company but from their perspective they probably deal with 10000 cases of user error for every legitimate defect, so they're gonna be cautious and you have to fight up hill.

That said, if someone really wants the clear advantages of a plasma and is even slightly worried, it's probably the only time I'll ever recommend a consumer replacement plan, though it will still be a total waste for 99.9% of buyers anyways.

[Doombard]

I bought a samsung 50'' plasma about a year ago and it pretty much gets some type of burn in everyday (especially from watching espn) but under the picture options it has a program called scrolling where it displays a grayscale gradient thing that scrolls across the screen and after leaving that on for 10 mins or so the burned in image is gone.

[Appie]

Lag isn't a function of the panel technology, I have a plasma with ~70ms of lag and an lcd with 16ms. I've seen a G10 with burn-in on it. If you're going to play a game for long period of time(cod, mmos) on a plasma you are asking for burn-in.

Except for the past 2 years it usually has been, while plasma's went down with input lag the majority of LCD's only went up because of the proccesses they apply to display an image. This is why they come with a "game mode" (yes, so do some plasma's but it doesn't make it much less input lag compared to the normal setting), which disables quite a few of these and also gives an (imo) shittier image than with the stuff enabled.

I don't know how the 2011 TV's are atm though, but since the Sony Z4500 (2008 model) input lag only got higher for mainstream LCD's.