LCD or Plasma

[Simon]

I have resisted buying a big screen tv for a while, seeing them as a symbol of rampant consumerism.

But I do love watching movies and my daughters are feeling socially destitute without one so I have decided to bite the bullet and join the unwashed masses. Especially now I have had a bit of a windfall courtesy of Rosie the Wonder Dog.

So I popped into JBHiFi yesterday just to see what was available. A slimy salesman saw the glazed look in my eyes and circled a bit then landed beside me. I said I was thinking about buying a big screen telly and his immediate advice was "Just buy one now, you will never regret it"

I resented this immediately and asked him about the relative merits of Plasma vs LCD. He told me it didn't matter if I just bought the most expensive set he had. All the while staring over my shoulder at a point in the distance. I was trying to see if he was crosseyed, eyeing off the hot looking CD chickie or genuinely disinterested in my needs.

I tried to ask him about the one with the USB connection on the side. Could I insert a thumb drive loaded with an avi file and would it play it? What other formats would it play I added?

He replied that it would play anything. It was at this point I realised that he was either slightly retarded or not very god at his job so I tried to move along the long wall hoping that he would remain still transfixed by the sight beyond my left shoulder. But no such luck - he remained beside me as I ambled along tring to decipher the odd little hieroglyphs adorning each set which described features nonsensical at best.

Fortunately an owner seller I was trying to get hold of called me and I managed to extricate myself from the salesman as I ducked outside to take the call. Pretty good deal actually with a 13% return but more on that if I have it stitched up.

Rather than repeat this experience at other identical shops I have decided to come to the expert source on everything from boat building to dog breeding.

So what do I buy?

I want something in the 106 - 116cm range that will be terrific with movies, music videos, police dramas and cartoons. We watch very little sport. I want to be able to easily run video from my laptop or a thumbdrive, even my MP3 player.

I was hoping to buy in the $2000 - $2500 range and would appreciate an extended warranty.

I am happy to buy from eBay and have bought expensive items such as this laptop that way.

I am sure that many of you guys are technologically more advanced than a semi luddite like myself and will be easily able to steer me in the right direction.

Thanks,

 

[handyandy]

Hi Simon

Can't help much as I really didn't want to get right into the whole technology when we recently bought one.

Pretty well had the same problem with the salesman talking a lot of jargon (which made my eyes glass over).

In the end we decided on models one step down from the latest functions. The reasoning being that at least we are not paying for the 'bleeding' edge technology.

Just to illustrate the affect of bleeding edge pricing in the weeks that we looked around a really big unit in DJ's went from $15k down to $12k.

In the end we bought a Panasonic 50 inch HD for $3100 which over the time was up to $4200. Ended up buying it at Meyer's of all places who had a special on and then still gave a further discount and free delivery if we signed up for a 'meyer' card (not credit).

http://panasonic.com.au/whats_new/media/details.cfm?detailsID=462&selectYear=2007

Good Luck

 

[alexlee]

A friend from Phillips tells me LCDs are much better than plasmas.
Alex

 

[sue78]

sorry, I'm clueless...I'd pick one that looked nice, good picture quality and in my price range...Then I'd shop around and find the best price for that model.

we have a plasma from over 2 yrs ago that is still unopen in the garage! we were going to move out but never did. I don't think it's high definition but even 2yrs ago, I am sure it was only around $2k...it's a Samsung I think.

 

[lindy0123]

Funny...I went shopping on the weekend for the same thing. My TV passed away so it was time to update I could not believe the size of some of these TV's...anyway the largest one was a plasma and it was awful. Because of the size of the screen the picture was not the best and the chap said that it was only like that when watching TV - DVD's were ok ??.

I decided that we would go for a LCD for one in the mid size range however we are going to hit the factory outlet of Bing Lee at Homebush or similar. Apparently you can get up to 40% off just because the cardboard box is damaged. I have been looking through my trusty "Bargain Shopping Guide" to Sydney and have found a couple of other places as well that sell the name brands with similar discounts and you can still get the full or extended warranty. So we will work out what brand and style we like and go there first. The guy who was serving us did say that the LCD technology had come along way and if a "cell" got damaged you could repair/replace that cell rather than the whole TV as in the past. ?? I am not "up" with all of this stuff so I hope that this is correct.

I would love to hear what people think is the best brand as well. What "bells and whistles" does one want to get with a TV ? do they even exist ? I hate shopping for these things.

 

[Simon]

Funny...I went shopping on the weekend for the same thing. My TV passed away so it was time to update I could not believe the size of some of these TV's...anyway the largest one was a plasma and it was awful. Because of the size of the screen the picture was not the best and the chap said that it was only like that when watching TV - DVD's were ok ??.

I decided that we would go for a LCD for one in the mid size range however we are going to hit the factory outlet of Bing Lee at Homebush or similar. Apparently you can get up to 40% off just because the cardboard box is damaged. I have been looking through my trusty "Bargain Shopping Guide" to Sydney and have found a couple of other places as well that sell the name brands with similar discounts and you can still get the full or extended warranty. So we will work out what brand and style we like and go there first. The guy who was serving us did say that the LCD technology had come along way and if a "cell" got damaged you could repair/replace that cell rather than the whole TV as in the past. ?? I am not "up" with all of this stuff so I hope that this is correct.

I would love to hear what people think is the best brand as well. What "bells and whistles" does one want to get with a TV ? do they even exist ? I hate shopping for these things.

Can you let me know how you go at Homebush - might be worth me driving down to take a look.

Simon

 

[Andrew_A]

I would ask in the whirlpool forums as well, plenty of gen Y knowledge to tap into there

 

[bailz66]

I recently read an article on this.

Plasma vs LCD is a big topic at the moment

When i was recently looking i found this article http://apcmag.com/hdtv helpful

Basically the run down is that if you like watching movies in a darker room then plasma is the way to go.

LCD Performs well in all lights but not as well as plasma in the dark.

You really want to get a high def in your television which will give you a higher quality but you dont need an in built tuner as you can pick one up for around $100 i think.

 

[Simon]

I recently read an article on this.

Plasma vs LCD is a big topic at the moment

When i was recently looking i found this article http://apcmag.com/hdtv helpful

Basically the run down is that if you like watching movies in a darker room then plasma is the way to go.

LCD Performs well in all lights but not as well as plasma in the dark.

You really want to get a high def in your television which will give you a higher quality but you dont need an in built tuner as you can pick one up for around $100 i think.

No, I want an inbuilt tuner. Tidier and less bloody remotes.

Thanks for the articles. I am gathering that under 40 inches then LCD is best but if you go above the Plasma is better. I am on the cusp ...

 

[Brenda Irwin]

Rather than repeat this experience at other identical shops I have decided to come to the expert source on everything from boat building to dog breeding.

Hahaha, love it.
I heard something on tele about plasmas catching fire and burning ppls houses down. I didn't pay close attention though as I still have the box type TV as they are really cheap, when you can get them.

 

[Simon]

I am steering my attention towards the Panasonic Veira range. A friend bought one recently and I watched a few movies with her and was quite impressed.

I can get a 42 inch for under $2K delivered. on eBay. I called a different JBHiFi that employs staff who are marginally more useful and they agreed to shave a bit more off to match the eBay deal. usually they don't even try so gotta be impressed with that.

Downside is that if I want to extend the 12 month warranty to 60 months it is an extra $300. Guess it is worth it though.

So does anyone own the:

Panasonic VIERA TH-42PX70A 42 inch (106cm) Digital HD Plasma TV, Certified HD Digital TV

Comments?

Thanks team,

 

[BV]

Simon,

How big a screen do you want?

I know that LCD's have come a long way but they are not there yet.
Go in the shop and have a closer look at the pictures.

There are noticeable picture differences between sets.
Also, LCD's are more expensive than Plasmas.
Dead pixels in LCD's can be an issue so choose a brand with a friendly dead pixel policy.

I would go with a reputable brand as support can be an issue.
With the cheaper brands if you happen to be out of luck and end up with a faulty set you could be with no telly for months...

Also, most flat screens are big and heavy to transport, find out if they do house service calls and where their service centre is. If you are in NSW shipping it to VIC or QLD can cost you money.

Check the choice report (pm me if you can't view it)
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticl...d=100170&tid=100008&p=1&title=Test:+106cm+TVs


Cheers

 

[BV]

Simon,

Choice, in their 11/06 plasma tests found that the Panasonic TH-42PV60A
was the best one. It's now a superceded model but the technology used in your model above, would be similar or better.
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticleAsOnePage.aspx?id=105119
pm me if you can't view it.

Cheers

 

[wombat]

Simon - I bought the 50"Viera model from Myre in June. I went with Plasma as it was cheaper for similar size LCD, I payed around 2.5K.

I had a 50" rear projection prior to the plasma, the plasma is miles ahead, mainly due to it being a digial tuner as opposed to analogue.

The big secret when you get it delivered is to hook up the antenna to the new plasma before you turn it on, that way, the plasma tunes all the stations automatically - digital, HD, analogue - otherwise you will have to stuff around and do it all manually.

I was advised that I will need to get a new antenna if I purchased a plasma, my house has an old type antenna - may be from the 60's with the old ribbon cable - however the plasma is working sensational with this antenna where as my old TV struggled.

good luck and I would recommend the viera.

wombat

 

[BV]

I was advised that I will need to get a new antenna if I purchased a plasma, my house has an old type antenna - may be from the 60's with the old ribbon cable - however the plasma is working sensational with this antenna where as my old TV struggled.

wombat

Wombat,

Lucky you didn't listen to them because the need for a new antenna is actually a myth.

If you even have a slightly noisy or ghostly picture with an analogue TV
the picture should be perfect with a digital TV set.

Cheers

 

[ozi]

Hi Simon,

We bought a plasma about 12 months ago. Went with a 42" Hitachi and love it! I was initially going to buy an LCD, but from all the research I did I decided to go with plasma for the following reasons:

1) Cheaper than LCD

2) Technology has been around longer than LCD (in TVs atleast), so plasma is more mature and less problems these days.

3) Plasmas are bigger

You should have a read through this forum:

http://www.dtvforum.info/

Its the Somersoft of digital television

Do a search for the brands/models you want and you will no doubt find all the information you need. There are lots of knowledgable people there who can advise you if you have questions.

I would advise against buying a TV with a built in tuner. If the tuner stuffs up, you will need to send the whole TV in for repair! Could be without a TV for weeks/months!! Our HD set top box broke down a few months ago and I only had to send the box in. I was still able to watch TV, although with the analogue signal.

Another thing to consider is Jap vs China. Panasonic are a good brand as with Hitachi, however both these manufacturers produce TVs in Japan and China. The Chinese models are cheaper and of lesser quality.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Ozi

 

[ozi]

No, I want an inbuilt tuner. Tidier and less bloody remotes.

With some TVs you are able to mate the tuner so that it can be controlled with the TV remote. I would look into this.

Thanks for the articles. I am gathering that under 40 inches then LCD is best but if you go above the Plasma is better. I am on the cusp ...

If you want to go under 40" LCD is the only choice. Plasmas are only available in 42" or larger.

Ozi

 

[wombat]

Ozi,

You make a good point. I made sure mine was manufactured in Japan, I was made aware that some panasonic sets are manufactured in China.

wombat

 

[Arkay]

This topic is a real can or worms.

As others have said size is the first deciding fact. >40" and you will want to go plasma.

Quality wise there is a price for better product. Typically the best plasma's are the Panasonic & Pioneer's, maybe Hitachi. For LCD you won't go past Sony's Bravia range.

Resolution (should) play a big part in the decision. There are Standard Definition (SD) sets, High Definition (HD) sets and True HD sets. They range in price accordingly. I personally would go with a True HD set. Ask the sales people but it MUST be 1080p to be full HD. The reason I recommend this is that 1080p is becoming the standard for High Def media (and eventually free to air TV). Anything less that 1080p means you are not seeing the picture as it is intended. You may as well have a set that can make the most of the picture being thrown at it. You may also get a Bluray HD player later on. Eventually SD sets and semi HD (1366x768) sets won't exist and will have zero resale value.

Don't be fooled by any set that says "HD capable" on it. It DOESN"T mean it is a HD set, only that it can display a HD signal (even if the picture is scaled down for display = lack of quality). Only the resolution tells you if it's truly HD. Ask for 1080P.

As far as black level, contrast, colour quality etc you'll be fine if you stick with Panasonic, Pioneer or Sony (Bravia). Steer clear of other brands and you'll get yourself a really nice TV.

In terms of power consumption something to consider is that plasma uses a lot of juice compared to lcd (well more than your old CRT).

Room size and viewing position are important. An LCD is going to be too small for a big room and a big plasma will be too big for a small room.

General rule of thumb is to take the diagonal measurement of your screen and multiply it *2.5, this will tell you how far away from the screen you should be to enjoy it best. For a 50" screen you'd need to be sitting 125" away, around 10 feet back. It's a rough guideline but might help you choose the screen size which will determine the panel type (lcd/plasma). then you only need worry about brand and price.

Cheers,

Arkay.

P.S. I have a 50" Panasonic Viera and love it

 

[simonjulie]

It's like having our very own "choice magazine" here at the coffee lounge. What great contributions.
We bought a LG 50 inch plasma for $2500 from JB Hi Fi about a month ago. So far so good.
Cheers
Simon