General Category > General Discussion
Anybody got a plasma tv?
ShoothimNow:
I prefer LED-LCD over Plasma IMO
tiktektak:
Phhhhheeeeewwwww this is a question I'd say you can't answer in a minute or two.
Both technologies have their advantages and disadvantages.
At the moment I'd say if you want sth really nice go for a Sammy LED C8000 series (even though they make their lcds ultra slim and use edge-led unfortunately, sacrificing picture quality) or a Panny VT20 Plasma.
Those are both great. I did go for the Sammy cause I just like the picture of a LCD better, especially with LED tech.
A yes that wasn't your question. ;D
If it's a really good deal go for it, Sammy Plasmas aren't bad at all. Temporary burn in and ghost images can occur pretty easily even today but permanent burn in is a thing of the past if you take care a bit.
Ironhide Delta:
Hey there, long time lurker, recent recruit here,
I've sold tvs for a rather long time, so I can definitely give you some insight on plasmas. I also install them (ie wall mounting, setup and the like)
I prefer plasma personally. Better colour, better motion, and longevity is equal to or better than lcd according to Samsung or Panasonic with 100,000 hours of life as standard.
Burn in is only an issue if you are being purposefully cruel to the tv such as leaving a game on pause for a couple of days or a week. But as was mentioned before, beware of cheap brands. Oh and the first 100-200 hours of using it. Play games, watch movies but turn it off if you need to leave the room...
People get burn in and image retention confused. Plasmas will sometimes have a ghost image of something that was on screen for a prolonged period of time such as a speedometer or hud of some sort, but it goes away after 5-10 minutes of watching something else.
The older the plasma tv, the better proof against burn in it is. I've been gaming on my 50" S1 series Panasonic and have yet to experience anything other than temporary image retention. The anti burn in tech is really not needed but they put it in the menus so people can have peace of mind. It usually works by orbiting pixels in a pattern too minute to detect with a human eye at 8 or more feet away. It works but not really needed.
The only real drawback with 120hz lcd/led tech is it creates frames that do not exist in the source material. This is where you get odd blurring or shimmering around moving objects on screen. Plasma doesn't suffer from that because it's capable of updating much more quickly than 120hz or even 240hz. Don't take this as a knock against lcd/led, because each form of display has it's distinct advantages.
Panasonic VT25 series has some of the best colour reproduction period. Not even LED can come close to the black levels and contrast ratio. It's a 3d tv, but ironically, everything that makes it a great 3d tv, makes it a phenomenal 2d tv.
Same with the 3d Samsung plasma/LED or Sony LCD/LED tvs. Better processors make for better image quality for everything.
PDDestro:
I've had and owned various models of the 50" Panasonic Viera plasma models with no burn in whatsoever and they are gorgeous. The image pops and awes people when they come over. Plus less input lag, better colors accuracy, and deeper blacks than LCD's. Burn in is greatly exaggerated and the image quality of a good Panny is damn close to the top TV in existence, the Pioneer Kuro, for way less in price. Go plasma.
Polygon:
--- Quote from: Ironhide Delta on February 03, 2011, 11:10:57 PM ---The only real drawback with 120hz lcd/led tech is it creates frames that do not exist in the source material. This is where you get odd blurring or shimmering around moving objects on screen. Plasma doesn't suffer from that because it's capable of updating much more quickly than 120hz or even 240hz. Don't take this as a knock against lcd/led, because each form of display has it's distinct advantages.
--- End quote ---
Since I don't care for these debates all I will add is that the 120/240Hz deal is a misnomer. LCDs do not have refresh rates. You're right, it's just creating a buffer frame to give the set time to draw the next, actual, frame to reduce blur. It kind of works in that it reduces blur. But like you said, it increases artifacting around moving objects. I found that more irritating than the blur. Though I hear this is less of a problem in newer sets. I haven't shopped for one for a while. In the end it's not really drawing each frame any faster like the higher refresh rate might suggest. Instead, look at the pixel response time. That has more to do with motion blur than the made up refresh rate.
I just wanted to make sure everyone knew this.