Plasma, LCD and HDTV

duncansby

Hi - We are about to buy a new TV and with prices tumbling by the week we are very tempted to buy an LCD or plasma TV. My question is - should we worry about HDTV ready - we cannot get Sky so I heard it may be 2012 before HDTV is more widely available - and also, which do folk reckon is best - LCD or Plasma
Thanks
(apologies if this has been raised before I did do a search honest!)

Nelly.t

I am going for a lcd 32" telly when my 10 yr old philips tube dies. I am looking at diboss brand, it seems to suit my needs well. I am going to plug my pc into it as well as a freeview box so I can play online games on it at night when the wife goes to bed and I can play all the movie content I have on my computer too through the second dvi output on my graphics card.

Specs: http://www.diboss.co.uk/products/32.htm

I would have gone for a plasma but I want to use it for gaming.

POLDO_DONK

duncansby, I'm sorry but I don't have time to post a comprehensive answer.

But I would say, that both LCD and Plasma have their pro's and con's and although they have both much improved in recent years they are not yet mature technology - they both have their flaws. I would certainly avoid the cheaper models, as they tend to be lower resolution devices. Lower resolution panel plus larger screen area isn't what you want!

If you must buy a flat screen now, make sure it is marked as 'HD Ready', and you shouldn't have to problems with HDTV and future HD prerecorded software.

If you're not too fussed about either having a Flat Panel or a large screen size, my advice would be to buy another conventional CRT TV. They are mature technology and offer superior pictures in many ways to either Plasma or LCD. You can buy a good quality CRT TV pretty cheaply nowadays and it will last you long enough until HD is established and affordable. You could always then buy what will be a better (and probably cheaper) flat panel should you want to.

Also, there is a new type of Flat Panel screen in development called SED which should offer superior pictures than either LCD or Plasma and may well be released in the next two years.

Poldo