Plasma v LCD tvs?

aliEnRIK

http://uk.shopping.com/xPO-Panasonic-TH-46PZ85B

Chrissybh0y

Im going to buy my parents a TV for xmas i was wantin a 42" for them would it better better with LCD or Plasma on a 42" ?

Marty_J

aliEnRIK wrote: »

DONT go into shops to compare ~ theyre NEVER set right and its near impossible to tell a 'true' difference between one and another (And dont ask them ~ theyre full of lies)
Look for REVIEWS only, the only thing you MIGHT want to check out is how they 'sound'.

I think looking at two TVs side by side with your own eyes and getting to try them out would give you more of an idea of which suits your needs better than reading a review would.

Bring your DVD player and something you know well to compare them with; if a shop wants your business, they'll accommodate you. If you have a disk with a THX optimiser on it, give them a quick informal calibration. Ask to see them in SD and HD. Try to go when they're not so busy (maybe early on a week day) to give yourself plenty of time.

aliEnRIK

Marty_J wrote: »

I think looking at two TVs side by side with your own eyes and getting to try them out would give you more of an idea of which suits your needs better than reading a review would.

Bring your DVD player and something you know well to compare them with; if a shop wants your business, they'll accommodate you.

The reason ive said that is because MOSt tvs have all sorts of extra 'gimmicks' thrown in. Philips with 'pixel plus' for instance is awful. The shops turn ALL that c*ap on which looks great to start with, but the reality is it kills the REAL picture quality.
My Pioneer has all sorts of extra modes and looks by FAR better with all that c*ap turned off (And the same with the philips ive had, my dads pioneer, my mates samsung and my grandads panasonic)
Most importanatly though, theyre never CALIBRATED correctly ~ so what you see is (usually) a very BRIGHT and FLARY picture as the contrast is so high and so its pretty hard to tell the difference from one to another. The ONLY way id test is using the EXACT same equipment with all the c*ap turned off and calibrated Contrast, Brightness, Sharpness and Colour.
But the fact a review WILL tell you more is because plasmas need a LOT of running in to be at their best so its unfair to compare them in the shop anyways!

tomthered

you need to be looking at the resolution in pixels, the more the better. In addition the contrast ratio is important to ensure depth of blackness. IMO the Panasonic Viera range is one of the best and comes out top constantly in the Which surveys, which are from customers themselves.

Sujamjen

Right, am off to start comparing!! Cheers

aliEnRIK

Chrissybh0y wrote: »

Im going to buy my parents a TV for xmas i was wantin a 42" for them would it better better with LCD or Plasma on a 42" ?

Really depends on the make and model but 'generally' speaking a Plasma would be better at that size

moonrakerz

Don't go to Comet, Currys, Currys Online (Dixons), etc, etc, they will try and sell you the most expensive one.

DO go to John Lewis, their staff are very good and you will get a 5 yr guarantee on your TV.

donnajunkie

Sujamjen wrote: »

I'd really like to spend less than a £1000 but I guess that might be pie-in-the-sky?? The reason I asked was that one of the catalogues sent me an email today with various offers on and I noticed that the Plasmas are at least a couple of hundred cheaper.

On the LCD front - Samsung, Sharp and Phillips at 42" - 46" seem to be in my price range.

how about this one?

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/874231

or this,

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0184346887.1222265788@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccehadeffdhlleicflgceggdhhmdgml.0&page=Product&fm=12&sm=0&tm=1&sku=172727&category_oid=

penrhyn

Mmmmn! look nice but please don't go to Currys (Dixons in disguise), you'll only regret it.
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but soon and for the rest of your life!

BTW in addition to the above advise, make sure you look at your chosen sets with a freeview (Standard definition Signal) as some look truly awful. Bear in mind that a lot of your viewing will be SD for the foreseeable future.




P.S. Anyone spot the movie?