LCD, Plasma or LED and on a budget

Bargain.hunter_4

I have posted this on techie as well as I want one, as I guess this is also question of technical knowledge as well as bargain hunting...

Anyway, this is a little complicated so bear with me....

My old TV has been written off and so I am due to get a warranty payout. The condition of this policy however is the payout of circa £650 is in argos vouchers.

I am looking to spend the full amount and happy to put up to 150 from my own pocket if need be, but want some advice on what to get.

The TV will be used for general viewing and for PS3 gameplay / blu ray. Also it has to be 40-42"

I see plasma screens are very cheap now... is there a reason for this? I have always had samsung LCDs and have been very happy with these....., but would a Plasma be a better investment? What about motion blur, running costs and reliability... How about LED TVs? I am told Panasonic are the best brand at the moment.... What about sony? I did historically have Sony televisions, however I found that the LCDs of a few years ago, looked like they were made from cheap plastics and didnt have the wow factor the piano black gloss of other LCDs. I guess this means that appearance is also a purchasing factor.

What do you think of the Panasonic TX-P42s10b... it is a plasma and has 400HZ which seems way aove any LCD refresh rate, but I am also seeing plasmas with 600hz.

One other question is, with these vouchers, I am conscious that I dont want to spend £800 on a TV in Argos that is £500 everywhere else.

If that is the case, maybe I can keep the vouchers and buy the TV from another retailer... although for obvious financial reasons this may not be the best idea.

Finally, would it be worth waiting til after christmas? Will prices go down, or will the VAT increase, cause price increases?

I appreciate help from anyone who has managed to get through this whole post and can offer some practical advice.

Links to TVs specs and reliable reviews would also be appreciated

Thanks in advance :-)

aliEnRIK

Panasonic Plasmas are very good, as are Sony and Samsung LCDs
They all have their good and bad points

Dont read anything into these 400 and 600Hz screens as their refresh rates are NOT what they claim (Its complicated so I wont go into it here)

Purely from a gameplay point of view you would probably be best going with the plasma as they have very little 'lag'. Id recommend NOT going with a Samsung as they have some awful lag (model depending).
Personally ive just bought a Sony, with its 'game' mode on it has litle lag (though still not as good as the plasmas).
As for the rest ~ they all look very good in hidef. Id recommend a 1080P screen where possible. Dont read anything into 'hz' or 'contrast ratios' as its all meaningless

VAT is going up 1st jan so youll 'probably' be best buying before then (Inbetween xmas and new year will probably be your best bet). That said, if they have a decent january sale it might be better waiting till then. Its really hard to say for sure.

aliEnRIK

Id probably go for this ~
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5368015/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/3|15701169|Televisions|14419667/c_3/4|cat_14419667|Plasma+TVs|14419686.htm

heres a review ~
http://whathifi.com/Review/Panasonic-TX-P42S10/

As its only costing YOU £40 quid then id say its a bargain

TEDDYRUKSPIN

Panasonic plasma tv's are brilliant. You are correct that argos are charging as much as £200 more. But, you are getting vouchers. Depending on your mindset, I would treat as free money and get a really decent set. This tv will be sitting in front of you for a long time.

Plasma are brilliant for watching movies. Games are great too but many recommend buying a LCD for this.

LED's are brilliant but way too expensive.

Next year, 3D tv's will come out and in 2-3 years time will hit the £1k mark.

Get a panasonic tv and you won't fail. Really good. The one you mentioned is great.

Bargain.hunter_4

Thanks for the feedback.

From what I can see above though, it seems the jury is still out. On one side I am being told LCD is best for gaming whilst on the other Plasma? Is this like a chicken and egg argument with no real winner.

I do remember watching football on a plasma at a mates a few years ago and the ball was a like a ghost every time it was kicked and in motion. That is something i really want to avoid.

Also wheat about reliability and running costs? Are plasmas a lot more expensive? Is screen burn a problem on plasmas as with any game, there are logos, etc that remain on screen permanently.

I assume plasmas are also a lot less reliable as they seem to be a lotmore expensive to warranty

aliEnRIK

The LOOK of a decent LCD has the edge for gaming so far as im concerned. Thats partially why I bought my sony (It was far and away the best tv I could find for the price)
Your mates plasma was probably set up wrong
Plasmas are definitely more expensive to run, and screen burn isnt an issue so long as your safe for the 1st 200 hours
Reliability ~ plasmas are fine

Bargain.hunter_4

aliEnRIK wrote: »

The LOOK of a decent LCD has the edge for gaming so far as im concerned. Thats partially why I bought my sony (It was far and away the best tv I could find for the price)
Your mates plasma was probably set up wrong
Plasmas are definitely more expensive to run, and screen burn isnt an issue so long as your safe for the 1st 200 hours
Reliability ~ plasmas are fine

Which sony or range of sony do you have?

Oneday77

As far as screen bur you will find most sources have compensated for this. Sky sports as an example watch the stationary images, there is a ripple effect to refresh that area of the screen. Xbox 360 if I remember correctly has a setting to help limit it too. I wouldn't worry about it tbh.
Panasonic are the Plasma Die hards, they are good TVs and always look well built. I personaly would get a Plasma unless a LED backlit model came along for the same price.
The question you have to ask yourself is does 100% of £650 spent on an overpriced set cost more or less than £500 out your own pocket just before or after christmas. Will you spend the £650 on something else that you actually need.

Millionaire

When my CRT conked out last year I was looking at purchasing a Flat Screen. I researched the subject of what to get, Plasma or LCD for quite a while, as well as visting a few retailers to get a hands on look as the TV's.

I ended up getting a Sony LCD V series which was in my price range at the time over Plasma. Its a great TV and a few people that have seen it ended up buying it themselves. Its obviously been replace by a newer model now however..

Plasma - I would get one of the Panasonic's
LCD - I would get one of the V or W series Sony's.

caryl1507

hmm LED may be costly so better choice is to have Samsung Series 6 LCD for home.

aliEnRIK

bargain.hunter wrote: »

which sony or range of sony do you have?

46w5500
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