From plasma to OLED and back to plasma...

OLEDed

Standard Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
36
Reaction score
31
Points
13
Age
45
Location
Seattle
I recently moved from a Panasonic st60 to a LG CX and C9. I am surprised to see just how similar OLED and plasma actually are. The difference for SD content is miniscule. I would go a step farther and say 1080p content on my plasma produces a better picture quality which is why the st60 is going back up.

90% of my viewing is 1080p in a dim room. Plasma seems to produce as good if not better picture quality at this resolution and the motion handling is more than a little better. Plasma has a distinct picture quality and quite possibly that's just what I'm used to or what I prefer. I'm sure I would quite possibly feel different if I was into 4K or Blu-Rays.

Daytime viewing is a different story, The OLED is better simply because it is brighter. This weekend I'm going to do a side-by-side comparison video and I will post it when it's completed.

Has anyone else felt a little underwhelmed by OLED? Not because it is not good, OLED is the best of the best for most. But rather because it does not seem like a big step forward from a good plasma TV. I would love to hear from former plasma owners.

edit;

As I sit here watching my st60 I wanted to mention what it is I find different between my OLED and plasma. The colors on the plasma seem much richer and thicker with an oil painting like quality. OLED seems to be missing that richness that plasma produces. OLED is more vibrantly saturated and bright with a completely different feel to the picture quality. Maybe it just comes down to personal preference as both look great.
 
Last edited:
Not sure what sizes you are comparing, but the first issue you have is that you have a tv that’s a mad or 1080 and another that’s 2160.
Of course SD content will look better on the 1080 that’s going to be the case, you’ll have to increase the resolution to high hell to make it 2160.
The same for 720 or 1080i both cable/sat formats. So in answer yes the plasma will look better.
Wondered how the plasma compares at 4K to the oled?
if you want true quality a high end CRT will look best on SD though.
 
Plasma is and will always remain special. The woled is not the best for color saturation at high brightness (that’s why lots of hope on qantum oled).
But still, you are talking 4k tv here and hdr...too massive improvement you don’t have in your plasma...
I can’t live without 4k now...and most important is the wider color gamut that comes with hdr...
 
Not sure what sizes you are comparing, but the first issue you have is that you have a tv that’s a mad or 1080 and another that’s 2160.
Of course SD content will look better on the 1080 that’s going to be the case, you’ll have to increase the resolution to high hell to make it 2160.
This is incorrect. For TVs of the same size one 1080 TV pixel has the area of four 2160 TV pixels that can all be made to display the same shade as the unitary pixel, i.e. 2160 TV need look not worse than a 1080 TV. If SD & HD content looks better on a PDP then that isn't because of pixel number & scaling.
 
Toodepp you are wrong.
 
Plasma is and will always remain special. The woled is not the best for color saturation at high brightness (that’s why lots of hope on qantum oled).
But still, you are talking 4k tv here and hdr...too massive improvement you don’t have in your plasma...
I can’t live without 4k now...and most important is the wider color gamut that comes with hdr...
On my 65" screens at about 13-14' I can't see any difference between 1080p and 4k . Nor my wife or even children who have much younger eyes. HDR looks different though. Not sure if it looks better.
 
I find it depends on what i am watching as well. A good Bluray looks good but judging the content of sky or. cable 4k looks well better. Could I tell a 4k bluray from a standard other than the HDR mm maybe
 
the whites are much brighter on the OLED than on my LG PK590 50 set plus much less reflective but the Plasma is in another room now. still working great. On SD people's faces look more realistic like on look east news.
 
On my 65" screens at about 13-14' I can't see any difference between 1080p and 4k . Nor my wife or even children who have much younger eyes. HDR looks different though. Not sure if it looks better.
You are sitting far far away to enjoy 4k
My son immediately notices any 4k. I can’t stand SD and barely can live with HD :)

you are lucky to have such space...I used the rtings calculator and your distance generated a recommendation of over 85 inch tv :)
 

Attachments

  • F5647333-3C14-42B7-AE1B-9CE7CF0434AF.png
    F5647333-3C14-42B7-AE1B-9CE7CF0434AF.png
    284.4 KB · Views: 920
  • CCA9D806-853D-47FD-A735-81B963C555AD.png
    CCA9D806-853D-47FD-A735-81B963C555AD.png
    285.3 KB · Views: 915
I've not once regreted going from plasma to OLED
 
I
You are sitting far far away to enjoy 4k
My son immediately notices any 4k. I can’t stand SD and barely can live with HD :)

you are lucky to have such space...I used the rtings calculator and your distance generated a recommendation of over 85 inch tv :)
I think these calculators are supported by the TV industry in order to make people feel they need to buy a new TV. 85" at 13' seems ridiculous to me. Downright stupid really!
 
People over exaggerate so much. I have read so many posts saying that OLED is so much better than plasma. People make it sound like a giant leap forward and it's just not. It's not even better in my opinion. It was these over exaggerations which persuaded me to buy 2 OLEDs to replace my Kuro and ST60. After a week my CX has been taken down and my ST60 has gone back up. This was after a lot of testing and evaluation. If you primarily watch 1080p a good plasma is better than OLED and quite frankly I can't tell much of a difference between 4k and 1080p.

OLED is brighter and has better blacks. It also has poor near blacks and OLED motion handling is hard to get used to after plasma, although it's not bad. If you have any bias lighting whatsoever plasma is 100% as good as OLED with black level. The extra brightness sure sounds like a lot more on paper but I struggle to see my OLEDs with the blinds open just like I do my plasmas. with the blinds closed or in the dark both are more than bright enough.

Where they differ is color representation. They have a different feel, plasma has rich meaty thick colors like an oil painting. OLED has vibrantly saturated bright colors. I really 100% think plasma looks better and with motion it's no contest. OLED does have much whiter whites than plasma if that is important to you.

I already sold the C9 and the CX will replace the Kuro in the bedroom. The ST60 will likely stay put until it dies. I have a even greater respect for plasma TV technology now. OLED is certainly great but better...... no.
 
People over exaggerate so much. I have read so many posts saying that OLED is so much better than plasma. People make it sound like a giant leap forward and it's just not. It's not even better in my opinion. It was these over exaggerations which persuaded me to buy 2 OLEDs to replace my Kuro and ST60. After a week my CX has been taken down and my ST60 has gone back up. This was after a lot of testing and evaluation. If you primarily watch 1080p a good plasma is better than OLED and quite frankly I can't tell much of a difference between 4k and 1080p.

OLED is brighter and has better blacks. It also has poor near blacks and OLED motion handling is hard to get used to after plasma, although it's not bad. If you have any bias lighting whatsoever plasma is 100% as good as OLED with black level. The extra brightness sure sounds like a lot more on paper but I struggle to see my OLEDs with the blinds open just like I do my plasmas. with the blinds closed or in the dark both are more than bright enough.

Where they differ is color representation. They have a different feel, plasma has rich meaty thick colors like an oil painting. OLED has vibrantly saturated bright colors. I really 100% think plasma looks better and with motion it's no contest. OLED does have much whiter whites than plasma if that is important to you.

I already sold the C9 and the CX will replace the Kuro in the bedroom. The ST60 will likely stay put until it dies. I have a even greater respect for plasma TV technology now. OLED is certainly great but better...... no.
No need to make a new thread on the same topic. Merged this in here since you already have a thread on the same topic.
 
one things I always notice and being someone as an early adopter it’s key.
Set the tv up correctly m, don’t expect the same performance From two side products.
And buy physical discs to avoid disappointment with blacks.
Amazon, Netflix and apple all crush blacks. Where as my 34k blurays don’t
 
Glad that the OP went back to Plasma. Amount of misinformation and misjudgement is staggering.

At least, OLED owners can now take a deep breath and continue to enjoy 4K and HDR which is where they truly shine.

You want Plasma level near blacks, try Panasonic 2019 and above OLEDs.

Oh, dare I mention how much better my 1080p Blu-rays looked cinematic and looked so much better on my OLED than my Panny GT60 plasma?
 
I am getting the HZ1000 , I hope, its on order but hard to find online. Company says low on stock!! Is it been superceded already? Its to replace a 37" plasma for swmbo. When I plug it in can I just use as is and forget about tweaking? It will be used for Corrie, emmerdale, etc and netflix plus movies on BBC and ITV.

Output will be from an xtrend box at 1080p and the pause facility is used quite a bit, will that impact an OLED screen? ie burn in or image retention. ITV loose women is watched a lot.
 
I am getting the HZ1000 , I hope, its on order but hard to find online. Company says low on stock!! Is it been superceded already? Its to replace a 37" plasma for swmbo. When I plug it in can I just use as is and forget about tweaking? It will be used for Corrie, emmerdale, etc and netflix plus movies on BBC and ITV.

Output will be from an xtrend box at 1080p and the pause facility is used quite a bit, will that impact an OLED screen? ie burn in or image retention. ITV loose women is watched a lot.
The HZ1000 is last year's discontinued model - it's superseded by the JZ1000.

It will probably be in Standard/Normal mode out of the box, which will be fine for your soaps but you will want either Filmmaker Mode or Professional (with a tweak or two) when it comes to movies or TV dramas etc.

Use of the pause button will not cause burn-in, unless you are pausing for hours at a time on a regular basis. There may be some temporary image retention, though this should clear quite quickly with normal use.

To be safe, I would try and avoid static logos as much as possible until the TV has been bedded in for a few weeks. Leave the TV on standby when not in use as there are periodic screen refreshing cycles which run after a certain number of hours use.

With regard to watching Loose Women, that's likely to void your Warranty.
 
Thank you. I have cancelled and going to get a sony led. I see what you mean by loose women!! I had a quick look at the logo
I was just joking about Loose Women - it was a reference to the quality of the show, though it may also have a lot of logos/captions on the screen!

I hope you've not cancelled based on my response - I recommended the HZ980 to my mum and she's delighted with it! I believe she's also a fan of Loose Women.

Which Sony have you gone for?
 
I was not sure but if you have a look it has this garish logo on bottom left corner and knowing the viewing habits that would defInitely burn in. I am looking at the SONY XR5590JU or the 55KDXH9505BU. Not bought a TV since 2009 and the choice now is far more complex. A lot of shops where I am will say they have stock and then when you call they don't. The panasonic is out for delivery and they cant intercept the courier so I have to wait for the delivery call and tell them to return it. Then get the sony, hoping I get it in time for euro final and that is in UHD via iplayer.

I cancelled based on what you said and all the other bits I read about OLED. I wont watch TV with logos, I can barely stand sky sports but that's a given.

Now that is interesting re the HZ980, how long has your mum had it and how does she manage the burn in gizmos? Is there any image retention? I like panasonic as swmbo worked for them for years.

PS I have my own TV, Kuro lx5090 no one touches it!!
 
I was not sure but if you have a look it has this garish logo on bottom left corner and knowing the viewing habits that would defInitely burn in. I am looking at the SONY XR5590JU or the 55KDXH9505BU. Not bought a TV since 2009 and the choice now is far more complex. A lot of shops where I am will say they have stock and then when you call they don't. The panasonic is out for delivery and they cant intercept the courier so I have to wait for the delivery call and tell them to return it. Then get the sony, hoping I get it in time for euro final and that is in UHD via iplayer.

I cancelled based on what you said and all the other bits I read about OLED. I wont watch TV with logos, I can barely stand sky sports but that's a given.

Now that is interesting re the HZ980, how long has your mum had it and how does she manage the burn in gizmos? Is there any image retention? I like panasonic as swmbo worked for them for years.

PS I have my own TV, Kuro lx5090 no one touches it!!

You can befriend #1 OLED hater and #1 Kuro lover :laugh:

 
I was not sure but if you have a look it has this garish logo on bottom left corner and knowing the viewing habits that would defInitely burn in. I am looking at the SONY XR5590JU or the 55KDXH9505BU. Not bought a TV since 2009 and the choice now is far more complex. A lot of shops where I am will say they have stock and then when you call they don't. The panasonic is out for delivery and they cant intercept the courier so I have to wait for the delivery call and tell them to return it. Then get the sony, hoping I get it in time for euro final and that is in UHD via iplayer.

I cancelled based on what you said and all the other bits I read about OLED. I wont watch TV with logos, I can barely stand sky sports but that's a given.

Now that is interesting re the HZ980, how long has your mum had it and how does she manage the burn in gizmos? Is there any image retention? I like panasonic as swmbo worked for them for years.

PS I have my own TV, Kuro lx5090 no one touches it!!
My mum got the HZ980 last November - I got her a good Black Friday deal. She was coming from a cheap Panasonic LED which had died a couple of weeks earlier.

I warned her about the logo thing and to keep the TV in standby when not in use and she's not had any issues with burn in as far as I know!

If you vary your viewing, then logo burn in really shouldn't be an issue.

I've still got my LG PK990 plasma, which has a great picture with calibrated settings, but I'll be looking at a new TV this Black Friday.
 
People over exaggerate so much. I have read so many posts saying that OLED is so much better than plasma. People make it sound like a giant leap forward and it's just not. It's not even better in my opinion. It was these over exaggerations which persuaded me to buy 2 OLEDs to replace my Kuro and ST60. After a week my CX has been taken down and my ST60 has gone back up. This was after a lot of testing and evaluation. If you primarily watch 1080p a good plasma is better than OLED and quite frankly I can't tell much of a difference between 4k and 1080p.

OLED is brighter and has better blacks. It also has poor near blacks and OLED motion handling is hard to get used to after plasma, although it's not bad. If you have any bias lighting whatsoever plasma is 100% as good as OLED with black level. The extra brightness sure sounds like a lot more on paper but I struggle to see my OLEDs with the blinds open just like I do my plasmas. with the blinds closed or in the dark both are more than bright enough.

Where they differ is color representation. They have a different feel, plasma has rich meaty thick colors like an oil painting. OLED has vibrantly saturated bright colors. I really 100% think plasma looks better and with motion it's no contest. OLED does have much whiter whites than plasma if that is important to you.

I already sold the C9 and the CX will replace the Kuro in the bedroom. The ST60 will likely stay put until it dies. I have a even greater respect for plasma TV technology now. OLED is certainly great but better...... no.

What - you actually struggle to see them? My living room is south facing and even in bright daylight I only have the OLED light and brightness around 50%.

I sit a little bit closer than you (13 feet) and found 65” was just too small, so I upgraded to 77” and in all honesty I’d go 85 if I could.
 
What - you actually struggle to see them? My living room is south facing and even in bright daylight I only have the OLED light and brightness around 50%.

I sit a little bit closer than you (13 feet) and found 65” was just too small, so I upgraded to 77” and in all honesty I’d go 85 if I could.

I replaced a 10-year old 50in Samsung plasma with a 65in LG CX on Black Friday. Like you, my TV is also located in a bright living room - we have an extremely large window, albeit we can control the light with blinds.

The plasma was almost unwatchable in the daytime by the time I replaced it - the phosphors on a plasma screen do degrade over time, but even brand new plasma TVs could only achieve a maximum of 35 nits full-field white and a peak 10% window of something like 130 nits (Vincent Teoh measured a 2013 Panasonic in one of his videos). That was adequate for 1080p SDR in a dark room but very poor in any other viewing environment. It was a large part of the reason - along with excessive power consumption, weight and inability to reach 4k - why plasma technology was finally abandoned.

Of course, OLED doesn't shine either (literally) with SDR or in a bright room, but even with a standard HD picture it outputs significantly more light than a plasma. If I recall, Rtings measured the CX at over 320 nits real scene peak in SDR.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom