HD - DLP TV's or Plasma?

gkinghrn

Established Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Messages
179
Reaction score
15
Points
71
Just about to dive into the world of HD TV I mistakenly thought only Plasma tachnology would do this...then I spotted An LG and a Sony DLP TV set next to their equivalent Plasma buddies.. the DLP's p[icture looked top my untrained eye every bit as sharp as the Plasma one's..I'd heard the blacks etc weren't as sharp on the DLP's but not from what I saw...similarly standing at the side I was way to the side before the DLP one was unviewable..but I fot wider than I would have thought... I also saw what looked like a lot of reflection in the Plasma TV compared tto the DLP ( virtually none). Now I know the DLP costs are about half ( or less) of the Plasma one's and this makes me wonder about their true value...

I also understand if a DLP bulb goes , yes it costs to replace it but it can be replaced whereas with Plasma once your 'pixels' go thats it...chuck it in the bin 'cos you can't re-inject the gases to the TV..

I am seriously now tempted to go for the biggest dlp tv (no I don't want a projector!) rather than a more mediocre 42" plasma...

Is this a false economy though or should I go buy the smaller Plasma ( that I can afford) - and whats my big downside with DLP TV? I honestly can't see one other than I can't hang it on the wall!!:)

Thoughts guys?
 
Technically not the right forum but here goes.

I own a 46" samsung DLP I can safely say the PQ is excellent on standard and high def streams from my 360 are gobsmacking right down to every pock mark on poor old Laurence Fishburne's face in the Matrix ;)

However after convincing all my friends they want HDTV's for their 360 the difference in quality is shocking 2 have cheap LG plasma's and one has a 1.8k sony plasma, all 42" jobs and the Sony is about upto req with my DLP but the LG's are just terrible compared to it.

All being said tho It's as much down the manufacturer's design at the end of the day. An Average DLP bulb will cost you around £150-£200 but as high as £350 you'll get around 8-10k hours its reckoned per bulb and the TV will cost about £500 less or more than equivalent Plasma unless ya get a good deal. A DLP bulb will dim over time and then die in almost the same way a Plasma will dim and die however the plasma would more likely last until you replace it.

So your call ;)

p.s another consideration is placement, DLP's are not wall mountable as you say but need a good solid stand (they are tall and thin, easily knocked) and ventilation as the hotter the bulb runs the shorter the life.
 
Vote goes for DLP. :D
 
Main drawbacks of DLP: viewing angles, anything off-axis the picture goes all dark. This is fine if there are 1 or 2 of you and you are good friends. Not so good with a crowd of mates for the big game, or 4 sweaty x-box 360 players. With plasma, it's true that dead pixels are a menace, but not a major one. You'd have to lose 6 or so close together to suffer much picture loss, though it might be annoying to you personally knowing your display is no longer 'perfect' if you've got a dead one. The bulb on your DLP is definitely going to need replacing, and they are expensive. Go have a trawl of the plasma forum, see what people are buying, how much, and where from if I were you.

Ha, simultaneous advice there. You want to choose your plasma carefully, I fully understand about seeing mate's duff choices, embarrassing isn't it? How do you think it is for me at mates houses, when they've been to Currys, thinking I'm too expensive and highbrow for them. I can't tell them it's crap, can I?
 
MAW said:
Main drawbacks of DLP: viewing angles, anything off-axis the picture goes all dark.
Not a real problem on modern DLP TVs, which have viewing angles of over 130 degrees.

MAW said:
The bulb on your DLP is definitely going to need replacing, and they are expensive
But since DLP TVs are a lot cheaper than plasmas in the first place, and use a lot less electricity, you need to consider the total cost over x years before deciding based on cost.

My preference is for DLP if you really don't need a super-thin TV. If you want to wall-mount, or need a super-thin TV, then go for plasma but expect to pay double the price.
 
Fair points, though off axis is still a 'problem' compared to plasma. Plasma really has the 'cool factor' in it's favour, mostly. They are not a high end video display, a lifestyle product is more like it. Very popular with the ladies you know.
 
I take the point about off Axis MAW yeh I only really get a problem if im higher or lower but at the sides doesnt seem to have much of an effect, but anything that makes it look worse makes my blood boil ;), hence i just listen to MTV dance and not watch it o_O

Personally I'd never buy a plasma after seeing what DLP can do and my next purchase will be an sony SxRD set i reckon, although god i was sorely tempted to sell my 46" samsung and buy the 67" version to the point of driving 100miles just to get a demo of it at a friends place and thumbing my credit card precariously rofl.;)
 
both dlp and plasma are great tv but i find dlp veiwing angle's are somthin i can not live with also after all my research i thought the plasma has the edge over a dlp in terms of PQ.

am i wrong?
 
Seek said:
both dlp and plasma are great tv but i find dlp veiwing angle's are somthin i can not live with also after all my research i thought the plasma has the edge over a dlp in terms of PQ.

am i wrong?

Nope you're right (depending on the manufacturers in both cases).
For PQ alone (SD or HD) you'll be pushed to beat the current plasmas of Pams, Pios & Fujs.
 
I've had both the Samsung 46" DLP and the Panasonic 42PV500 plasma in the last 12 months and are much happier with the Panasonic.

I really wanted the Samsung to be the answer, purely on cost, but I had a few problems and eventually replaced with the Panny.

The plasma is more expensive but it just feels more substantial and, as yet, I am more than happy with the picture quality.
 
gkinghrn said:
Just about to dive into the world of HD TV I mistakenly thought only Plasma tachnology would do this...then I spotted An LG and a Sony DLP TV set next to their equivalent Plasma buddies.. the DLP's p[icture looked top my untrained eye every bit as sharp as the Plasma one's..I'd heard the blacks etc weren't as sharp on the DLP's but not from what I saw...similarly standing at the side I was way to the side before the DLP one was unviewable..but I fot wider than I would have thought... I also saw what looked like a lot of reflection in the Plasma TV compared tto the DLP ( virtually none). Now I know the DLP costs are about half ( or less) of the Plasma one's and this makes me wonder about their true value...

I also understand if a DLP bulb goes , yes it costs to replace it but it can be replaced whereas with Plasma once your 'pixels' go thats it...chuck it in the bin 'cos you can't re-inject the gases to the TV..

I am seriously now tempted to go for the biggest dlp tv (no I don't want a projector!) rather than a more mediocre 42" plasma...

Is this a false economy though or should I go buy the smaller Plasma ( that I can afford) - and whats my big downside with DLP TV? I honestly can't see one other than I can't hang it on the wall!!:)

Thoughts guys?

Alot of these for/against arguements are spot on and offer good advice. But first you need to think about what sources you're going to be using with the chosen set. When testing out various TV's, I narrowed it down to DLP and Plasma (LCD for me was the worst, terrible tearing/smearing etc.)... I demo'ed a few plasmas (can't for the life of me remember specific models though) and all gave great pics on SD material, which is where I'd say plasmas have the edge over DLP's, particulary in SKY/Freeview feeds. The plasmas tend to give a softer image, and it does a good job of masking the flaws inherent with digital TV broadcasts. Whereas DLP tends to show them for what they are.... crappy bitrate broadcasts! :D
DVD's again were slightly better on plasmas, but this soon begins to even out when you hook up a good HDMI upscaling DVD Player, both sets give great results with those. Which brings me closer to the real test, for me anyway, which is Hi Def stuff. Now this is where DLP's can really shine.... when I saw the Sagem set running Hi Def feeds, I was completely blown away! And no Plasma around it could come close to beating it... a good DLP set fed with a decent source will give quite a few Plasmas a run for the money in my opinion. Once you decide what you're going to be using the set for, and factoring in a certain amount of future proofing (ie 2 HDMI inputs etc), then you can start narrowing it down and then comparing size/pic quality/price factors.

These were all conclusions I drew from my own testing by the way, so please don't all jump on me if I've offended anyones chosen technology! :D
 
I was a very happy bunny when I read in the Official XBOX 360 magazine that the best tvs to view the the 360 in all its glory is a DLP tv yay did I jump for joy with my very swollen head:clap: Go for the DLP but dont do what I did ummmd and ahhhhd on 46" or 50" go for the biggest one your wallet can handle, I wish I went bigger.
 
DLP:thumbsup: , but check the rainbow effect first:lesson: .

I had the Sagem 45" for about two weeks (and I miss it still) but I had to return it as I proved sensitive to the rainbows.

A guy in a pin-stripped suit can on the screen and I nearly went blind:D
 

The latest video from AVForums

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