LCD or Plasma ?

K

Kano

Guest
Hello

After many years of owning a CRT I have taken the decision to jump to LCD or Plasma.

However, after reading many reviews I am still not sure what to go for or what model in the £2000 region.

So far i am interested in either the LCD SamsungLW32A23W or the Plasma Hitachi 32PD5200.

Your thoughts on these models or any in the price region would be appreciated.

Thank you for your time
 
Well LCD's have both response time problems and viewing angle problems. Plasma has neither of these, but they also have their own downers that LCD's dont. Burnt in images is one example!
 
I've made the same decision myself and shall definetly be going the plasma route. My prefered buy is the Hitachi 32PD5200 which is a brand new model and the new version of the multi award winning 32PD3000 (do a search on these forums). The 32PD5200 is available for under 2k from Richer Sounds and cheaper from websites like Empire Direct.

Some people love the Hitachi's, some people don't!
 
Originally posted by GarethH
Well LCD's have both response time problems and viewing angle problems.

Actually, few modern LCD TVs have these problems, at least to any significant extent for TV (including DVD etc) use.

LCDs do tend to have greyer blacks than Plasmas.

The two technologies have a very different "look" and everyone has a strong opinion about which they prefer. For the most part these are subjective views.

The only thing you can do is demo and make up your own mind.

Bear in mind though, that for the most part, display models in shops are displaying a poor quality aerial signal distributed by an ageing and malfunctioning distribution amp and connected with frayed and loose cables, by imbeciles. Try to get someone to show you a DVD or a digital STB playing via RGB if you can.
 
go and look, and make your own subjective decision. Thats what most people on here will offer you anyway :)

I went LCD, and am happy with my choice. It has better viewing angles than my old CRT, as it has a flat screen - I can genuinely see the image clearly and brightly until I'm level with the back of it - at which point the image is 1" wide, so no point watching anyway.

Blacks are a little grey, but my old CRT was like that anyway.

Detail is fantastic though. I think thats where hires LCD panels score over plasma - that and fear of screen burn (whether founded or not)
 
As Nigel says, they have a very different look - and that's really the key: you have to make up your mind which you prefer. Once you've done that, the best thing is to do some searches on here regarding the different models, and then go and demo again. Good hunting!
 
The problem is that it is very difficult to find the two models in the same store so you can make a direct comparison.

And yes, the big stores generally have poor quality inputs into the screens. Dont they understand that this does not help them sell the products.

This is proving to me more difficult than i thought. Maybe by the time I have made a decision they will be retailling at £1,000 :)

Cheers.
 
look around there are now quality independants with ranges of around 7 or 8 plasma and at least 20 lcd screens and a decent one will let you have the screen re-wired to a better standard anyway even if the feed usually used is bad!
Just ask for a "proper" demo!
 
If I had to some up the difference between the two technologies I'd say that LCD's have a video look to them and plasmas have a more film look to them, I don't know if that makes sense or not but its the best way I can describe it in as few words as possible. In the end its as has already been said go and compare yourself and see which one floats your boat.

I prefer the more film like appearance of plasmas to LCDs, but then thats LCDs in general in comparison to a panasonic plasma which is well known for its black level and this maybe the thing which makes the difference, but all the LCDs I've seen (and these have only been in selfridges or harvey nichols) seem a bit artificial looking, maybe its down to the current level of processing in the screens I've seen rather than the technology itself, I dont know.
 
Another useful bit of advice when viewing demos is to watch from a realistic distance. Both of these technologies will show certain (different) artefacts if you get your nose right up to the screen. But in real life, you won't be watching it like that, and are much less likely to see these artefacts at a normal distance.
 
Originally posted by nigel
Another useful bit of advice when viewing demos is to watch from a realistic distance. Both of these technologies will show certain (different) artefacts if you get your nose right up to the screen. But in real life, you won't be watching it like that, and are much less likely to see these artefacts at a normal distance.





When I've demoed plasmas and LCDs in the past, you wouldn't belive the amount of people who l;ook from one foot away and moan about the poor picture quality!

:rolleyes:
 
When I get my Plasma i'll be sitting about 8ft back (i.e. eye's to plasma screen).....do you think thats okay?
 
I sit 8.5ft from a 50" Panasonic and have no problems with the size or any artifacts even from NTL/Tivo and with DVD I could probably sit around 5ft away and still have great picture quality..
The better the source the less distance you'll need between you and the screen..
 
To clarify the point I was making....

Demo the TVs from roughly the same distance as you expect to be viewing from one you've got it home.
 
Thanks for the advice. I will be travelling to as many stores as I can over the next couple of weeks.

At the moment I seem to be leaning more towards buying a plasma screen.

Out of interest Hitachi has a 37" version, the 37PD5200 but I am unable to find any stores selling them. 42" screen is a bit too big for my living room but 37" will be just right. Any ideas where i amy find this for sale?

Thanks again.
 
I haven't heard anything about the 37" Hitachi but Richer Sounds could order in any plasma you want, as could Nextix I presume. You should note however that a 32" Plasma has roughly the same size screen as a 34" CRT, as I understand it.
 
I have made my mind up and I am going for the Hitachi 32pd5200. Hopefully picking up on Saturday.

I have found this stand; Hitachi PST327. but it states it is for the 32pd3000.

As they are both similar sizes can the 32pd5200 be fitted to the stand ?

or does anyone have any alternatives stands to recommend.

Thanks for the help.
 

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