Which to buy? LCD, RPTV, or Plasma?

[luis]

Hey everyone, first post here, although I've been reading these forums heavily for the past few weeks. I'm looking to upgrade my outdated 32" Sony Trinitron CRT.

The main reasons I'm looking to upgrade are to experience the next generation of videogames at 720p, and for DVD viewing (I have well over 150 movies!).

I've gone to FS, BB, Visions, The Brick, and on and on. I've also read a lot about HDTV online, with CNET being a big help. I was pretty convinced that I wanted to wait for the new Sony KDF-E42a10, or possibly the 50-inch. The other day, I went to look at the 42" a10 at the Sony Store in Oakridge. I wasn't very impressed. It probably wasn't the best feed, but I noticed artifacting and color bleeding. I also wasn't very impressed with the viewing angle. I haven't given up on these sets yet, I'm going to analyze them when they see wide release.

Yesterday though, I went to look at some Plasma sets at Future Shop. I was very impressed by the picture quality. I did more research on Plasmas, and I realized that the sets I'm interested in have resolutions of 1024x768. I've read that this isn't true HD. Here's a rundown of the sets I'm looking at:

Samsung 42" HPR4272 - http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...71&catid=11289
Panasonic 42" TH42PX500 - http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...44&catid=11289
Hitachi 42" 42HDF52 - http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...11&catid=11289

Now, these sets claim to support 720p, but will I be losing some resolution with games and DVD, even if I have a 720p DVD player? I'm pretty sure the Sony KDF series fully supports all the resolution of 720p. Will games and movies look better on these sets?

If anyone has any thoughts or recommendations on the sets I've listed above, I'd appreciate it. The main reasons I'm leaning toward Plasmas more now are the longer lamp life, the supposed deeper blacks, better viewing angles, and thin cabinet. The thought of losing resolution kind of worries me though. Are plasmas really good for gaming? Do they have artifacting issues like I've seen in LCD RP and DLP?

I'm just really confused right now and could use some opinions. I hope to update this thread with progress right up to my first purchase of an HDTV.

[PokerChip]

I own a plasma and I love it, but I'm not sure I would recommend one to a hardcore gamer. Burn-in is not an issue for most uses any longer when it comes to plasma, but gaming might be one of the last ones. I'm sure others will comment on this.

As far as the rest of the points you bring up, I would agree with most of them, especially the one about plasma looking better than RPTV. I think it boils down to a matter of personal preference or whatever pleases the eye, but like you, I was not impressed with other technologies as much as as I was with plasma.

I know 1024 X 768 is not considered "full HD", but I would love to have someone do a double blind test and look at my set 6 feet away and tell me it's not HD. The way my TV handles colour and viewing angles more than makes up for the "lost resolution" if you compare it to an RPTV.

Welcome to the forums!

[functor]

I have to admit, I am debating this as well...

I thought I was certain to get the Sony KDFE50A10 RPLCD. I've been reading nothing but awesome reviews about it. I went up to a local store to checkout last years model as the A10's aren't in yet. My eye was immediately drawn to the only plasma they had (was a Samsung, don't remember the model). I forced myself to checkout the 50" Sony RPLCD, and yeah it looked better than all the other RP TVs, maybe the same as JVC's HDILA model. But the plasma looked awesome.

With the RPTV's the viewing angles bothered me a lot. Sure if you sit where you are supposed to sit, then everything looks good. But the plasma, there was NO degradation in picture quality even at sharp angles. Then there was the colour. On the Sony, the colours looked better than the other RPTVs but the plasma again was just so much more crisp and clean.

I think I've made up my mind to wait for 50" plasma's to drop in price (maybe a year or 2) because of the following:

- $3,500 is a lot of money regardless of how you look at it. If I'm going to be buying a TV for that amount, then I likely wont be buying another for at least a decade. I'd hate to buy the 50" RPLCD and then find out 1 year later that I could have got a much better picture for the same money. Then I'm stuck with the old model still making payments on the bloody thing and not enjoying the picture.

- Right now it's impossible to get a clear answer from the networks just how much HD hockey will be broadcast. The main reason I'm buying is to watch HD hockey. Again, I'll be spending a lot of money, and if there turns out to be only a handful of games in HD this year, I won't be too happy.

- Longevity - Plasmas are rated for 60,000 hours now, where are RPTVs need a bulb replaced after a few years at $300 approximately. That means I have to continue sinking money into a TV I know doesn't look as good as others well after I purchased it.

This is a really hard decision to make as I was really really excited to get an HDTV in the coming weeks I guess I'll start keeping my eyes pealed for plasma sales.

[hoodlum]

Functor,

The price for Panasonic's 50" Plasma TV has already dropped below $3K in the the US. I would expect to see $3500 for a name brand plasma in Canada sometime next year.

[johnp'in'bc]

Panasonic's 42" HD Plasma (TH42PX50) is shown at $3985 in A & B Sounds latest flyer -- apparently, there's been a recent price drop (of $500). Just wish that was the current price for the bigger model!!

[hoodlum]

Originally Posted by johnp'in'bc

Panasonic's 42" HD Plasma (TH42PX50) is shown at $3985 in A & B Sounds latest flyer -- apparently, there's been a recent price drop (of $500). Just wish that was the current price for the bigger model!!

The Brick has it for $3,599 on their web site. You can probably still get it for less.

[johnp'in'bc]

Heh, nice to see some competition and price drops!! When I checked that site not very long ago the price on this model was still well-over $4000.

[mldigital]

I just went to FS today, planning the check out the RPLCD. But then saw the latest Samsung plasma. I am VERY impressed with the picture quality of this latest set.

For RPLCD, the bigger the screen size, the more noticeable it is of the slightly dark edges when you are sitting at an angle to the TV. I know I will not be happy to see the slightly dark edges on an expensive TV. Furthermore, because of the computer's location and other reasons, I know I won't be sitting at the "optimal" spot most of the time.

I noticed the heat generated by the plasma screen. Apparently, this has improved a lot since generation one. But still I can feel the heat on the screen and worried a little about longevity of the set.

I am leaning towards plasma but waiting the the price to below $3000 for the latest generation of plasma technology.

[luis]

Originally Posted by pcouture

I know 1024 X 768 is not considered "full HD", but I would love to have someone do a double blind test and look at my set 6 feet away and tell me it's not HD. The way my TV handles colour and viewing angles more than makes up for the "lost resolution" if you compare it to an RPTV.

By lost resolution, does this result in a blurrier image, do you see less of an image in comparison to a 1280x1024 or 1366x768 sets? I'm still a little confused by that.

Originally Posted by functor

Plasmas are rated for 60,000 hours now, where are RPTVs need a bulb replaced after a few years at $300 approximately. That means I have to continue sinking money into a TV I know doesn't look as good as others well after I purchased it.

Yeah, that's another reason I'm having second thoughts about RP LCD. Buying a bulb ever year for $300 will add up. The burn-in issues are worrying me though. I've read some people stating that they've played games for years on their plasma sets without any problems. Could the burn-in be exaggerated? I know some sets are including screensavers or "pixel" savers to help avoid burn-in.

I'm also wondering if most plasmas are including velocity scan modulation, I believe it's called. It makes onscreen images very sharp. I'd prefer a Plasma that has this as an option, and doesn't force it upon the user. I generally prefer a softer, more natural look, especially when playing videogames.

Panasonic apparently has a good reputation with Plasma, and Samsung is also very respected. What about Hitachi? The 42" Samsung set I looked at had a listed contrast ratio of 10000:1, is this really that important? Other sets on display where nowhere near this number.

Anyway, thanks for the input and the welcome, they're appreciated!

[nathan]

Originally Posted by luis

Yeah, that's another reason I'm having second thoughts about RP LCD. Buying a bulb ever year for $300 will add up.

If you're buying a bulb every year, there's something seriously wrong with your set (or if you're watching that much TV, there's something seriously wrong with you! ;-)). (the royal 'you', not YOU you) I expect my bulb will last 2-3 years with my viewing habits...(I'll start having pcbanking transfer $0.50 cents into my light-bulb bank account on a daily basis!

I think all of the various technologies have their ups and downs, for really large TV, I personally think DLP (RP or FP) is the way to go. A 60" plasma is just waaaay too expensive, whereas my 62" was a relatively cheap $3400. At the end of the 5 year warranty maybe I will have bought 2 bulbs, so perhaps in total I will have paid $4200 on the TV, but that's $4200 for a worry-free TV I know will look as great then as it does now. Given everything I use it for, DVD's, HDTV, Games, HTPC usage, it was definately worth it for me.

For smaller screens, while plasmas do look very, very pretty, I still think for their size they're a tad on the expensive side, but that will change with time, or it'll be replaced with a better technology (SED?).

[luis]

Originally Posted by nathan

If you're buying a bulb every year, there's something seriously wrong with your set (or if you're watching that much TV, there's something seriously wrong with you! ;-)). (the royal 'you', not YOU you) I expect my bulb will last 2-3 years with my viewing habits...(I'll start having pcbanking transfer $0.50 cents into my light-bulb bank account on a daily basis!

Yeah, sorry, that was more of a typing error on my part. Every few years, not every year! That makes more sense. I still think this is an expense I wouldn't look forward to, though.

I haven't mentioned DLP at all, because after looking at many demo sets, I could easily notice the rainbow pixel effect on the screen, if that's the correct way of putting it. Even from far away, I could notice it. Moving my head even slightly, I could notice the pixels "dancing" around, for lack of a better term. Nice, deep blacks and picture, though. I think the pixel effect would bother me, especially because I would be doing a lot of gaming on my HDTV, and I'm picky!

[nathan]

Originally Posted by luis

I haven't mentioned DLP at all, because after looking at many demo sets, I could easily notice the rainbow pixel effect on the screen, if that's the correct way of putting it.

Ahh...that's crappy. I used to see it on the first DLP sets out there, and I even thought I saw it on my TV in the beginning, but now I don't see it at all. But if you see them, then it's completely understandable that you wouldn't want to go in that direction, don't blame you at all.

I was pretty torn in the beginning of whether to go LCD or DLP, my friend has a Sony LCD set, and I still think it looks phenominal...of course, I think mine looks better, but that's my opinion.

[rob1]

Speaking of rear Projection TV,

I purchased a Big Screen Hitachi (42") SD TV back in '91. There was no such thing as HD or WideScrens back then. Anyway, since then the TV has been moved into 3 differnet homes and is used as my TV in the basement.

I have never changed the bulb(s)? since I've owned it. It still has a good picture and I use it for Hockey on Saturday nights (except for last year ).

If all Hitachi's are made this way I would buy another....and I will be in the market for a Flat Screen come this Xmas time - for installtion in our Living Room on the wall.

Cheers

[nathan]

Originally Posted by rob1

I have never changed the bulb(s)? since I've owned it.

Yours is likely a CRT RPTV, so yours wouldn't need 'bulb' replacement as us DLP/LCD people do. If I understand correctly, and I might not, your TV uses the same type of technology as tube TV's do, so you would have to replace them about as often as you would a tube on a regular TV. (or perhaps 3 times as much if yours has 3 CRT's?

Again, I don't know the specifics of how your TV works, but you don't have a single high-output bulb in yours the same way ours does.

[D-Money]

Feel the pain of your indecision. I myself had been waiting patiently for Sony's 42A10 to hit Canada, and was 99% sure it was the TV for me - particularly given the price (MSRP of $2599). But then just last week I discovered Panasonic's "Commercial" (rather than consumer) line of plasmas (42PHD8UK). Basically, it's simply a monitor, with no built-in tuner or speakers, and sells for considerably less than the consumer models. They also offer the possibility of adding additional connectivity boards (eg - you can throw in up to 2 HDMI inputs simply by adding plug-in boards available from Panasonic). Since I'll need Shaw's cable box anyway, and run audio through my receiver, this model is looking like it might totally fit the bill for me.
It's still around $800 more than the Sony at the moment (by the time you add the optional stand and HDMI board), but when I consider the fact that I would likely need to replace the bulb in the Sony at least once and probably twice over the next 6 years, it starts to make a lot of sense. I'm so confused.