Plasma power consumtion and future life vs LCD

[dvran]

Hello,

I'm in the market of buying either a plasma or LCD. Other than the basic downfalls of plasmas such as weight and heat produced, what are some other major differences?

Most new plasmas operate at 600hz, versus new LCDs at 120z, which I was told that the human eye can barely notice a difference between 120hz and 240hz. So I'm not sure what the significance of having 600hz would be. I also know the colors and blacks are more vibrant with plasmas and stand out more.

I remember hearing they might phase out plasmas, and also how is the power consumption is greater versus LCD.

Any inputs would help.

~Dan

[Conradicles]

Plasma's use a tad bit more power in general, but that is not always the case. They do get much warmer than a typical LCD.

On my friends New $2800.00 Sammy LCD, 120 HZ or 240 HZ (not sure which one) mode looks horrible to me. Very fake and video like. I wanted to tell hime turn that crap off but did not want to hurt his feelings.

The plasma picture quality blows away LCD and I don't care what anybody else is getting ready to say. I have owned about 8 HDTV's.

LED, the newer technology I can not speak of because I never owned one of those.

Hope that helps a little Dan.

[Conradicles]

One more thing, I would not worry about the future life of any of them. They will last a very, very long time. You will upgrade before their life run's out, trust me.

[tcrossma]

I do not consider my 42" Panasonic plasma heavy, nor does it seem to generate a lot of heat. Maybe it does in terms of comparing specs to an LCD, but it's not something that I've ever noticed.

I much prefer the picture of most plasma's to that of most LCD's.

[dvran]

It also seems as if the stores have all the plasmas on sale now like they are getting to phase them out with new technology. Such as, a new 50" Panny Plasma 600hz for $899 at Bestbuy, not bad.

[AudioGenics]

eventually we are subjected to the effects of technological obsolesence
and breakage (Mean time between failures (MTBF))

[cnh]

Hello,

I'm in the market of buying either a plasma or LCD. Other than the basic downfalls of plasmas such as weight and heat produced, what are some other major differences?

Most new plasmas operate at 600hz, versus new LCDs at 120z, which I was told that the human eye can barely notice a difference between 120hz and 240hz. So I'm not sure what the significance of having 600hz would be. I also know the colors and blacks are more vibrant with plasmas and stand out more.

I remember hearing they might phase out plasmas, and also how is the power consumption is greater versus LCD.

Any inputs would help.

~Dan

Sounds like you've done your research. In general, yes, plasmas use more wattage, may run a little hotter....and do NOT have motion blur...forget about the 600hz, plasmas haven't had blur since their inception.

And yes they still have deeper blacks and better contrast ratios...at this point longevity is no LONGER a difference between the two. So basically, it all depends on how much light you have in your room, and if you're into film, etc. More light, LCD. Less, Plasma--also plasma will give you a more 'filmic' image at this point. But LCD tech will catch up, eventually. See LED lighting for example?

Sounds like you know what you want to do though!

Good Luck..
cnh

[1fastz28]

i sell home theatre, and i almost always recommend plasma over lcd, they are usually cheaper than lcd's in the same size and picture quality will always be better, even the new LED LCD's are not impressive, sure they are thing (samsung 6000/8000) but their motion is horrendous, if you get a samsung 6/8 series plasma, you'll be very happy, or a panasonic v/g series

and if you can find a pioneer and afford one, they are the best.

[pablo_rodz]

I have a Pioneer Kuro, hands down the best Flat screen on the market... I got it from this guys, excellent service (no affiliation) check their website, they just had a Flat screen tv (LED & Plasma) shootout. They have the results on their website, and video of the shootout on youtube.
www.valueelectronics.com

[Fongolio]

New plasma screens have a half-life expectancy of 60,000 hours That is time that they will be at about half their new brightnes. That's 5 1/2 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year for 30 years aprox. A safe bet I think.

[Midnite Mick]

I used to always prefer plasmas but the last few times I have went to the store I am finding it hard to decipher the difference. Maybe, I am getting blinder with age.:(

Regards,
Mike

[SolidSqual]

120Hz LCDs are a joke. The effect is cool when you are just testing it out in Best Buy, but when you go home and watch a few movies (if you are like me) you'll get pissed when the effect destroys a very well choreographed scene and degrades it down to the appearance of a low-budget camcorder filming. I'm not saying the pictures bad, I'm jost saying the 120Hz effect robs movies of their cinematic feel. Plasma all the way.

[seeclear]

Dan, where do you live? Higher altitudes adversely affect Plasmas, making them use more energy, run hotter, and buzz. Probably 95% of the USA's population doesn't have to worry about this, but if you are in the Rockies, Google plasmas and altitude.

[Conradicles]

a new 50" Panny Plasma 600hz for $899 at Bestbuy, not bad.

That is a great deal. If you don't like it, just take it back.
I think you have a 30 day return policy with BB.

Ignore the 600HZ thing, that is marketing crap.
Plasma has no motion blur that the human eye can see.

[xj4094dg]

I heard Jimmy Kimmel talking about his new 103" plasma and how he had to have a 220 line installed to power it:eek:. Wow. I guess the cost of power consumption is not an issue for anyone installing one of these babies at home...must be nice.

[RandyBox]

Plasma=Awesome

[madmax]

120Hz LCDs are a joke. The effect is cool when you are just testing it out in Best Buy, but when you go home and watch a few movies (if you are like me) you'll get pissed when the effect destroys a very well choreographed scene and degrades it down to the appearance of a low-budget camcorder filming. I'm not saying the pictures bad, I'm jost saying the 120Hz effect robs movies of their cinematic feel. Plasma all the way.

I actually like this attribute.
madmax

[blueboxer]

I started off with two Samsung LCDs and was very pleased with them, that is until I added two plasmas to the home, now they are the only ones ever turned on. I wish I waited for some of the energy star qualified plasmas (power consumption is something I monitor with surge protectors and regulators that have an always on port for my DirecTV, but kills the power to everything else). However, I had one calibrated and to me, the picture looks better and stays cooler. Overall, the blacks and colors on the plasma are more pleasing to me.

[Rodeo0530]

I love my plasma. It's the new Panasonic low end plasma for this year. 50" and 720p for $868 plus tax at HHGregg in March. I have friends who have 1080p in sizes similar and both LCD and plasma and I think my TV is as good or better than all of theirs. I'm not at all a fan of the 120 hz thing. My g/f's dad has a new samsung LCD with that and we watched a movie the first night he had it and I had to ask him for his manual so I could turn it off because everything looked so cheezy. I bet it makes some sports stuff look pretty good though. All in all, I would highly recommend plasma to you.

[gdb]

I think that the LCDs have a very narrow viewing angle, and if you get too far off to either side, the display starts to look like it's coated with Vaseline !!
Based on the write-ups on the site linked below, I plan to buy a 50" Panasonic 720p plasma......just as soon as my wife will let me have my Visa card back !!!:)


http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/compare-reviews.php

[inspiredsports]

I researched for months before purchasing 50" and 58" Panasonic 1080p Viera's a year ago. Absolutely awesome pictures. They are heavy. They help heat the rooms.

[dvran]

Thanks for the help. I'll probably end up going with Plasma.

The picture quality and bang for the buck is way better than LCD right now.

[nguyendot]

120Hz LCDs are a joke. The effect is cool when you are just testing it out in Best Buy, but when you go home and watch a few movies (if you are like me) you'll get pissed when the effect destroys a very well choreographed scene and degrades it down to the appearance of a low-budget camcorder filming. I'm not saying the pictures bad, I'm jost saying the 120Hz effect robs movies of their cinematic feel. Plasma all the way.

That's often mistaken as 120Hz mode. It's not changing anything. You're talking about the "pure motion" or whatever each company calls it. Philips had this technology on their $20,000 42" plasma in 2000. This is nothing new. It's just predicting what pixels will change.

120hz is the refresh rate, which that alone cannot change the way the picture 'flows', just how smooth it is. The main advantage is that 120hz is a whole multiplier of 24p, which is used in just about all cinematography. This allows the tv to show the unprocessed (no 3:2 pull down needed) film as it was mastered. It just shows each frame 5 times without having to to 'create' a fake frame in between.

This allows for smoother action and truer to the film experience.

[goingganzo]

and if you want a great wall mount at a cheap price go to monoprice.com

look at the samsung new led lit lcd tv they are amazing weight alot less and sip the power like a fine conguac.

[Conradicles]

120hz is the refresh rate, which that alone cannot change the way the picture 'flows', just how smooth it is. The main advantage is that 120hz is a whole multiplier of 24p, which is used in just about all cinematography. This allows the tv to show the unprocessed (no 3:2 pull down needed) film as it was mastered. It just shows each frame 5 times without having to to 'create' a fake frame in between.

This allows for smoother action and truer to the film experience.

But it looks:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: HORRIBLE!!!

[Conradicles]

This allows for smoother action and truer to the film experience.

Bad juju...It is the opposite of true film experience.

[SivaNevets]

LCD is the way to go for brighter rooms & alternate monitor for computer applications
just bought a new 52' Toshiba regza 120hz
y 120hz to 60hz? because blue rays fixed 24 fps, do the math how 60hz monitor is gonna interplate 24 fps.

[nguyendot]

But it looks:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: HORRIBLE!!!

Only that "true motion" mode looks horrible. Actual 120hz is just the refresh rate the tv runs at. You can't change that or turn it on and off. That's like saying you can turn 60hz mode on and off on a normal tv. The refresh rate of digital panels is fixed.

This "mode" you all are talking about is mistaken as 120hz mode. It is not.

[Conradicles]

You can't change that or turn it on and off. That's like saying you can turn 60hz mode on and off on a normal tv. The refresh rate of digital panels is fixed.

You are quite wrong my friend. Not sure what TV you have, but my Pioneer can display in 60Hz or 72Hz. The refresh rate is not "fixed".

[messiah]

So you suggest to get a 120hz tv because it supports "24", and the picture is inferior? Plasmas support 24, and look WAY better.

[Fongolio]

Almost all new plasmas have what is called a 600 Hz sub-field processor which means they are displaying the pixels to the screen 600 times a second. However as most signals are 60 Hz it's displaying the 60 Hz signal 10x every second. The result is very fluid motion that doesn't look fake. The LCD 120 Hz TV's almost all have a form of judder control built in and labeled "true motion" or fluid motion" something like that. 120 Hz sets on their own look great and don't have fakey motion. But turn on the true motion or whatever judder control is implemented on a particular set and the motion becomes so fluid it almost looks like video which when watching film content can really annoy some people. I much prefer plasma sets over LCD because of much less motion blur and in my mind truer colour. Most critics agree. However LCD is catching up. The weird thing is plasma is cheaper than lcd and yet delivers a better picture. By the way my Samsung plasma displays many different refresh rates including 60, 72, and yes 24 but still has a 600Hz sub-field processor changing the pixels on the sreen 600 times a second. My .02 worth.

[Tony M]

I've had a 42" samsung for 2 1/2 yrs. now and still love it.
I'm planning on getting a new tv for that cramped out building and thought about the same topics that have been covered in this thread.

From what I just read...

I am going to go PLASMA....50" or 52" panasonic or samsung. 720 or 1080 I haven't decided that yet. I also agree the pics. and prices can't be beat for my budget.