Plasma,LCD or what.

[drron]

The time has come to upgrade our TV.I know this is not travel related though I will be watching a few travel shows .I know there are some very knowledgeable technical people here on AFF so I thought I would try here for advice.
What sort of TV is the best?We are interested in the Tivo,T-box,Sony addon to record TV shows-any experiences,pitfalls?
Do want a large screen-mrsdrron looking at 50 inch.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[straitman]

The time has come to upgrade our TV.I know this is not travel related though I will be watching a few travel shows .I know there are some very knowledgeable technical people here on AFF so I thought I would try here for advice.
What sort of TV is the best?We are interested in the Tivo,T-box,Sony addon to record TV shows-any experiences,pitfalls?
Do want a large screen-mrsdrron looking at 50 inch.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Last year when I was looking the local 'Hardly Normal' store was handing out a booklet that compared all the pros and cons of the different set and options.

We did it the dear way though and ended up buying a house that already had a 50in Plasma installed :!: :shock:

 

[AviationNZ]

The time has come to upgrade our TV.I know this is not travel related though I will be watching a few travel shows .I know there are some very knowledgeable technical people here on AFF so I thought I would try here for advice.
What sort of TV is the best?We are interested in the Tivo,T-box,Sony addon to record TV shows-any experiences,pitfalls?
Do want a large screen-mrsdrron looking at 50 inch.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

The most basic difference is to do with lighting. LCD's are generally better in a more well lit room, whilst if it is a dark room, then Plasma's show better colours.

 

[serfty]

Methinks that Plasmas* are to go the way those Betamax VCR's did against VHS.

These CNET articles may assist:

• Plasma vs. LCD: Which is right for you? - TVs
• Can Panasonic save plasma?
• Teaching plasma to follow LCD's lead

* (while apparently a better product - especially for displays over 120cm)

 

[IainF]

I have had 3 plasmas so far and now have both a plasma and an LCD.
I like the plasma in the living room for its colour and it ability to handle motion. I use the LCD in the bedroom for news and morning tv.

One of my best ever tech buys has been an Apple TV.
If one were to perhaps apply a simple hack, one may be able to watch any movie that may or may not have been downloaded and moved wirelessly to the apple TV box.....
You can't record tv with it, however we have not rented a DVD since we got it.
There is a (legal) way to watch movies by buying/renting from iTunes.

My overall tip would be to look at a 50" Pioneer Kuro.
Great picture and Pioneer do all the install work.
Just make sure you have a comfy lounge.... you may be spending time in it.
Cheers
IainF

 

[Dee Thom]

We bought a 50inch LCD Samsung last year prior to the Olympics, it was state of the art at the time, digitaly programed and 1080 compatable, and is still great viewing. There was a deal going that you also received a free 22inch LCD with purchase.
Noticed on Sat that WOW, at MCY and JB's at Kawana had this same deal on now, nodoubt the actual 50inch set would be very much upgraded since our purchase last year.
Good hunting......

Cheers Dee

 

[NM]

Do want a large screen-mrsdrron looking at 50 inch.

Sized for the visually impaired

In the past, Plasma has problems with "burn in" and the brightness deteriorating with age. Most of those problems are less evident on current models - not that there are many manufacturers of Plasma TVs today.

LCD used to have problems with high speed motion. Again, this is much less evident in current model technology.

There are now some interesting options available using different forms of LED. Samsung make a LED Back-lit LCD TV that is supposed to be very good in all light conditions.

When I made my past TV purchase, I was not happy with the expected life of the plasma models available then (is that why IanF has has three Plasmas?) or the speed of the LCD models available. So I bought a high def large format CRT. There were only two available on the market then as Plasma and LCD had taken over the demand. But as I inteded to keep it for many years it was the technology I was comfortable with at the time. But if buying today I would be seriously considering LED back-lit LCD technology.

I have a friend who has eight 52" Pioneer Plasmas and swears by them for that size requirement. But he also has four Barco CLM HD8 (8000 lumin) and two DML1200 moving head projectors (and several other smaller projectors), so not really your regular home theatre setup . He is the one who pointed me at the LED back-lit LCD technology when I enquired about a home TV recently.

 

[Chimpy]

I think that oled screens could be the next advancement but I tmagine that it will take a while before a 50 inch screen becomes available.

 

[moa999]

I have a friend who has eight 52" Pioneer Plasmas and swears by them for that size requirement. But he also has four Barco CLM HD8 (8000 lumin) and two DML1200 moving head projectors (and several other smaller projectors), so not really your regular home theatre setup .

I am hoping that this is a commercial (eg pub) setup and not for home!

 

[samh004]

I believe Laser is the new display format, but they’re very expensive and not widely available.

If I was going to get a TV I’d buy an LCD as I’ve not had many good experiences with Plasma. Probably just me though.

If it’s a home theatre (and so dark), I’d choose a projector, as it’ll offer a much bigger screen.

 

[oz_mark]

I recently went down the LCD path, which is fine for what I want to do with a TV. After looking at the 100 Hz and 200Hz models side by side, I couldn't tell the difference in picture, so plumped for the cheaper 100 Hz model (I could certainly see judder in the 50Hz models, which would have driven me to distraction)

Pioneer may have made the best Plasma TV's but I believe they have withdrawn from the selling them in Australia (or are in the process of doing so).

 

[moa999]

Pioneer may have made the best Plasma TV's but I believe they have withdrawn from the selling them in Australia (or are in the process of doing so).

Pioneer have withdrawn from making TVs globally - due to lack of scale.
Really unfortunate given the Kuro was without doubt the best plasma around - super black blacks.

(Proud owner of a Kuro 508)


I think also the new LCDs being launched are much thinner and lighter than plasmas which would probably tip the balance for me if I was looking to replace.

 

[NM]

I am hoping that this is a commercial (eg pub) setup and not for home!

Much of the time its all in his garage. He does large corporate functions like conferences, product launches etc. But he does use one the Plasmas for his home TV when its not out on a job.

 

[NM]

I think also the new LCDs being launched are much thinner and lighter than plasmas which would probably tip the balance for me if I was looking to replace.

And lower power consumption.

 

[Ikara]

drron - most of the major manufacturers have a comparison of plasma Vs LCD on their web-sites. Sure it may be a little slanted towards their products but aas you're not doing a manufacturer comparison rather a technology comparison it should be OK. There are also a number of techo sites that do comparisons as well. Just Google "plasma Vs LCD" and have fun.

JB

 

[IainF]

NM "is that why IanF has has three Plasmas?"

Nah, The first one I got was a 50" pioneer in 2003.. when it cost about $14,000.
Yep $14,000.
I sold it with the house about 2 years later.
I then bought one for the next house.... and left it there when I sold that house.

My current one is a 42" Pioneer kuro and it does the trick for me.
Cost was 25% of the first one.

I also bought a Samsung 32" lcd for the bedroom and it is hung on the wall.

My wife and I are massive tech heads and we research most of this stuff pretty well prior to purchase.

Our DVD player/recorder rarely gets used these days.

We are also looking at getting a simple touchscreen computer for the kitchen wall so we can use the net easily... emails, skype etc without having to boot up a laptop or have a keyboard.
On top of all of this we have 2 x iMacs, 2 x Macbook pro laptops, 4 x iPhones, 1 x Apple Tv and approx 6 ipods.
Overkill ?
Probably, compared to most, but hey, everyone has a vice and I don't drink/gamble/smoke etc etc ( I do, however, travel...but this aint the place for that )

 

[medhead]

As already said Plasma is apparently almost as dead as betamax. (note pioneer withdrawing from the market)

I'd say LCD if price is important.

Otherwise the new technology is LED or OLED (o=organic)

OLEDs are the cough, but cost and are also limited in size, because, iirc, of a need to grow a single crystal.

I use a mac mini because I want to record an analog signal and put some shows onto DVD, iphone or make them available electronically to my brother. Using EyeTV 250 tuner that I picked up in Germany, because of significant price advantage. I'm very happy with that.

If you don't need to do those things then I'd suggest Topfield with big HDD and 2 HD tuners. But this way it is more difficult, if not impossible to export recorded showsTivo might be OK as well.

have you looked at DTV Forum Australia - Australia's Leading Digital TV and AV Forum (Powered by Invision Power Board)

 

[2muchplastic]

I'll echo the "Plasma as an aging technology" point.

I had LCD TVs of various sizes up until the removers dropped our last one - a Philips 42".
The insurance coughed up and I bought a Samsung 50" plasma to replace it, and as soon as it dies (or I can finally convince SWMBO that a 50" TV is desirable in the bedroom/toilet/left in the middle of the lawn) I shall be moving back to LCD.

 

[yo yo ma]

Yesterday, I bought an AWA 47" LCD at Big W for $1296 - It has a 3 year warranty and is found on the front page of this week's catalogue (ends tomorrow). Whatever you get, you'll love it! Makes a huge difference.

 

[drron]

Thanks guys I knew i would get practical info here.I have looked up a few sites but most use techno talk which is as meaningful to me as medical speak to the non medicos out there.
Thanks Dee Thom.I pass kawana everyday this week(working :shock.And Yoyoma-Big W sounds good-that would be quite a few QF miles(plus AA miles using my DC ).
So it does look like an LED LCD-we had picked out the Samsung as one to consider-getting a second for the bedroom is also a good deal.