First off, I am not interested in a “Mac v PC” type debate, just observations from Dopers who own a flat screen set. I am looking to buy one in the 42-50 inch range and am just getting into researching it.
Just a general idea of what you all think from your experiences would be cool. Stuff like viewing distance wrt screen size, ambient light conditions, types/amount of inputs, etc.
I am completely ignorant about this subject, so any input would help.
Thanks!
We bought this 32" HDTV LCD by Vizio around Thanksgiving for our bedroom. So far I have been very happy with it. It has a nice sharp picture, good sound and a good number of rear imputs. Plus it looks nice and the price was spiffy as well.
Vizio offers LCD screen sizes, according to the website, up to 52"
We also have a Panasonic 42" plasma (although it isn’t HDTV) in the living room. That one we have had for almost 3 years. I really like it, again it has a great picture, good sound, and lots of settings and tons of plugs on the back for components.
I really haven’t had issues with screen viewing due to ambient light issues, so far.
We looked at Samsung and LG Plasmas when we bought the Panasonic… but they were so freaking expensive…
A good place to find lots of reviews on televisions and other electronics is Cnet. You can sort by type, price, brands etc… good stuff.
Plasma TVs are dreadful power hogs and so really bad for the environment. LCDs only at my house!
I’ve got a 52" LCD at home. Picture quality is great, although the black could be better (this is hardly noticeable, though). It’s got approx a gazzillion inputs, but I only use one. If you go down the HD route, you really need to invest in a good receiver. You plug all your gizmos into the receiver and then there is just one HDMI cable to hook up to the TV.
Second this (if a bit less environmental; my concern is my pocketbook paying for electricity) – plasmas draw 2-3 times the power of LCDs, and generate quite a bit of heat; if you buy one, make sure you leave space for proper ventilation behind. Just walk up to the back of one of those lovely plasma monitors on display in the stores, and note the 3 fans on the back blowing hot air.
Panasonic seem to claim otherwise with respect to Plasma vs LCD power consumption: http://whychooseplasma.com.au/html/tpd_power_consumption.cfm
I think Panasonic is making shit up. My 52" Sharp panel is rated at 290W cite, Pana’s closest display rates at 590W. If Pana wants to make head fakes about watts in a “typical” display situation, that’s their call, but there are standards about publishing power requirements for any appliance, and hand-waving of this sort is IMHO nonsense.
Plasmas do give a better picture and don’t have the problems that LCDs can have when you’re viewing at an angle.
I have heard that if you play video games, the static, persistent images like health bars can “burn” into a plasma screen, leaving a permanent ghost image that really sucks when you’re watching TV or a movie.
Also, I heard that LCD tech typically lasts years longer than plasma before it wears out.
Anecdotal LCD owner checking in. I’m no expert, but I love my TV. I’ve got a 40” Samsung LCD HDTV. Samsung seems to get the blacks better than some of the other LCDs. Also, my viewing angles are great. I can’t speak for plasma on this, but I’ve had zero problems watching the screen from almost from the side angles.
In my research, it seems that LCDs max out around 42” or so before you start to see the difference from a plasma. This wasn’t true just a few years ago, where it maxed out quite a bit smaller. When you look at the huge screens, if you compare the plasma vs. LCD, Plasma is just so much nicer. At my 40” size, I couldn’t see a difference.
A friend told me that the concerns about burnt images in plasma screens is more or less a thing of the past. I don’t know how he knows that, but that’s what I heard.
My dad has a 42" Toshiba LCD and the viewing angle is remarkably good. Oftentimes my mom sits and reads in a chair that is about 150 degrees from the front of the screen, and she says she can see just fine.
Variation with angle is one of the things I was concerned about, both up and down, and left to right. My LCD TV (JVC, 42") has no off-angle problem at all.
And ZipperJJ’ mom can see the picture all the way from behind the set. Can’t beat that! 
LCD flat panel viewing angle problems seem to be a problem of the past.
My Sony Bravia 40" is clear as day from any angle.
LCD projection and DLP sets on the other hand may still have viewing angle problems.
We just bought this set a couple of weeks ago, and I’m loving it.
In my opinion "and research before buying) the plasma vs. LCD question really comes down to personal preference (and the power consumption thing, if that’s an issue). To my eye, the plasma just looked “richer” that the LCD. The colors seemed brighter and deeper. Apparently, some people feel the opposite.
Burn-in is not an issue except in cases where things may be left on for long periods (the video game thing is worth noting). Any decent TV will have anti burn-in features, but you should still take care to avoid excessively long static images.
FTR, I have a 50" Samsung DLP HDTV, and I have no viewing angle problems at any angle I would be comfortable watching TV at. Maybe at extreme angles it is an issue, but I don’t watch TV at those angles anyway.
For the OP, if you’re not wedded to the idea of a flat screen, check out the Samung DLPs - very good, IMO, and thinner than an old-style tube TV.
It’s the mirrors.
I stated this in another thread but take note of the glossy screens on the plasma sets vs. the matte finish on the LCD sets.
It may not bother everyone but I really do not like reflections of lamps and windows on my tv screen.
That can happen with any type of TV - plasma, LCD, CRT. You generally have to have a static image for hours and hours though.
I’m really trying not to turn this into to Mac vs. PC debate the OP mentioned, but there are a lot of misconceptions about plasma displays, so here goes:
Power usage: It’s been said that plasma sets are powerhogs. The power consumption of plasma screens are rated higher than LCDs, but the actual consumption will depend on on the material you watch, it’s not like LCD displays that are always fully lit. In the end plasma generally uses more power, but certainly not by the amount that it would seem at first.
Lifespan: modern plasma displays are rated with a half life of 60.000 hours, pretty much the same that many LCD manufactures claim. That is something like 20 years with 8 hour usage per day. I certainly will have a new display before that, and I’m quite sure something else will fail before that.
As you might have guessed, I own a plasma display (42"). The reason I picked it was that I preferred the image of this display. Next time I buy, I will proberly lean towards plasma again as I’ve been very pleased with this one, but my descision will be made after comparing actual displays in real life, with the kind of source material I will be watching on it.
Many thanks for the replies. Very educational. I am now leaning toward a plasma in the 42-46 inch range.
Something I am wondering about. I see what seems to be good deals on big flat screens at Walmart, etc. These are from major manufacturers. Do they make “low-end” models just for the big box stores?
No cite, but I’m pretty sure they do. Even in regular electronics stores, you’d find that, say Best Butt will carry model A for $2500, where K-Fart carries what appears to be almost, but not exactly, the same model from the same manufacturer for $1995. IMHO, this is intentional – the stores and the manufacturers don’t want you to be able to price compare models. Its like buying a goddamn mattress - a zillion models from a few manufacturers, and no stores carry the same items as the competing stores.