# Plasma or LCD? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717 "2009-05-26T18:21:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ruminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Ruminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruminator)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/21 "2009-05-27T18:07:33Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I’d grant your example, but I’d question its applicability to even long-term _average_ home wear. > > … > > But for _most_ home users, it doesn’t seem to be as big a deal. I bought a Sony 32" plasma that I keep in the garage for treadmill exercises. No ESPN sports but the screen has seen a mix of standard aspect ratio (4:3) shows and widescreen. There is a visible burn-in where you see a “ghost” image of 4:3 within the 16:9 widescreen. I also play DVDs on it and set my player to leave the “playing time remaining” status in the corner. That information has also been burned into the screen. My TV was used 2 hours a day for 700+ days and I would consider that usage _less_ than the average home user. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/22 "2009-05-27T20:08:06Z")
We have a plasma and given the price it was the best purchase. But the glare is pretty bad on it and it is a power hog. Realy it is all about trade-offs, what do you value most of all. BTW we got a 50" and thought, “this is maybe too big.” WRONG. We coul easily go quite a bit bigger and not feel overwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/23 "2009-05-27T20:22:56Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > gaffa, any interest in breaking down a tiered recommendation of sets for people? I’d be interested in seeing a Best Set and a Best Value for a $1,500 budget. Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I don’t spend enough time around different sets to have a ranking. When a client needs a new set, or sets, we go shopping at a place where I know the sales staff and they let me have the remotes and put them through the paces. I used to be the chief tech for a five store chain that closed a few years back, and the sales staff from those stores wound up at a dozen different places. One client got a Sony LCD, another got a bunch of LG plasmas, another was limited to units that had PIP because he needs split screen for seeing a C/Ku satellite receiver screen on one side and a DVB receiver screen on the other. For instance, I would never buy another Sony if I’m integrating it into a programmable remote system because their interface doesn’t make it easy to go directly to a single input on some of their models. They all have limitations and surprises and you need to know what you’re looking for in a set. One person’s best set might not work for you at all. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/24 "2009-05-27T20:54:01Z")
As long as the TV is reliable, picture quality is subjective. One other thing you might test if possible is the TV interface. How easy is it to do common functions on the remote, like switching inputs, programming channels, channel up/down, mute, sleep timer, etc? If you can play with some in the store it might help. FWIW, I like my Samsung interface, but I played with a Toshiba recently and found it cumbersome to switch inputs and program channels. Of course you don’t need to worry about programming channels if you’re not using an antenna. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/25 "2009-05-27T21:32:54Z")
> [@Ruminator](#): > > My TV was used 2 hours a day for 700+ days and I would consider that usage _less_ than the average home user. Agreed. Dueling anecdotes, but a friend has had a Panasonic plasma for ~3.5 years as his main TV for his family of five. No burn in and only one instance he can recall of temporary ghosting ( from pausing for ~20 minutes ). If burn-in hasn’t disappeared, it certainly seems to have declined at least in impact according various articles and numerous anecdotal reports. A short 2008 article on the topic: [CNET: Product reviews, advice, how-tos and the latest news](http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6844370-1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/26 "2009-05-28T16:34:54Z")
Thanks everyone so much for your input. We’re now leaning toward LCD, but now we’re debating going bigger. Time to see how much space we have on the wall. . . ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/27 "2009-05-29T10:47:27Z")
You may find [this article](http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/05/29/sharp_five_colour_lcd_panel/) of interest. It says that current LCDs can’t display certain colours correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717/28 "2009-05-29T17:50:37Z")
Thanks **Quartz**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-or-lcd/497717.md?page=1)