Plasma or LCD screens, which one?

[Harry]

I have to make a decision about a screen in my workout room.
Obviously there is Plasma and LCD.
Have any thoughts or experience with these screens, negative or positive?
Please let me know!

[uffeviking]

LCD! - That was an easy decision! Plasma displays give you a lot of reflections, the difference like the one of plain glass on a picture and a matte type. I had to make that decision less than a year ago when I bought my new JVC projection set. 

[orbital]

I say go with a projector, if you don't mind limiting your vieweing to evenings (or a good sunlight insulated room) most of the time.
They will give you the biggest picture, and most can project in HD. A 1600X1200 resolution will easily cover the HD standard.

[71 dB]

I have to make a decision about a screen in my workout room.
Obviously there is Plasma and LCD.
Have any thoughts or experience with these screens, negative or positive?
Please let me know!

Plasma screens used to be much better with deep black but LCDs have got so much better over the years plasma has lost this advantage. Plasma gives soft and nice picture while LCD has brighter and sharper picture. Plasma is forgiving for lower quality SD signal, LCDs usually aren't. With HD-material Full HD LCD screens give extremely sharp and good picture. These are the main differencies between the technologies but of course it's up to the manufacturer and the price range how good the picture actually is. Sharp makes excellent not so expensive LCDs.

Buying a screen has never been as difficult as it is now so good luck! 

[uffeviking]

Harry, I want to tell you about the one mistake I made, it might guide you in your purchase: For a Music Room, buy the biggest set, right? Wrong! I went for the 54" one - I might be wrong about the measurements, but it was the biggest in the store. - I questioned the saleman about the two black about 6" bars on both sides of the display and he told me it was a feature of the certain sport channel being shown. Ok, I accepted that.

Harry, those black bars are on every program you run, whether TV or your own discs. Of course I tried to fill the entire space and ended up with a distortion like the one found in silly carnival places: Everything stretched, distorted and flattened! If I would have bought the smaller set, I think it was 45" (?), there would be no black bars or wasted space! 

[Harry]

LCD! - That was an easy decision! Plasma displays give you a lot of reflections, the difference like the one of plain glass on a picture and a matte type. I had to make that decision less than a year ago when I bought my new JVC projection set. 

I found the LCD screens sharper in image, but the colors hurted my sensitive eyes. In that respect the plasma screens, were better in color, and a bit less in sharpness, but the overall picture was not less stunning than LCD. Most of the experts agree in liking Plasma more than LCD.

[Harry]

I say go with a projector, if you don't mind limiting your viewing to evenings (or a good sunlight insulated room) most of the time.
They will give you the biggest picture, and most can project in HD. A 1600X1200 resolution will easily cover the HD standard.

Yes that would be a good idea, but the wife is against such a monster in the room.
She vetoed it.

[Harry]

Harry, I want to tell you about the one mistake I made, it might guide you in your purchase: For a Music Room, buy the biggest set, right? Wrong! I went for the 54" one - I might be wrong about the measurements, but it was the biggest in the store. - I questioned the saleman about the two black about 6" bars on both sides of the display and he told me it was a feature of the certain sport channel being shown. Ok, I accepted that.

Harry, those black bars are on every program you run, whether TV or your own discs. Of course I tried to fill the entire space and ended up with a distortion like the one found in silly carnival places: Everything stretched, distorted and flattened! If I would have bought the smaller set, I think it was 45" (?), there would be no black bars or wasted space! 

Thanks Lis!
I was thinking in the lines of 102 cm, that's the smallest Plasma screen.
Of course LCD gives more freedom in size, but thanks for the warning.

[Harry]

Plasma screens used to be much better with deep black but LCDs have got so much better over the years plasma has lost this advantage. Plasma gives soft and nice picture while LCD has brighter and sharper picture. Plasma is forgiving for lower quality SD signal, LCDs usually aren't. With HD-material Full HD LCD screens give extremely sharp and good picture. These are the main differencies between the technologies but of course it's up to the manufacturer and the price range how good the picture actually is. Sharp makes excellent not so expensive LCDs.

Buying a screen has never been as difficult as it is now so good luck! 

The sales experts assure me that in respect of the blackness Plasma still wins easily, so the advantage is not lost, and I have seen some samples of that. The soft and nice picture appeals to me. I saw a HD signal on both types of screen, and everyone agreed, that the Plasma is far easier for your eyes, and the colors warmer, allthough less sharp. With the HD feed however the Plasma keeps at the same pace as LCD.
I saw screens from Pioneer, Panasonic, Samsung, Philips, LG, Sharp. Pioneer, and Samsung were the best screens I saw till now.

[SonicMan46]

Harry - I've been in the market for over a year now for a 42" HDTV (that's my size fit in the den - not much option) - as you, I have debated between plasma vs. LCD - a year ago, I almost went w/ plasma; the main LCD 'complaints' at the time concerned the 'blacks' not being black, inability to handle action motion, and the loss of viewing from an extreme angle; however, most of these issues have improved dramatically, plus the LCDs weight a lot less, if that is a factor; finally, more manufacturers are getting into that 40" range w/ LCDs w/ dropping prices - I'm pretty much convinced at the momemt of goin' w/ LCD, just need to make a decision.

Lis - concerning the 'black bars', this is pretty much unavoidable w/ HDTV, regardless of the screen diagnonal measurement; HDTV has an aspect ratio of 16:9, i.e. 1.78; so, all 'widescreen' films, whether 1.85, 2.35, or other will have horizontal black bars (although the common 1.85 will be almost a perfect fit); OTOH, standard TV shows and movies made before the 1950s w/ an aspect ratio of 1.33 will have vertical bars; and some programming will be 'letterboxed' on all 4 sides - just can't avoid this problem unless, as you say, you want to accept some distortion (e.g. on my anamorphic movies that are 2:35, I always 'stretch' them vertically - gives a little bit of an El Greco effect, but doesn't bother me much).  Dave 

[Harry]

Harry - I've been in the market for over a year now for a 42" HDTV (that's my size fit in the den - not much option) - as you, I have debated between plasma vs. LCD - a year ago, I almost went w/ plasma; the main LCD 'complaints' at the time concerned the 'blacks' not being black, inability to handle action motion, and the loss of viewing from an extreme angle; however, most of these issues have improved dramatically, plus the LCDs weight a lot less, if that is a factor; finally, more manufacturers are getting into that 40" range w/ LCDs w/ dropping prices - I'm pretty much convinced at the momemt of goin' w/ LCD, just need to make a decision.

Well I was not convinced by the LCD improvements, but its still open for me, what screen I am going to buy,

[71 dB]

Harry, I want to tell you about the one mistake I made, it might guide you in your purchase: For a Music Room, buy the biggest set, right? Wrong! I went for the 54" one - I might be wrong about the measurements, but it was the biggest in the store. - I questioned the saleman about the two black about 6" bars on both sides of the display and he told me it was a feature of the certain sport channel being shown. Ok, I accepted that.

Harry, those black bars are on every program you run, whether TV or your own discs. Of course I tried to fill the entire space and ended up with a distortion like the one found in silly carnival places: Everything stretched, distorted and flattened! If I would have bought the smaller set, I think it was 45" (?), there would be no black bars or wasted space! 

So you watch 4:3 programs on 16:9 screen. Of course you have black bars! No matter how big or small the screen is the black bars are there. The only way to fill correctly the whole screen is to watch 16:9 signal. People should just forget about the bars, just watch the program in between!

[71 dB]

Well I was not convinced by the LCD improvements, but its still open for me, what screen I am going to buy,

Remember that all "sales experts" aren't really experts and may speak BS or something that has changed over the years. Plasma used to be significantly better than LCD years ago (LCD sucked when it was new technology). However, LCD has improved faster than plasma and it's up to your needs and preferencies which technology suite you better. The more you watch real HD material the better is Full HD LCD and for crappy SD plasma is more forgiving. Plasma is kind of what tube amps are in audio while LCD corresponds transistor amps.

Comparing creens in stores is tricky too. How good signal is fed to them? How is the picture adjusted? How near of far do you watch the screens? Stores have usually bright lighting so bad black level is not revealed etc... it is tricky as I said. People are literally going nuts while trying to choose their new screen! I read daily about this on the Finnish home theatre forum.

[The Emperor]

I just bought a 22" Samsung cw Lcd, very happy with it!

[Harry]

Remember that all "sales experts" aren't really experts and may speak BS or something that has changed over the years. Plasma used to be significantly better than LCD years ago (LCD sucked when it was new technology). However, LCD has improved faster than plasma and it's up to your needs and preferencies which technology suite you better. The more you watch real HD material the better is Full HD LCD and for crappy SD plasma is more forgiving. Plasma is kind of what tube amps are in audio while LCD corresponds transistor amps.

Comparing creens in stores is tricky too. How good signal is fed to them? How is the picture adjusted? How near of far do you watch the screens? Stores have usually bright lighting so bad black level is not revealed etc... it is tricky as I said. People are literally going nuts while trying to choose their new screen! I read daily about this on the Finnish home theatre forum.

Forget not my friend that I have a long history regarding all kind of electronics.
I go to the right shops, and choose people to sell me things that I trust.
All the things you name are not happening to me.
LCD is good, but read what sort of problems I have with that kind of screen.
Anyway the Kelvin levels will be toned down, for the contrast is 100%, and that is far too much for easy watching.

[SonicMan46]

For those just getting into this debate - check out the LCD TV Buying Guide Website for some explanations, comparisons, and recommendations - 

[orbital]

Harry, by projector I did not mean a projection TV which is a dead technology, but a high resolution projector that you can connect your equipment too. Even your laptop. They take the least imaginable space. Most are smaller than a CD player. All you need is a bare wall or a screen. One with a good resolution with HDMI input will ne able to get high def and blue ray signals.
The price range is wide, but even the low end ones today (I mean sub $1000)will give you a very nice view.

[uffeviking]

Excellent idea; my neighbour has been entertaining this thought, but the biggest problem is the bare wall, and it should be a white one, wood paneling won't do at all, or walls filled with shelves of CDs and DVDs! 

[Iago]

Forget BOTH Plasma and LCD.  Buy a 52" to 60".  DLP made by Sony, Samsung or Mitsubishi.

Brighter picture with mucho contrast, vivid, astonishingly true colors, flesh tones that look like "flesh" and not a "death mask", No "burn in", lower in cost, lower in energy consumption. Easy to service. Make sure it has multiple HDMI inputs for your cable/satellite box and your DVD, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player.
Remember no matter what HDTV you buy, if you feed it a crappy signal, it will produce a crappy picture. Spend a little more now, so that you don't have to spend more later, in order to undo a mistake.

[Renfield]

Let me just add to the discussion that I have had a 32'' Sony Bravia (an HD-Ready LCD, though not "True-HD", a.k.a 1080p-compatible) for the best part of a year, and I couldn't be more satisfied.

With enough tweaking, even the oft-mentioned inherent "handicap" concerning black is smoothed over, while the general colour output is quite superb, even to my very colour-sensitive eyes.

Not to mention the viewing-angle is absolutely insane!

Mind you, I generally use my TV for: a) DVD/Blu-Ray playback, b) HD gaming. But even the "mundane" channel-flipping is something I am entirely satisfied with, TV-wise. The channels themselves, of course, are a different matter entirely.