• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Should I stick with LCD or go Plasma?

The basic gist of it is this:

Plasma:

Unlimited viewing angles, better color reproduction, contrast, black levels, and motion resolution (as in resolution doesn't take a massive dive when the actual pictures start moving).

LCD: brighter settings, less electricity use, less susceptible to image burn and retention.

Plus though it sounds cool, anything that says LED Edgelit suffers from uneven backlight screen uniformity.

Conclusion: go Panasonic plasma, shuri.
 
What's the best bang for the buck Panasonic plasma out there? I'm only looking for 32 to 42". 50+ would be overkill on my room.
 
Dang. I'm really torn here.

I was all set to grab a 42" Panny ST30 from Amazon, but then I started reading into the Fluxuating Brightness issue and got myself scared.

I have a 10% off coupon for Amazon TVs that expires in a few days, so ideally I want this TV before any patches would be included.

This TV will only have a FiOS box on it, so no Blu Ray or games on it at least to start.

Any advice on this issue?
 
Well guys, i just got my self a pioneer kuro last night...

IT IS AMAZING! Oh my God, seriously, i might have a tear in my eye from witnessing the beauty. The model i got was the KRP 500m, which replaced a Sony Hx909. Not only was i able to buy it for much less than half what Sony's MRSP is, the picture quality is hands down better.

So for the LCD and Plasma debate, i say Plasma wins hands down. If you are in the market for a TV, try and snag what is left of the Pioneer Kuro's.

I have officially become a Plasma fanboy as of today. Will post pictures tomorrow of the new TV in the pickup thread!
 
Kambing said:
Well guys, i just got my self a pioneer kuro last night...

IT IS AMAZING! Oh my God, seriously, i might have a tear in my eye from witnessing the beauty. The model i got was the KRP 500m, which replaced a Sony Hx909. Not only was i able to buy it for much less than half what Sony's MRSP is, the picture quality is hands down better.

So for the LCD and Plasma debate, i say Plasma wins hands down. If you are in the market for a TV, try and snag what is left of the Pioneer Kuro's.

I have officially become a Plasma fanboy as of today. Will post pictures tomorrow of the new TV in the pickup thread!

Good god, how did you manage to secure yourself a Pioneer?!
 
sn1pes said:
Dang. I'm really torn here.

I was all set to grab a 42" Panny ST30 from Amazon, but then I started reading into the Fluxuating Brightness issue and got myself scared.

I have a 10% off coupon for Amazon TVs that expires in a few days, so ideally I want this TV before any patches would be included.

This TV will only have a FiOS box on it, so no Blu Ray or games on it at least to start.

Any advice on this issue?
The fluctuating brightness is kinda overblown.

I own The 42" ST30 and after running the break in slides and calibrating it, I don't even notice it, and I am pretty anal about PQ. You have too really be looking out for it to really notice it.
 
HomerSimpson-Man said:
Good god, how did you manage to secure yourself a Pioneer?!

Yeah, i definitely consider myself very lucky. Basically two days ago i had NO intention of buying a pioneer Kuro. I was just looking on ebay to see what they were going for. Well i see the TV, that is now mine, being listed as "pick-up only" 20 minutes away from where i live. I decide to offer the guy substantially lower than what he was wanting to sell it for through email thinking "if there is a God this baby will be mine", but me being being a partial atheist(hard to explain lol) said "snow ball's chance in hell".

But lo and behold, the dude accepted my offer and even delivered it to my house. I swear, two years in the back of my mind, i was thinking just how the good the Kuro was, wondering if the high pedastal it had been placed on by many at AVS and reviewers alike was not over exaggerated. It really exceeded my expectations. And me being a video/audiophile guy, i could not be happier.

Compared to my Sony HX909, the Kuro is definitely superior. Partly because it does not have that hideous blooming that accompanies LED sets.

Alas, that is my tale on how i acquired this beast of a TV. LOL.
 
Anybody in here have a panasonic VT25 ? that's the 50" 3d tv model but I always like what I see in the store and it's been dropping in price immensly in the last few months. Started at 2500 and now it's 1400, I figure it could be 1100 or 1200 on boxing day (canadian here if you didn't guess).

I don't need a new tv right his instant, the one I have STILL hasn't burned out it's first bulb (sony 42" grand wega 3lcd I bought OVER 5 YEARS AGO) but I'm not going to bother replacing the bulb when it DOES go, as I'd rather invest in a newer model, you know one that has that fancy 1080p all the kids are talking about :P

Anyway, just wondering if any of you guys have it or have had an ordeal with it. Thanks.
 
ACESmkII said:
The fluctuating brightness is kinda overblown.

I own The 42" ST30 and after running the break in slides and calibrating it, I don't even notice it, and I am pretty anal about PQ. You have too really be looking out for it to really notice it.

Thanks for the input.

I'm really leaning towards going for it. It's definitely the best bang for the buck right now, especially at 10% off Amazon price.
 
I'd say just go to your local Frys and see which TV has the video quality to your preference.

Plasmas give superior videogame and 3D peformance and they better replicate the "film" look of a movie while giving you some extra HD detail.

Certain LCDs tend to jutter a bit in motion but the colors tend to "pop" more. You can also turn on motion-smoothing and get the "soap opera" effect. Some people like it, some people don't.

I have a Panasonic 3D Plasma (50" GT25). The 3D looks great but I just wish there was more 3D content. I didn't realize the 3D content was so sparse and it doesn't seem it's really catching on. These long-term exclusives the manufactures are having with certain movies (ie. Avatar), I think is hurting 3D Blu Rays from catching on. There's already so many hoops you have to jump through just to play a 3D movie (3D TV, 3D Blu-Ray player, 3D Receiver, and 3D glasses) and then to have the already thin 3D content further reduced by exclusive contracts, just isn't making it attractive.

I wanted to get a 3D TV to future proof myself, but I'm really starting to doubt the future of 3D. I'm wondering if I just should get a 60 inch Samsung LCD.
 
HomerSimpson-Man said:
The basic gist of it is this:
Plasma:
Unlimited viewing angles, better color reproduction, contrast, black levels, and motion resolution (as in resolution doesn't take a massive dive when the actual pictures start moving).

LCD: brighter settings, less electricity use, less susceptible to image burn and retention.
Plus though it sounds cool, anything that says LED Edgelit suffers from uneven backlight screen uniformity.
Afaik Clouding affects virtually all LCDs, it's not even specific to edge-lit LEDs (and I found it pretty offensive artifact personally). Also all LCDs still have some degree of ghosting (but I guess you covered that under "motion resolution").
 
Amazon is having a hue sale on some of the 2011 Panasonic Plasmas.

I just picked up a 50" GT30 for $1100 with a free Panasonic 3d Blu Ray Player and Avatar.

Hell of a deal.
 
Deadly Joker said:
Amazon is having a hue sale on some of the 2011 Panasonic Plasmas.

I just picked up a 50" GT30 for $1100 with a free Panasonic 3d Blu Ray Player and Avatar.

Hell of a deal.

Just ordered a 42" ST30 for $720.
 
Deadly Joker said:
Amazon is having a hue sale on some of the 2011 Panasonic Plasmas.

I just picked up a 50" GT30 for $1100 with a free Panasonic 3d Blu Ray Player and Avatar.

Hell of a deal.

Did you order that today, or a couple days ago?


Because I saw that price a couple days ago, but now it's back up to $1,350.
 
shuri said:
This is turning into a nightmare.. so many conflicting infos.. my oldschool crt giant screen died last week, so i need something

If I have read this right:

Plasma
+ less lag for games in game mood
+ less risks for screen burns?
- weird retention problem..

LED-LCD
+massive lag problems with some sets
?- is screen burn an issue?
Image retention and burn in are NOT problems. IR is a completely and easily correctable non-issue. You run the anti-image retention app or change what's on screen for a few minutes and it's gone. Burn is doesn't occur in newer plasmas unless you keep a static image on screen for a VERY long time. I'm talking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I play video games on my plasma for hours at a time some days, and nothing has ever burned in.

LED/LCDs do not have any sort of image retention or burn in. Only plasmas do (IR, I mean).

Also, get the Panny. Best plasmas around.
 
The retailer I'm buying from said that he's going to install the fluctuating brigtness fix on my ST30 before he ships it. Woo!
 
may i ask for neogaf's opinion on this tv? i have an old school CRT hooked up to my gcn/ps2 and i recently moved to a new apartment, so i would like to upgrade. i have a nice lil setup over my fireplace that would be perfect for a 32" or so tv. how is this for my first flat-screen?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004M8SBCK/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Panasonic VIERA TC-L32C3 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

Product Features

IPS Alpha Panel
VIERA Image Viewer
Fine Black Panel
Game Mode

Technical Details

Brand Name: Panasonic
Model: TC-L32C3
Display Technology: LED-lit
Display Size: 32 inches
Image Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Weight: 29.30 pounds

$329.94
free shipping
no tax


edit: compare to this?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OVEUPW/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
Overlap point of cost verses diagonal measurement at this time is 51 inches. If you sit 5 foot or more from this size set get the 720P as you will not be able to tell the difference at 5 ft or greater distance. Most bang for the buck is a 720p plasma from Panasonic or Samsung. I went with Samsung but both make solid sets.

Screen burn on plasmas are a very little issue with the newer models just be easy on it the first 30 days and you will be ok. As for energy usage they are much better these days and comparable to edge lit non LED lcds. And cost much much less.
 
BruiserBear said:
Did you order that today, or a couple days ago?


Because I saw that price a couple days ago, but now it's back up to $1,350.

I ordered it on Wednesday morning.


Items Ordered Price
1 of: Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT30 50-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV [Electronics]
Condition: New
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC
$1,099.98
Amazon Prime: Standard Shipping is free


Item(s) Subtotal: $1,099.98
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Promotion Applied: -$81.07
-----
Total Before Tax: $1,018.91
Sales Tax: $0.00
-----
Total for This Shipment: $1,018.91
 
I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the 55" GT30. I'm moving into my new place on Friday and I'm going to want a tv pretty soon after for gaming/movies. So I'll probably order this week from Amazon.

When you buy tvs from Amazon do they bring the tv inside? Or just drop it at your door? Because I'm going to be putting this on the 3rd floor and I'm guessing it's too heavy to move by myself.

Also any recommendations for a good minimal stand for the tv?
 
Bought myself an older Samsung HP-S5053 50" Plasma for $500 even

Q. I remember that people say to avoid older plasmas, but how old are we talking about? This one was made in 2007.
 
I'm highly considering purchasing a new HD tv. Probably either in the 40 or 50 inch change. probably 46'' but idk yet. What should I consider when making a purchase and are there any good product review sites? Anybody ever order and HDtv off of amazon?
 
HomerSimpson-Man said:
The basic gist of it is this:

Plasma:

Unlimited viewing angles, better color reproduction, contrast, black levels, and motion resolution (as in resolution doesn't take a massive dive when the actual pictures start moving).

LCD: brighter settings, less electricity use, less susceptible to image burn and retention.

Plus though it sounds cool, anything that says LED Edgelit suffers from uneven backlight screen uniformity.

Conclusion: go Panasonic plasma, shuri.

LCDs also are way better at fine resolution/pixel geometry, which makes them way better for PC usage than plasma.
 
As long as they weren't fibbing about their stock, I should be the proud owner of a new Plasma TV tomorrow (well, technically today as I am in Euroland).

First ever Plasma... so what do I need to know?


I've read about the break-in period, although there seems to be a pretty equal 50/50 split on if it's really necessary or not.

this is the one I'm hopefully picking up in a matter of hours.

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Plasma-TVs/buy-SAMSUNG-PS51D550C1KXXU-Plasma-TV/714364

:)
 
Monkeylord said:
First ever Plasma... so what do I need to know?


I've read about the break-in period, although there seems to be a pretty equal 50/50 split on if it's really necessary or not.
Break-in time is unnecessary for modern plasma displays. Use your HDTV without fear. Enjoy it.
 
So I've been gaming on a Plasma the last couple of weeks.

Unbelievable PQ. No lag, ghosting or any of the problems associated with the C610 I had previously.

Of course it is a VT25.

I guess if you play a game with static HUDS for hours on end I would recommend LCDs as I have experienced some slight IR with a few games.

Overall I can't believe how gorgeous the picture is.

The PQ is simply gorgeous, no doubt due to the stellar blacks.
 
Parn said:
Break-in time is unnecessary for modern plasma displays. Use your HDTV without fear. Enjoy it.

Good to know.

Gonna try and run a decent gamut of demo stuff in-store before actually laying down my hard earned readies. Hoping the SD performance is decent enough for me to play the Wii on it with little to no eye-bleeding. Looking forward to trying the (allegedly steller) 2D-3D conversion on some choice works - namely Endless Ocean and Mario Galaxy/2.

Anyone got any experience with the Sammy 3D conversion they'd like to share?



The only thing I'm really annoyed about is the optical passthrough will apparently only pass 5.1 from broadcast. Anything from my 360, PS3, etc will be in 2.0. Means I have to dig out the old optical switch box and run audio cables from the 360 and PS3 as my home theatre (whilst old, but still perfectly acceptable) only has one optical input :(
 
I need your input, plasma-gaf!

Which of these two sets gets your vote at roughly the same price:

54" VT25 or 55" ST30?

There is a sale ending tomorrow and I don't have time to do extensive research. From what I understand, the 2011 ST30 has slightly better 3D than the 2010 VT25, but the VT25 comes with glasses which is a big plus.

Set will be used primarily for movies and gaming in both 2D and 3D, in a slightly bright room with a couple of windows.
 
LowEndTorque said:
I need your input, plasma-gaf!

Which of these two sets gets your vote at roughly the same price:

54" VT25 or 55" ST30?

There is a sale ending tomorrow and I don't have time to do extensive research. From what I understand, the 2011 ST30 has slightly better 3D than the 2010 VT25, but the VT25 comes with glasses which is a big plus.

Set will be used primarily for movies and gaming in both 2D and 3D, in a slightly bright room with a couple of windows.
http://www.controlcal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6075

CTRL + F: VT25
 
Threi said:
How modern is modern

could you give a year?
It never was really necessary. It's just to get a set ready for calibration to age the phosphors. If you aren't getting it calibrated, using D-Nice's settings, or aren't going to work on tweaking it a lot don't worry about the aging process.
 
LowEndTorque said:
I need your input, plasma-gaf!

Which of these two sets gets your vote at roughly the same price:

54" VT25 or 55" ST30?

There is a sale ending tomorrow and I don't have time to do extensive research. From what I understand, the 2011 ST30 has slightly better 3D than the 2010 VT25, but the VT25 comes with glasses which is a big plus.

Set will be used primarily for movies and gaming in both 2D and 3D, in a slightly bright room with a couple of windows.

Are you sure about the 3D? I was under the impression the VT25 was a little better than the ST30. Although if heat is an issue, the ST will definitely run cooler (assuming both are properly calibrated).

P.S. Don't go buying any glasses at the moment (unless they're free). Panasonic is going to release their new glasses any day now:

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1312292888

4 sizes. Lighter. More light passes through. And although the link is just doing a straight yet-to-dollar conversion, I've heard they're going to be more like 60 dollars in the US.
 
1-D_FTW said:
Are you sure about the 3D? I was under the impression the VT25 was a little better than the ST30. Although if heat is an issue, the ST will definitely run cooler (assuming both are properly calibrated).

P.S. Don't go buying any glasses at the moment (unless they're free). Panasonic is going to release they're new glasses any day now:

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1312292888

4 sizes. Lighter. More light passes through. And although the link is just doing a straight yet-to-dollar conversion, I've heard they're were going to be more like 60 dollars in the US.
The VT25's blacks are better but the ST30 does better in bright rooms and the color is on par. The contrast ratio is also slightly higher. The ST30 does have better 3D, from what I've heard. VT25 does have THX mode and more setting options though. Both are great sets. If you get the ST, make sure you get the fluctuating brightness fix.
 
ACESmkII said:
The fluctuating brightness is kinda overblown.
But then everything in the LCD/Plasma debate is. If you buy a good brand, you get a good tv. There's the occasional dud. but you'd know it from simply googling. Personally I'd opt for LCD for the sole purpose that you can get a Philips Ambilight. And imo that's saying all somebody choosing between the two should know.
 
Thanks for the input pje, Robo, and 1-D.

Ended up buying the VT25.

It actually turned out to be $200 cheaper than the ST30 (I'm in Canada and paying retarded Canadian prices). I would have preferred to get a 2011 model over a 2010, but the $200 price difference + free pair of glasses cinched the deal. With the differences being so small between the two, I hope I made the right choice. Looking forward to seeing how the pq turns out after applying D-Nice's break in and settings.

cheers,
 
EDIT:

http://www.jr.com/panasonic/pe/PAN_...are&SiteID=lw9MynSeamY-QYKZPV15DhW9ViSa2YnWcw

Looks like the new glasses will be selling for 69.99.

LowEndTorque said:
Thanks for the input pje, Robo, and 1-D.

Ended up buying the VT25.

It actually turned out to be $200 cheaper than the ST30 (I'm in Canada and paying retarded Canadian prices). I would have preferred to get a 2011 model over a 2010, but the $200 price difference + free pair of glasses cinched the deal. With the differences being so small between the two, I hope I made the right choice. Looking forward to seeing how the pq turns out after applying D-Nice's break in and settings.

cheers,

Just to be sure, you're using this:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19670405#post19670405

and not the ST settings over at HDJunkies. Because different models call for different settings.
 
Well either way I gave the Plasma to my dad (I don't have space for a TV that big, despite how nice the PQ is) and took a Vizio VO370M-C from him.
 
My aunt gave me her old CRT for me to use in my gym room so I could use our current gym TV to play games on(it's an LCD). But instead I've been using the CRT. It hides aliasing problems a lot better than with any of my monitors+ built in AA from my games and all my old school games look so much better on it than when I play on my main family room TV.

Honestly all these new tvs don't do much for my games. The only problem is finding a Big high quality CRT now is practically impossible unless you have a friend trying to get rid of one or get lucky finding one on craigslist.
 
Barrel Cannon said:
My aunt gave me her old CRT for me to use in my gym room so I could use our current gym TV to play games on(it's an LCD). But instead I've been using the CRT. It hides aliasing problems a lot better than with any of my monitors+ built in AA from my games and all my old school games look so much better on it than when I play on my main family room TV.

Honestly all these new tvs don't do much for my games. The only problem is finding a Big high quality CRT now is practically impossible unless you have a friend trying to get rid of one or get lucky finding one on craigslist.

LOL. This is kind of why I'm in a perpetual state of window shopping. My heavily modded RP-CRT still throws out such a beautiful picture. If it did 3D, I wouldn't even be tempted by any current offerings until it bit the dust.
 
Hope Panasonic gets it's shit together for the 2012 models. Will be moving and the Samsung D8000 will be the TV in the living room and I'm going to scoop up whichever plasma brand is rated the best in 12 for my "media room".
 
Is it normal for new plasmas to be this dark?

I know I've only had it for about 12hrs, but no matter what I tried I just can't get a decent white out of it. The logo screen when you turn on the 360 is a light grey instead of white no matter what settings I play with.

Hoping this is just because it's young and will eventually grow into its colours.
 
Deadly Joker said:
Amazon is having a hue sale on some of the 2011 Panasonic Plasmas.

I just picked up a 50" GT30 for $1100 with a free Panasonic 3d Blu Ray Player and Avatar.

Hell of a deal.

Ugh, I would do this if they were still doing it :( Sad I missed this >_<
 
Monkeylord said:
Is it normal for new plasmas to be this dark?

I know I've only had it for about 12hrs, but no matter what I tried I just can't get a decent white out of it. The logo screen when you turn on the 360 is a light grey instead of white no matter what settings I play with.

Hoping this is just because it's young and will eventually grow into its colours.
What model Plasma are you using?
 
Monkeylord said:
Is it normal for new plasmas to be this dark?

I know I've only had it for about 12hrs, but no matter what I tried I just can't get a decent white out of it. The logo screen when you turn on the 360 is a light grey instead of white no matter what settings I play with.

Hoping this is just because it's young and will eventually grow into its colours.

Mate i had this problem with my pioneer Kuro at day time when i first got. It irritated the FUCK out of me, especially when at night time the blacks were, well, black. It seems that Panasonic and Pioneer have very reflective screens, to the point that when you have sun light/a white colored wall well lit in your viewing room, the blacks become grayish. I solved this by using a thick ass curtain on my window which eventually blocked a lot of the sun light coming into my room and made my white colored walls less reflective of the sun light. Consequently this made the blacks of my Pioneer TV black, as they should be.

I know that you have been talking about the color white, but, this incident of mine should be related to yours. If at night time your "whites" are still grayish, then disregard my above comment as room lighting is not your related to your problem, it probably has to do with TV settings.
 
Well, it's past 3am here now so I can say with some certainty that when I switch everything off but the TV and the rooms as black as pitch the whites are still greyish.

Guess I have a lot of playing around with settings to do. N ow I just have to dig out my DVE HD-DVD again.

*sigh*
 
Monkeylord said:
Samsung D550

I posted a link to it a little bit up the page.
Sorry, I missed your post above...browsing Gaf on my phone.

Are you using your TV in a brightly lit room?

If you don't mind, please post your current picture settings and advanced picture settings.
 
Monkeylord said:
Well, it's past 3am here now so I can say with some certainty that when I switch everything off but the TV and the rooms as black as pitch the whites are still greyish.

Guess I have a lot of playing around with settings to do. N ow I just have to dig out my DVE HD-DVD again.

*sigh*

Sorry to hear about that mate =(

At least now i am sure that it is setting related, and like ACE mentioned, please do post your settings, both for normal and advanced.
 
Barrel Cannon said:
My aunt gave me her old CRT for me to use in my gym room so I could use our current gym TV to play games on(it's an LCD). But instead I've been using the CRT. It hides aliasing problems a lot better than with any of my monitors+ built in AA from my games and all my old school games look so much better on it than when I play on my main family room TV.

Honestly all these new tvs don't do much for my games. The only problem is finding a Big high quality CRT now is practically impossible unless you have a friend trying to get rid of one or get lucky finding one on craigslist.

This. No way I'm giving up my tube.
 
Top Bottom