As a long time videophile and all-around tech geek who's been into home-theater since the early days of the LaserDisc (remember those?), I'd like to chime in here with some quick bullet points regarding the "plasma vs. LCD" dilemma, without going into much technical detail:
Plasmas:
- Much, MUCH better all-around for movies and sports.
- Offer a more natural, "film-like" and "smooth" picture quality, with terrific black levels, flesh-tones, contrast and color.
- Deep, inky, REAL blacks. No dark grays as with LCD's.
- Great refresh rate (ideal for fast-paced content, like sports or action movies). LCD's can't hold a candle to plasmas in this category, either, even with their ridiculously artificial "1000000 refresh rate" marketing BS.
- They'll look pretty much the same from almost any viewing angle. Try this at any store with an LCD.
- They DO consume more power. About twice as much. This will generate some heat depending on the size of the screen and the size of your room.
- They do have VERY slight "image retention" effect if you display a static image (like a network logo) for long amounts of time, but I have not seen this issue in most contemporary model (anything after 2008).
LCDs:
- They were originally designed as computer monitors, so they are great for STATIC images, like graphics and text. That's why this would be the ideal option if you play mostly video games. For pretty much everything else, they have a noticeable "artificial", overly bright look to them.
- They consume less power. They are lighter. BUT... they are usually more expensive. However, if you are the type that leaves the TV on ALL DAY LONG and are planning to install it in an overly bright area of your house, near a window, go with LCD.
I have a Panasonic 65" plasma and I love it. It uses about 500 watts. A similar LCD would use about 275 watts. But until they catch-up with image quality, I'll remain a plasma advocate.
Hope that helped.
Plasmas:
- Much, MUCH better all-around for movies and sports.
- Offer a more natural, "film-like" and "smooth" picture quality, with terrific black levels, flesh-tones, contrast and color.
- Deep, inky, REAL blacks. No dark grays as with LCD's.
- Great refresh rate (ideal for fast-paced content, like sports or action movies). LCD's can't hold a candle to plasmas in this category, either, even with their ridiculously artificial "1000000 refresh rate" marketing BS.
- They'll look pretty much the same from almost any viewing angle. Try this at any store with an LCD.
- They DO consume more power. About twice as much. This will generate some heat depending on the size of the screen and the size of your room.
- They do have VERY slight "image retention" effect if you display a static image (like a network logo) for long amounts of time, but I have not seen this issue in most contemporary model (anything after 2008).
LCDs:
- They were originally designed as computer monitors, so they are great for STATIC images, like graphics and text. That's why this would be the ideal option if you play mostly video games. For pretty much everything else, they have a noticeable "artificial", overly bright look to them.
- They consume less power. They are lighter. BUT... they are usually more expensive. However, if you are the type that leaves the TV on ALL DAY LONG and are planning to install it in an overly bright area of your house, near a window, go with LCD.
I have a Panasonic 65" plasma and I love it. It uses about 500 watts. A similar LCD would use about 275 watts. But until they catch-up with image quality, I'll remain a plasma advocate.
Hope that helped.
