televisions

[ralphlsasser]

I am in the market for a new television and I am totally ignorant as to the differece between a LCD and a Plasma. The differance that is obvious is the Plasma has a more 3-D looking picture and of course the price. Could someone please tell me the difference between the two, which is best, and the advantage one over the other, and any other information that might help in my decision.
I appreciate any assistance and guidance you could give me.
Ralph

[sabaii sabaii]

[sabaii sabaii]

[harrybarracuda]

I would go LCD, better picture. Don't bother with 3D, as it will be a few years before that settles down.

Check the power consumption, this is also a big factor.

[ralphlsasser]

I would go LCD, better picture. Don't bother with 3D, as it will be a few years before that settles down.

Check the power consumption, this is also a big factor.

You mean there is a difference? What would make the power compsumption different?

[nigelandjan]

If you can afford it mate go the LED route ,,, beautifull pic easy on the eye , low power usage

If not next in line will be LCD

I would put Plasma at the back of the list , run very hot in room ,, IMO not such a good pic and higher power useage .


We have a Samsung 42" LCD HI DEF Freeview inc set cost me £ 380 online

Very very pleased with it ,, allthough I have been told since I would have done better to go for the same spec but made by LG ,, allthough I thought LG made the Samsung parts

Hope that helps a bit

[Bung]

LED are the best but most expensive. I just bought the highest end Samsung smart tv 2D. I just can't see myself paying for 3D movies and sitting on my sofa with the glasses on watching it. The Samsung smarts have internet connectivity, media player built in etc, very happy with it.

[aging one]

I echo dont go for the plasma, the power consumption is high and it must be in an air conditioned room. Its the oldest of the technology. I went for LCD a month ago as Samsung was having a huge sale. I got a 42 incher with tons of ports for 15,000. The HD especially streaming from the net is fantastic.

The LED is probably a little bit better, but our family are not TV addicts so I doubt we would really see the difference. Shop around mate. Power Buy even admitted dont buy it here as we overcharge. Why? They have on sight repairs if something goes wrong and you dont have to go back to the manufacturer. Check out Home Pro its where we bought.

[Takeovers]

If you like the feel of warmth radiating from an open fireplace on a chilly evening, go for Plasma. They have excellent picture quality too.

That may be slightly exaggerated but in the early days of flat screens it was really true. I could detect a plasma screen just by walking past at a distance of two meters. The heat radiating was clearly detectable. They are better than that now but still consume a lot more than LCD or LED.

[ralphlsasser]

Thanks to all of you. After reading with what you all have said and talking to some friends, I think I will go for the LED. Thanks again

[daveboy]

If you want to watch sports on it go for plasma.

[Little Chuchok]

Here is an explanation from NZ Consumer.org

Liquid crystal display (LCD)

Price range: $350 to $6000
Common sizes: 17 to 55 inches

How it works:
LCD (liquid crystal display) is the technology used in slim-line computer screens. The image is made up of dots (pixels) which are tiny blinds that can be opened or closed to allow the light behind them to come through. LCD technology is also used in rear-projection TV sets.

Pros:

Very good picture quality.
Thin and light.
Wall-mountable.
Screen is not reflective.
Very low risk of burn-in of static images compared to plasma.
Reasonably low running costs in smaller sizes - similar to a CRT TV of the same size.
Some can double as a computer display.
Cons:

Images can dim as you angle away from the centre of the screen.
Greater risk of motion blur than plasma (but not extreme).
Contrast usually not as good as plasma.
Our verdict:
LCDs are the new benchmark TV. They're now much cheaper and have much better quality than earlier models.

For more information, see our full report on LCD and plasma televisions.

Light emitting diode (LED)
Price range: $1200 to $4000
Common sizes: 32 to 60 inches

How it works:
Despite all the marketing hype surrounding LED TVs, they’re not a different "type" of TV technology. An LED TV is simply an LCD panel that uses different backlighting. Standard LCD TVs use lamps called cold-cathode fluorescent lights (CCFLs). LED TVs use light emitting diodes (LEDs) for backlighting.

There are two types of LED backlighting. The usual one is “full array” where LEDs are lined behind the LCD panel. The other is "edge-lit", where the LEDs are positioned along the four edges of the screen and project light inwards. Edge-lit TVs can be thinner than full array models but can also have less consistent backlighting – for example, the edges of the screen can seem brighter than the middle.

The higher price tag and newer technology of LEDs doesn’t necessarily mean a better picture. Our recent TV tests found some LED models ranked at the top of the table while others were near the bottom, beaten by standard LCD models.

Pros

Much thinner and lighter than standard LCD models.
More energy efficient than standard LCD models and much more efficient than plasmas.
Very good picture quality – some are superior to standard LCD models.
Screen is not reflective.
Very little risk of burn-in of static images compared with plasmas.
Cons

Generally more expensive than standard LCDs of the same size.
Images can dim as you angle away from the centre of the screen.
The same risk of motion blur as standard LCDs and usually more than plasmas.
Some (but not all) can have very poor sound quality.

Plasma

Price range: $650 to $5000
Common sizes: 42 to 60 inches

How it works:
Plasma is an array of very small dots called pixels, each of which is made up of a red, green and blue phosphor cell. The phosphor cells are filled with a gas - usually xenon, neon or argon. When an electric current passes through the gas, it's excited into a plasma state (hence the name) and the gas emits ultraviolet light which in turn causes the phosphor to glow.

Pros:

Very good picture quality.
Negligible risk of motion blur.
Usually has the best contrast and brightness.
Can be viewed from any angle without losing quality.

Cons:

Not available in smaller sizes below about 37 inches.
Usually use more power than LCD.
Generates lots of heat and may have fan noise.
Can suffer from burn-in of static images.
Can be very costly to run, especially above 50 inches.
Relatively heavy, and wall-mounting can be expensive.
Shiny screen can be reflective.
Has to be kept upright for transport.
Our verdict:
Large plasma screens are now as reliable as LCDs and match their picture quality. They're also similarly priced.

[kmart]

If you're watching True channels you might as well be viewing with the old-fashioned tube tellies. They tend to give a better picture of the 5 pixels that True are sending out..