LCD vs Plasma

[mickey&missy]

DH is finally getting his wish for a flat panel TV. The door on the front of our small entertainment center broke off. DH was going to try to fix it but I wasn't comfortable with because there is a glass window. Its tempered glass but with 3 little ones in the house I don't want to take any chances.

So, instead of buying a new unit DH and I are giving each other an early christmas gift and getting a TV. We've been doing research and went to Best Buy to look the other day. We're leaning toward LCD. Our living room is very bright and there is supposed to be no glare. But DH is concerned about something he read about not all of the pixels working and there being dead spots in the picture.

I'm looking for any advice or experience. We don't want to make the wrong choice! TIA!!!

[DizneyRox]

Let's start at the beginning, how big is the room?

[llamaface]

We just purchased a 40" Samsung LCD 2 weeks ago and couldn't be happier. We also have an extremely bright room (floor to ceiling window) and for the first time we can watch tv w/o seeing ourselves or other objects in the room in the screen. The reflection from a plasma is just as bad as having a tube tv. I say go LCD.

PS - 3 different friends of ours purchased plasma's and ended up ditching them for LCD's b/c of problems they had w/ the picture

[Ed]

I vote for the LCD. :thumbsup:

We have three of them. The picture quality is excellent, even in our very brightly sunlit sun room. And HiDef programs are stunningly sharp and clear.

I based these purchases on experiences we have had with plasma screens at work. To me, the picture quality was not as good on the plasmas, and we got a real shock when one of them needed repairs. First, we had a devil of a time finding a shop that could do the work, and the cost of the repairs was through the roof!

LCDs are getting so inexpensive that it's almost worth it to just replace them rather than mess with (and pay for) repairs.

We've had two of ours for about 3 years with never a minute's trouble. No "dead spots" or non-functional pixels. The third one is only about 6 months old, and is a pleasure to own and watch.

[DisneyCouple07]

I would say LCD. I have a small "cheapy" LCD in the bedroom and it's been great. A few months ago my wife and I bought a 46" Samsung (1080HD) and its fantasic. No problems other than the tv gets really warm. The picture quality is so great (even non-HD channels look good) that we sometimes flinch when we watch Discovery channel. The only issue that make plasmas worth it is the value of the blacks in the picture (contrast), but todays LCD's are actually pretty good at dealing with that (and there is no glare). One more thing, make sure you research different makes and models before buying (and double check prices of some retailersonline—they are sometimes cheaper online but will not let know of the online sales in store). Good luck. :)

[Marker]

I can't speak of LCD because I have no experience with one, so no direct comparisons from me.

However, a year ago we bought a 50" Plasma, AND LOVE IT. The picture is bright, the colors are sharp and crisp. We have never experienced a problem with glare, even in the morning when the sun shines into our living room windows. There is absolutely NO problem with viewing angle. The picture is just as bright and clear from the side as it is straight on.

We did experience "dead spots". When we first got it, we had a couple pixels that didn't work. We bought ours from Nebraska Furniture Mart. We called, they had a new one out as soon as they could (2 days), and even helped hang it on the wall. We've had absolutely no problems since. The delivery driver said that it happens in shipping sometimes if they failed to keep the unit upright.

Keep in mind, that an HD TV is only HD if you have an HD signal. So to fully utilize the HD capability, there will be the additional expense of the HD service.

The big, bright, crisp HD picture is AMAZING. You'd think after a year the novelty would have worn off, but no, I'm still amazed by it.

[magicofdisney]

Something I was told is that plasmas use 4 times as much energy as any other type of TV. Keep that added (hidden) expense in mind when making your final decision. Have fun shopping! :)

[DVC2004]

We own several tvs, but our two very large TVS are e a DLP projection (not big and boxy like the old projection tvs), and I just got a huge LCD tv for the bedroom for my birthday. Love them both, but get the true thin/flat screen with LCD.
Everything I was told is that over time the plasma will break down and ultimately not last as long. The color black doesn't look quite as black on LCDs was what I was told, although I have not noticed on mine. No glare issues. In fact mine has a light sensor that will adjust the picture depending on how much light is in the room. Our DLP is a Samsung and the plasma is a Sharp Aquos. I also looked at the Toshiba Regza.