A 50” Samsung DLP (720p) and the Hi-def looks great. The TVs you’re mentioning are both great; to be honest, I doubt you will even see a difference. At the optimal viewing distance for a 50”+ TV (which is 10ft or more), the difference is not even visible IMO. Go with the cheaper one…

Plasma vs LCD

No doubt. Get the 52 youll never watch a game not in HD again. I assure you. When I got my new 46 Sony Bravia my Dad was pissed off it wasnt his.

is that if the room is brighter, then you want an LCD because it is brighter and will be easier to see.

Plasma has a wider viewing angle, so depending on you seating arrangement, you may want that so people other than those sitting directly in front of the screen can see the action

Doesn’t burn as hot, Plasma have been known to burn the picture into the screen. A lot better color also with the LCD.

Longer life, cheaper, and you can replace the bulbs yourself, unlike these other two. If you want to hang on your perrdy wall, sure, if you want just as good quality for cheaper, projection.

Dan

And it’s great. Doesn’t take up too much space and the HD is awesome.

But if space is an issue, I like do LCDs better. I know Sony stopped making plasmas because of the burn in issue…

Aquos are sweet…but I don’t think you can go wrong either way!

...walked down the LCD aisle, then went to the plasma aisle to compare – the plasma section was noticeably warmer, just walking down the aisle. Plasma’s are energy hogs and i personally wouldn’t be comfortable with something that runs that hot (heat kills). As for projectors, the bulbs run about $600 for replacements (dependent on the model), and you’re looking at 1000-3000 hours per bulb depending on how it’s used. They also need a larger room to project a decent size picture.

My money went to a 40” Samsung 1080P LCD and I love it. They say the plasma’s have better blacks & brighter colors, but not having superhero vision, i can’t tell the difference.

is an absolutly beautiful television. we have 2 of them, a 42 and a 52

and have loved it since I purchased it three years ago. Since I’m young and have moved quite a bit, the LCD has been perfect. I chose the LCD over DLP because it has less moving parts. Also, I can easily carry it when I move. The LCD wins for me over plasma as well. I would be scared to death of rupturing whatever works the gas inside the plasma. The current LCD is just a more rugged package which is why it works so well for me. My Aquas is 32”.

There’s a lot of misconceptions about the advantages of LCD over plasma… and a few years ago, they were right on. All things techy are in a constant state of change/improvement. Heck, by the time you read this, my opinion will be updated!

I am a TV geek… 52” 1080i, 48”1080p, 100” DLP projector (yeah, I have issues, but a brother who works in the industry and a COOL WIFE!). Keep in mind when you go the store make sure you’re comparing apples to apples – see what components/cables they use for their signal (HDMI, RCA, etc). Some stores will have a 1080p hooked to a Blu Ray disc playing Pirates of the Carribean and you’ll be amazed at the clarity while another 1080p is showing the news on NBCHD or an HDDVD. Know what you’re looking at!

I have a preference for Panasonic – good ratings and some impressive technology. Some people looking for a great quality at a good price will go with Vizio at Sam’s or CostCo. Advantage with warehouse places is an awesome return policy. A downside is that the warehouse places (if you look at the model number) aren’t always on the company’s website.

Hope this helps… gotta run and get my exercise for the day before I park it in front of the couch and rot my brain in front of the tube!

If it’s a brightly illuminated room and that’s the condition you watch TV under, go with an LCD. LCD isn’t affected by the room brightness as much as plasmas are. However, Panasonic’s are very good in deflecting outside brightness because they put some kind of filter on the screen. In the end, though, it won’t be worse than watching an old tube TV in a bright room. You’ll notice the same reflections in the screen. However, you won’t see those with an LCD. In addition, LCD’s run colder and consume less power. However, once you adjust the brightness of a plasma TV it will consume less power and run colder too.

The problem with LCD is that sometimes the picture gets blurry when there is fast motion. This is particularly important when you’re watching sports. However, newer more expensive LCD’s like the ones you mentioned are very good in compensating for that. Many people swear they can’t see the motion blur in those TV sets.

Still, for my money, I want the clearest and most realistic image possible. I went with a Panasonic Viera 50” Plasma TV and couldn’t be happier. And, yes, the games on HD look so much better. And don’t be concerned about image burn-in on Panasonic plasmas. They have software designed to avoid that. Also, your game console, cable or satellite box will also prevent you from leaving the same picture on all day and night long. I think the only ones who need to be concerned about these are those who use plasmas in showrooms or businesses to display the same image or constant scrolls.

Other people are more concerned about the TV’s resolution. Check around to see if you’ll be better off with a more expensive full HD set (1080P) or if a 720P set will be enough for your needs. Be aware, though, that only Blu Ray players and the PS3 issue a 1080P signal.

One cautionary note, though, many broadcasts are still in standard definition, including most baseball games on EI. In fact, only a minority of cable systems carry the additional EI HD channel. Take this into account because my only frustration is that I would like to watch more HD programming. it all depends on what you watch, I guess. (BTW, if you have Direct TV in the USA, this cautionary note doesn’t apply.)

My suggestion is to go to a store, take a DVD you know well with a lot of action scenes, and ask the salesperson to put it on. Compare images. There is always improvement once you adjust the image at home, but this test will at least let you see how the TV’s handle the fast moving scenes and the room brightness. And of course, stay within your budget. Enjoy the HD experience, buddy. You’ll notice the difference when you can distinguish the grains of sand in the pitcher’s mound.

Link

My family recently bought a plasma and I have been blown away by it. Like others have mentioned, a big thing in picture quality is black levels, and plasma can’t be beat for that. Burn ins are the most overblown problem ever, especially considering the measures taken by TV manufacturers to combat them. Either way you can’t go wrong, because HD is just a thing of beauty.

One more thing, you will absolutely not be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, that I am confident of (unless you start looking at tv’s 55+ inches). If you’re looking for somewhere to save some money, that’s where I’d go.

Less than 6 feet from the set. Otherwise it’s unnoticeable. However, maybe the difference won’t be worth the extra money. As you say, that’s a spec to forego in order to save money.

I forgot to mention the black levels. Plasma shows true black, hoppy91. Also, I forgot to mention that plasmas can be watched from any point but LCD’s look best only when watched from a straight front angle. I recommend hoppy91 should check that at the store, as well. If his room is wide and viewers are going to be watching from the sides, plasma may suit the room better.

Three huge factors: 1080P, 120Hz refresh rate and better than 10,000:1 contrast ratio. Goes GREAT with fast-moving sports coverage, has the greatest resolution and darkest blacks. Its processor is one of the best in the industry and can upconvert any signal. Just make sure it’s a progressive (p) signal and not interlaced (i).

LCD has caught up to plasma in contrast and is nearly as bright. Plasma burn-out issues are nearly gone though from earliest models.

Plasma is hands down, night and day, better than LCD. This isn’t really even debatable – every expert will tell you the same thing.

As others have mentioned, LCD TV’s are incapable of rendering the color black – so while bright things like sports may look great on them, dark scenes in movies or dramatic television look washed out. Plasmas are the most vivid and lifelike displays on the market.

Lately I’ve seen some 720P 50” Pioneer Elite plasmas going for under $2000. They’re a steal at that price, and I highly suggest you look into them. I believe Tweeter has them on sale at that price right now.

1080P is nice but not a must-have at that size. I would take a higher-end 720P like the Pioneer over a cheaper 1080P any day of the week.

No complaints, if you want HD, go outside….i watch a lot of TV, but I just dont get the attraction to TVs that cost more than a used Honda

ultimately i went with a samsung plasma, after extensive reading I found out that LCD will look much better when looking at still images but if you watch a lot of sports you make experience some “motion blurring” Plasma tvs apparently had the fast action and also show black and dark images much better. There is a wealth of information available over at http://www.avsforum.com/ I would suggest going over there and reading up.

The technologies have advanced so that the difference is now minimal. I will tell you that I think the best picture of them all is the DLP technology. You lose the convenience of the flat panel but the picture, I think is better than either Plasma or LCD. In fact, Sony has a proprietary technology called SXRD which is similar to DLP from what I am told and it is the best possible picture in the current marketplace. I was looking at one about 1.5 years ago and the price tag was $3500, which was way to much for me, however; a friend of mine got one at Christmas time for $2000. Best picture period

I bought a 47” Toshiba Regza 1080p LCD and I reviewed every tv known to man for about a month. I chose LCD because of a couple reasons:

1) Plasma is susceptible to burn-ins on the screen(espcecially with video games)
2) Plasma also I was told uses a lot more energy so it could effect your electric bill

It really was a coin toss for me but the deal I got on this tv was unreal so i went with it. Just a few notes for you, if you don’t plan on getting a PS3 or XBOX 360 or Blu-Ray player, I wouldn’t get a 1080p tv. You could get a bigger tv at 720p for a lot less than you would a 1080p. I say this because TV signals are not running at 1080p, they are only running at 720p (1080i). That’s the maximum resolution right now for tv signals. So whether you have a local cable provider or Directv or Dish Network, you will only be optimized at 720p not 1080p. Basically, you’ll have a 1080p TV that’s not being used to it’s potential.

Now, if you are going to be using anything that uses 1080p, than go with the 1080p. But I would save the money and get a nicer TV and get a 720p if you are just going to be watching cable or satellite programming.

Wait until I buy one. Then the price will drop by hundreds of dollars guaranteed. Never fails..:)

An up and coming U.S. brand. They buy their screens from the same company Toshiba does.

I’ve had a 50” Plasma for almost a year and have had zero problems with it—bought it at Sam’s Club for $1500 and I’ve seen it since then for less.

the light sources in the room are right on. I have an LCD in a bright room and a Plasma in a finished basement. They are both terrific. The Panasonic Plasma’s picture is better with better color and no motion blur whatsoever. However, it wouldn’t work in the room upstairs by the window because the reflection glare would render it useless.

Regardless of LCD vs. Plasma, make certain it is suitable for sports. Not every product is suitable for fast action. I have a friend that spent $6k+ for a 50” Elite and does not do sports well. Too much blur.

for a couple of reasons, price, and it fits into my existing ent. center. At the time, Sony didn’t do 1080p on this size, only 720p. Now they do 1090p. I love it, and I don’t have HD yet, only regular cable. The stations that are broadcasting in HD do come alive even with regular cable. I have always loved Sony monitors/tubes.

i am still going to do some more research and definitely take into account everything i read here. i have some shopping around to do yet. i just got my profit sharing cheque from work today so at least i can get what i want just not what i can afford.