Help Needed With Buying A New Hd Tv. Lcd Or Plasma?
March 1, 2010 by Rich
Filed under Frequently Asked Questions
Hi, our old sony wide screen tv has just packed up and i’m looking to buy a new larger tv. However I’m really confused of what to get. I’m looking at buying a 37″- 42″ TV.
Can anyone offer some advice of the following:-
Whats best LCD or Plasma? and why?
Whats a good make for about £1000? LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic?
I watch alot of movies and sports. Do I need 100htz?
Any advice would really be helpfull.
Panasonic and Pioneer have the best plasmas. Whether buying plasma or LCD is the right choice depends on your needs. If you watch a lot of sports, play a lot of video games, and watch movies, plasma is the best, because there is no motion blur. However a small percentage of people can see rainbow effect on plasma. If you happened to see rainbow effect on a plasma that you are considering, plasma is not for you. LCDs are more suitable for brighter rooms due to their matte screen surface that absorbs all ambient light. If you want to watch sports on an LCD, you need 100 hz. Without it, everything will look blurry. Motion blur in video games is not a problem, since most game developers like to add motion blur to the graphics themselves. Movies on an LCD are not as appealing as the cinema style plasma, as the blacks on LCD are not quite as dark. If you want LCD, Sony’s are best. For plasmas, Pioneer and Panasonic are the best.
This site should be able to answer all your questions, http://plasmaorlcd.co.uk
For around £1000 you can get a brilliant tv. First question though you need to ask is are you going to be watching HD on it? This will help you decide what resolution HD tv to get. 100Hz is controversial whether it’s necessary. If in doubt get it. Besides at around £1000 you will find most of the tvs have it anyway. If you go for 42″ then go for Plasmas. Less than go for LCD. However, don’t get a big screen if you are not going to be watching any HD content because SD content looks worse the bigger the tv.
Plasma is better if you want the bigger t.v, but at 37-42 it doesn’t really matter, i would still go with a plasma though. Plasma screens have better contrast and brightness and are better when viewing in a dark room they also offer slightly better viewing angles. They are not much heavier than L.C.D although they are slightly thicker. As for “image burn” its nowhere near as bad as it use to be on plasmas, and that problem is not an issue on new ones. Both have a life span about the same, 60,000hrs. As for makes personally i’d go with panasonic and make sure your new plasma has a resolution of 1920×1080 for true H.D tv viewing.
LCD’s are meant to generally be longer lasting then Plasma’s. Lcd’s are good in bright rooms and plasma’s have richer tones in the colour. From the makes you said, I would go with a Samsung. I have a 32″ Phillips Lcd t.v and it makes for really good viewing.The only thing I regret is not buying a 37 or 42″ so make sure you know what size you want. Also, make sure you get a t.v that has a high contrast ratio as if you get one that’s low the quality will be rubbish.
If you are still confused, go to an electronic store where they have the t.v’s on display and you can see which ones are better.
LCD and plasma are different, so there is no “best”. Plasma gives a great black level, but is heavier and has some issues with longevity. LCDs are much better than they used to be and give great pictures. they are lighter too.
get a set with the correct inputs for you (if you need a lot of HDMI inputs for hi-def sources such as sky hd. ps3/xbox360, HDMI DVD player.
You will get a good set for £1000. I have a toshiba z regza, and the picture is superb. I would avoid sharp, and sony are pricey.
If you’re near a John Lewis they give a free 5 year guarantee on all TVs and have a great selection for you to look at instore.
For £1000 make sure you get Full HD 1080p (most TVs in this price range will be, but worth checking).
LCD definitely…plasma tends to be pixely and you have to be sitting directly in front of it to see it well enough.
LG are good, and so are Sony
It doesn’t really matter…you’re choice!
they are all pretty good the LG IS great as it has free view built in also the panasonic vi era is good as well free view built in my mum just bought a samsung for our sitting room the picture quality is excellent
any tv for a £1000 good bargin u can get 1 hell of a nice tv with that money mate try popping in 2 currys or comet they will give you great advice on buying a tv.
go to consumer sceines affairs
and they have the skinny