What do you prefer and why? (LCD vs. Plasma)

[porksoda]

Well I am considering to buy a TV for our living room.
The living room is not very big.
I plan on putting a 40"-46" TV but I am unsure on what kind to choose.
I go and look at them at stores(e.g. Sears and Walmart) and they all look the same to me.
I was wanting to set my budget at $550 but from the prices I saw I may have to bump that up a $100 or so.
I want something that will last me. I know this is kind of a big investment that I don't want to replace in a few years from now.

I see and hear about 720p and 1080p.
Which I was told that means its a better picture but I really cant tell a difference.
Either kinds of TV look amazing!
Anything will be better then my Tube TV I have now.
I saw LED TV's are out but those are way too much for me.

So what do you prefer and why?

[Sarthos]

LCD>Plasma. Why? Longevity. Plasma screens get images burned into it. Especially if you have anything on the screen that's not moving. People who play video games with any sort of display that's always on the screen (like the map in the corner of GTA games) or a crosshairs in the center of shooting games seem to hate this the most. Eventually no matter what they do there are lines in the screen where those items normally are.

[Slayerx]

Each one has it's pros and cons. Some people think plasma looks better some don't. Only major thing about plasma is that the brightness faded over the years. Not a big deal if you start out with it at say 50%, then you can just turn in up and it will last you untill it'd be time to replace anyways. As far as 1080p, you can start to see the difference at about 40" plus, but the only way to get 1080p content right now is bluray. HD cabe/sattelite is only 720p or 1080i. Don't go to big for how close you'll be sitting. You want the screen size to be abiut 2x the viewing distance, not a rule just a good starting point. Get a samsung or LG and you cant go wrong with quality. Stay away from sony unless you're buying one of thier high end tv's. Pretty much if your budget only gets you a plasma then go for it. If you can save up a bit more and wait, I would to get a lcd.

[Sarthos]

That's another thing I forgot, the reason you might not have seen a difference between screens may have been if they didn't have a good enough source to send the signal. If you feed a 1080P screen and a 720P screen 720P signal you probably won't notice a difference.

[Digital Designs]

If you dont need a bunch of hdmi ports, Walmart has a Samsung 40" 1080p LCD tv for $498. It only has one hdmi port though. It is still an excellent deal, Samsung is one of the top LCD companies in my opinion.

[Slayerx]

Oh ya, as far as burn in, that takes an hour+. Some models now have technology that sendd a small grey line of pixels thats unnoticable to prevent that, but those models are higher end models out of your budget. My vote is lcd.

[Louisiana_CRX]

If you dont need a bunch of hdmi ports, Walmart has a Samsung 40" 1080p LCD tv for $498. It only has one hdmi port though. It is still an excellent deal, Samsung is one of the top LCD companies in my opinion.

they have a 50" Plasma for $549

[Digital Designs]

Each one has it's pros and cons. Some people think plasma looks better some don't. Only major thing about plasma is that the brightness faded over the years. Not a big deal if you start out with it at say 50%, then you can just turn in up and it will last you untill it'd be time to replace anyways. As far as 1080p, you can start to see the difference at about 40" plus, but the only way to get 1080p content right now is bluray. HD cabe/sattelite is only 720p or 1080i. Don't go to big for how close you'll be sitting. You want the screen size to be abiut 2x the viewing distance, not a rule just a good starting point. Get a samsung or LG and you cant go wrong with quality. Stay away from sony unless you're buying one of thier high end tv's. Pretty much if your budget only gets you a plasma then go for it. If you can save up a bit more and wait, I would to get a lcd.

Why do you feel Sony isnt good? I think they are up there with Samsung, Sharp, LG, etc. I have a 40 inch Sony 1080p LCD and it is worlds better than all the cheap brands, and looks just as good if not better than any other TV I have seen. I also have a 32 inch Vizio LCD and its good for the price, definitely better than most.

Also, you say you want the screen size to be 2 times the viewing distance. So this means since my viewing distance from my couch to my TV is about 8 feet, I should have a 16 foot tv? That makes a lot of sense......

[Sarthos]

cuz cheap sony HDTVs have sony xplod equipment hidden inside of them

[nateberrier]

Sony has a low contrast ratio. Contrast ratio is just about everything with TVs. Plasmas have the highest but they are also not easily repairs and can get burnins and can be hard to see in direct sunlight. LCDs are cheap to repair usually and have a longer life over all but warrant lower contrast ratios, LC, and Samsung and i think Toshiba are top. Used to work at Sears a year or so ago. You wont find 1080p under 32 inches either.

[nateberrier]

also sears will do a price match plus 10% off if you find a lower price elsewhere.

[Louisiana_CRX]

I have an LED LCD TV its a Vizio I like the pic quality on it....the 47" was as big as I could get for my entertainment center...I'm trying to figure out how to install a bigger one...without replacing it...I have found a few 52" LCD's that will fit but no LED LCD's....

[Slayerx]

Why do you feel Sony isnt good? I think they are up there with Samsung, Sharp, LG, etc. I have a 40 inch Sony 1080p LCD and it is worlds better than all the cheap brands, and looks just as good if not better than any other TV I have seen. I also have a 32 inch Vizio LCD and its good for the price, definitely better than most.

I'm sure it looks better than cheap brands, but from what I've seen, for the price you can usually do alot better, especially with a samsung or lg. Their entry level tvs that I've seen looked like poo honestly. Thier top and mid tier look great though, but still for the price usually, you can get a samsung, even a size larget and higher quality screen. But everyone has thier own tastes, just like car audio. Like I said, lots of people think plasmas look better

[Slayerx]

Sony has a low contrast ratio. Contrast ratio is just about everything with TVs. Plasmas have the highest but they are also not easily repairs and can get burnins and can be hard to see in direct sunlight. LCDs are cheap to repair usually and have a longer life over all but warrant lower contrast ratios, LC, and Samsung and i think Toshiba are top. Used to work at Sears a year or so ago. You wont find 1080p under 32 inches either.

Haha I work for sears now sellin tv's. Ya toshiba is up thier too, I own a 46" 1080p 120hz toshiba and it's beautiful.
And Rca makes 1080p down to 22", I dont know why lol

[Rich B]

Next time you're in a store looking at HDTV's place the back of your hand an inch away from an LCD screen, then repeat that with a plasma.

Plasma's run a lot hotter, which tells you how much more electricity they will end up using.