Plasma or LCD?

[General Zod]

Looking to get a HD TV about 42". Which is better? LCD or Plasma?

[SoSpacey]

there are 3 reasons to get LCD over plasma
1- room lighting...is your room super bright?
2- 1080p - not applicable at the size you are talking
3- hooking it up to a computer to use as a monitor

why do you buy a TV?
Picture quality.

If your answers to the above questions are...
1- no
2- i answered it for you
3- no

get a plasma

[General Zod]

there are 3 reasons to get LCD over plasma
1- room lighting...is your room super bright?
2- 1080p - not applicable at the size you are talking
3- hooking it up to a computer to use as a monitor


1 - Somewhat bright in that room but not "super bright". It's a small room with a ceiling fan that keeps it decently well lit but nothing amazing. The room does get flooded with sunlight a large portion of the day.

2- Yeah I read elsewhere that 1080p doesn't really matter at that size.

3 - I will want to occasionally hook it up to the computer to use it as a monitor (mostly for playing HD stuff through the computer)

I have an LCD TV that works just fine but it's only 27" and I just got a new entertainment center that is made for the bigger units and it makes the current one look extremely small.. So I just wanted to know if I should jump to plasma or not.. Thanks for the input.

[Sdallnct]

No offense, but not a good poll. To many variables mostly with how you are going to use.

For picture quality for TV, I'd go plasma. For use as a computer monitor, I'd got 1080p LCD.

[leest3]

I'd go with a plasma. One of my co-workers bought one to game with it and he is happy, but complained about the "break-in" period. Plasma's have better pixel response time than LCD's, they produce colors better too. I heard the black levels on plasma are better than LCD's, but in a room that's not very bright. The panel life of LCD's and plasma seem to be the same these days, and you don't really have to worry about burn in anymore.
I don't think any LCD's come in 42", but the closest sizes would be 40 and 46 inch. I heard 1080p plasma's don't really look that great in comparisson to their 720p counterparts, something about the smaller pixel having a harder time producing brigthness, I'm not really sure.
42" plasma's these days seem to be cheap. You can find a panasonic one for maybe 1400 if you buy it at the right time. A 40" LCD would be a little more.
Personally I'd go with the plasma, but everyone these days seems to think LCD is better. It's not.

[Patman]

I literally ordered a plasma (Panasonic TH-50PX600U) today after a couple of months of research and getting my ducks in a row (and waiting for my bonus to show up last week).

[kvrdave]

I prefer the picture of a plasma to lcds. Actually, I really don't care for the picture on an LCD much.

[Sdallnct]

I prefer the picture of a plasma to lcds. Actually, I really don't care for the picture on an LCD much.

You know, I hate to talk in generalities, but I agree. I'm sure there are some awesome LCD's out there, but I just haven't seen them. Every one I look at (including my own small 27" in my bar) seems less then the greatest picture.

[nateman]

I know this might be unpopular but i wouldn't get either, id stick with CRT or go with DLP, most LCD tvs have shitty picture in my opinion and Plasmas dont last that long.

[Sdallnct]

and Plasmas dont last that long.

:hscratch:

In fact, many plasma manufacturers boast a life span of 60,000 hours to half life! This is a longer life than a tube based television. The specification is somewhat suspect since the process of determining longevity of the product is based on deductive mathematical calculation of phosphor dissipation, and does not take into account the electronic components and the myriad of problems that can occur. Panasonic was the first to claim the 60,000 hour life span, up from a previous 30,000 just a year prior.

Within months after Panasonic announced this new life span, other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon announcing that their plasma television is now rated to 60,000.

So how long will a plasma last? The long and short of it is that it depends upon your daily hourly usage as well as how you use the monitor. 12 to 55 years is my new short answer.

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-lifespan.html

[Mr. Salty]

I know this might be unpopular but i wouldn't get either, id stick with CRT or go with DLP, most LCD tvs have shitty picture in my opinion and Plasmas dont last that long.
In addition to the misinformation about plasmas, I'd disagree with the CRT and DLP recommendations too. CRT is too bulky and heavy (although admittedly excellent picture), and I don't like the spinning color wheel concept used by DLP.

My own choice was LCoS (Sony's SXRD in my case, but JVC's D-ILA displays are nice, too).

[SoSpacey]

1 - Somewhat bright in that room but not "super bright". It's a small room with a ceiling fan that keeps it decently well lit but nothing amazing. The room does get flooded with sunlight a large portion of the day.

2- Yeah I read elsewhere that 1080p doesn't really matter at that size.

3 - I will want to occasionally hook it up to the computer to use it as a monitor (mostly for playing HD stuff through the computer)

I have an LCD TV that works just fine but it's only 27" and I just got a new entertainment center that is made for the bigger units and it makes the current one look extremely small.. So I just wanted to know if I should jump to plasma or not.. Thanks for the input.


my room (16 x 16) has 3 windows that are 72" x 42". thats a LOT of window. i still bought a plasma and have not had to deal with much reflection. its never been distracting and only noticeable if you sit and think about it.

you can get a 42" Panasonic Plasma for ~$1100 shipped. If there is not a deal on one today, there will be tomorrow. Samsung makes a nice 42" as well that buy.com was selling for $899 yesterday. That was a steal.

Also, I have a 50" Panasonic plasma as well as 2 very highly rated 26" LCDs....a Sony XBR and an LG. They both have nice pictures but lack the WOW factor of my Panny.

[General Zod]

Thank you for all the responses. I looked around for a good deal on plasmas and couldn't find one.. so for now so I decided to grab an LCD that was on sale but would EASILY be returnable to the Costco right around the corner.

Since folks said 1080p doesn't really matter at 42" I grabbed this one (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11182950&search=lcd%20tv&Mo=27&cm_re=1-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&N=0&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&Ne=4000000&D=lcd%20tv&Ntt=lcd%20tv&No=12&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&s=1&Sp=S&topnav=&Nty=1) . (I know the 1080p listed is wrong). I'll keep my eye out for a good plasma deal over the next 90 days.

[SoSpacey]

$1300 shipped to your door for the top model Panasonic and a free Panasonic DVD player...

Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889187030)

[leest3]

$1300 shipped to your door for the top model Panasonic and a free Panasonic DVD player...

Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889187030)
That is the high end 42" model too. What a great deal.

[mugwump]

I bought my first plasma (42") about six months ago and thought the picture quality was fantastic. I was worried about burn-in but never had any issues other than some slight image retention. It flaked out a few weeks ago and would have taken a few months to have repaired so I returned it and got a 42" LCD instead. I liked the fact that I wouldn't have to even think about burn-in. Well, after the past few weeks I can firmly state that the plasma had a much more pleasing picture and I'm seriously considering going back to one. When watching the LCD I'm constantly aware of the poor black levels and backlight leakage whereas I never even thought about the image on the plasma.

I guess each has its own pros and cons but at the end of the day it's the PQ that counts most and in my case plasma has it all over LCD.

[General Zod]

$1300 shipped to your door for the top model Panasonic and a free Panasonic DVD player...

Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889187030)
You taunt me. :grumble:

The one I ordered yesterday arrives today (I live not far from the shipping place) so I'll hook it up may just order that one you listed tonight. As always it doesn't really matter what *I* want.. it's what my wife wants. So i'll let her be judge, juror, and executor.

[Patman]

That's been the deciding factor for me as well in picking plasma as LCD just ain't quite there yet for picture quality when you have to put up with poor black levels (an ugly murkiness when viewing footage shot at night or low light conditions) and the backlight can be a nuisance as well under certain situations/viewing angles.

[General Zod]

$1300 shipped to your door for the top model Panasonic and a free Panasonic DVD player...

Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889187030)
Says native resolution is 1024x768... ? Isn't that a bit low?

[SoSpacey]

Says native resolution is 1024x768... ? Isn't that a bit low?


all 42" plasmas are at that resolution. plasma pixels MUST be a certain size and that is all they can "fit" into a 42" unit.

while it seems low compared to an lcd, it is actually one of the reasons plasma can reproduce colors so well.



also, dont get fooled by that sceptre. when it arrives, you will hook it up and think the picture is great. if you can not do an a/b blind test you may never really notice the difference.

plasmas are superior to LCD in a few ways...

1- black levels - black must be produced by a television. the definition of black is an absence of light. it is VERY difficult to "produce" the lack of light. plasma does this very well while lcd is more of a charcoal gray. reas what patman wrote, he is accurate. dark scenes, night shots, etc are just better on a plasma.

2- color reproduction - plasmas are very very accurate when properly calibrated. peoples skin looks like, well, peoples skin. skin tones are very accurate.

3- contrast ratio - because of the deep blacks, plasma produces such a strong contrast between blacks and color that everything seems to pop.

these are 3 of the more important issues when looking at plasma v. lcd and it is what has the greatest effect on picture quality, imo. MUCH more than resolution.

[General Zod]

Thanks Spacey. I'll check out the LCD tonight and brow beat it for a while and perhaps drive over to my local Best Buy and see if I can see a difference. If you weren't all the way in Jersey I'd take you along for the ride. I guess now would be a good time to mention i'm really not THAT picky about picture quality seeing as I don't even have anything HD.. but I'm always thinking about the future.

Thanks again..

[Struz]

I recently bought a 40 in. Sony Full HD Bravia 1080p LCD.
Awesome picture !

[Mr. Salty]

all 42" plasmas are at that resolution. plasma pixels MUST be a certain size and that is all they can "fit" into a 42" unit.
That isn't true. Hitachi makes a very nice 42-inch plasma that is 1024 x 1080.

[SoSpacey]

That isn't true. Hitachi makes a very nice 42-inch plasma that is 1024 x 1080.


ok, most.

[sniper308]

ok, most.


Many of them up until now but not as I understand it for the reason you state... Plasmas and LCD's are both fixed pixel displays... they have a certain amount of pixels, and that is the native resolution. The size of the screen does not determine the resolution, the number of pixels determines the resolution. Obviously to put more pixels in a similar size screen requires smaller pixels but that is a good thing.

Size of screen and your proximity to it determine whether your eye can discern the difference.




Per a quick google...

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/tvs/0,39037594,39253346,00.htm

"the benefit of smaller, more closely packed pixels, meaning you can sit closer and not notice the pixel grid--the screen-door effect."

[mugwump]

Well, thanks to SoSpacey's post I now have a Panasonic TH-42PX600U on its way. I've always had issues with LCD PQ but decided to try one myself. I'm happy to be going back to plasma.

[General Zod]

OK gonna need more help. I got the 42" LCD shipped today and it looks OK... but when I look at it close up it looks like an internet movie or something (really pixelated). From a distance away it looks ok.

So, being a newbie at this, what is the problem here. I don't have HD. I have just a regular satellite connection and I've got 2 choices coming out of the DVR box.. component and svideo. So I connected both and whichever input I choose it looked the same. Is this what happens when you view standard tv with these larger sets? Is this why people scream they want HD? Or should I have a nice sharp picture even close up and something else is wrong? I haven't hooked up a dvd player yet or anything to see if that picture is any better. Anyones $.02 is appreciated.

[Patman]

LCDs are not all that good with the Standard Definition programming, they are much better when you send it High Def programming/material.

[General Zod]

LCDs are not all that good with the Standard Definition programming, they are much better when you send it High Def programming/material.
So.. let's assume I'm probably not going to be getting HD any time really soon.. I'm better off switching to Plasma? General agreement? Or am I not going to see that much difference?

[Patman]

Plasma's handle SD material better than LCD (on average). But you still might not like how your SD programming looks on plasma either.

[Kaiser Soze]

$1300 shipped to your door for the top model Panasonic and a free Panasonic DVD player...

Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889187030)

We have this exact same model and could not be happier. That's a great price too!

[SoSpacey]

We have this exact same model and could not be happier. That's a great price too!


Kaiser Soze and SoSpacey replying to one another. Are they the same person?

virgil?

[Cosmic Bus]

Can I be in the "undecided" camp?

After months of reading comparisons and reviews, and looking at quite a few sets in person, I decided on my first HDTV a couple of days ago, a 40" Samsung LCD, and honestly, I'm not feeling terribly impressed. First off, I may have been a bit overzealous with the size -- a 37" would've been a better choice, given my seating distance.

Secondly, the picture just isn't what I hoped for. I've gone through calibration with Avia and tried a number of settings recommended by other owners and none of it is proving satisfactory to my eyes. There appears to be a great loss of detail in dark areas no matter what I do, and the image has sort of a "smeared" look in SD (expected) and on my DVDs; even the OTA HD content isn't really grabbing me as anything special. Granted, I've been seeing everything on a 27" CRT for the past tweleve years, but the much larger size isn't a good trade-off for the loss of that crisp, colorful picture I'm accustomed to. Without getting my hopes up, I'm planning to try out an HDMI upscaling player this weekend and decide then if I'll be exchanging the LCD for a smaller model and brand or switching to a plasma.

The downside of this whole situation is that the only 37" plasma I'm aware of is the Panasonic and I hate the cheap silver design on the current model. :( Also, I'm wary of the potential issues with burn-in and the lengthy break-in period is sort of off-putting...

[SoSpacey]

Can I be in the "undecided" camp?

After months of reading comparisons and reviews, and looking at quite a few sets in person, I decided on my first HDTV a couple of days ago, a 40" Samsung LCD, and honestly, I'm not feeling terribly impressed. First off, I may have been a bit overzealous with the size -- a 37" would've been a better choice, given my seating distance.

Secondly, the picture just isn't what I hoped for. I've gone through calibration with Avia and tried a number of settings recommended by other owners and none of it is proving satisfactory to my eyes. There appears to be a great loss of detail in dark areas no matter what I do, and the image has sort of a "smeared" look in SD (expected) and on my DVDs; even the OTA HD content isn't really grabbing me as anything special. Granted, I've been seeing everything on a 27" CRT for the past tweleve years, but the much larger size isn't a good trade-off for the loss of that crisp, colorful picture I'm accustomed to. Without getting my hopes up, I'm planning to try out an HDMI upscaling player this weekend and decide then if I'll be exchanging the LCD for a smaller model and brand or switching to a plasma.

The downside of this whole situation is that the only 37" plasma I'm aware of is the Panasonic and I hate the cheap silver design on the current model. :( Also, I'm wary of the potential issues with burn-in and the lengthy break-in period is sort of off-putting...


these are all typical complaints about LCDs. My LG, with the XD engine, does a very good job with SD content, but it is only a 26".

how close do you sit that a 40-42 is too large?

the new panasonic plasmas have a black bezel and can be pre-ordered for around $1350 on Amazon. They were supposed to be released a week ago.

burn-in is not an issue with plasma anymore. dont let it worry you. there is a slight issue with image retention, but that is different than burn-in as it is temporary and goes away. i have never had this issue though and over the weekend i mistakenly left my ps3 paused for 3 hours.

the break-in period for me was easy. they suggest 100 hours. i left mine on for a week.

[Sdallnct]

So.. let's assume I'm probably not going to be getting HD any time really soon.. I'm better off switching to Plasma? General agreement? Or am I not going to see that much difference?

I think you would be better off with a SD TV. But that is just me.

That is why I have not pulled the trigger on a new set in my living room. Can't decide how much I want to spend on HD sources or if I really need HD in there. In any case, I see no reason to get a HD set if I have no HD sources.

No my media room, I have a HD PJ and hooked up to OTA HD. In my bar, I have a 26" HD set with OTA HD. But haven't decided what to do in the living room so since living with SD source, going to stick to a SD display.

[sniper308]

Can I be in the "undecided" camp?

After months of reading comparisons and reviews, and looking at quite a few sets in person, I decided on my first HDTV a couple of days ago, a 40" Samsung LCD, and honestly, I'm not feeling terribly impressed. First off, I may have been a bit overzealous with the size -- a 37" would've been a better choice, given my seating distance.

Secondly, the picture just isn't what I hoped for. I've gone through calibration with Avia and tried a number of settings recommended by other owners and none of it is proving satisfactory to my eyes. There appears to be a great loss of detail in dark areas no matter what I do, and the image has sort of a "smeared" look in SD (expected) and on my DVDs; even the OTA HD content isn't really grabbing me as anything special. Granted, I've been seeing everything on a 27" CRT for the past tweleve years, but the much larger size isn't a good trade-off for the loss of that crisp, colorful picture I'm accustomed to. Without getting my hopes up, I'm planning to try out an HDMI upscaling player this weekend and decide then if I'll be exchanging the LCD for a smaller model and brand or switching to a plasma.

The downside of this whole situation is that the only 37" plasma I'm aware of is the Panasonic and I hate the cheap silver design on the current model. :( Also, I'm wary of the potential issues with burn-in and the lengthy break-in period is sort of off-putting...


I recently picked up a 32" Samsung LCD which was open box (LN-S3241D) and I got a significant discount on it, and I'm in about the same boat. I haven't tried the OTA, but I did pick up an upscaling DVD player and connected it via HDMI. I have an SD DirecTV receiver connected and its pretty much what I expected as far as picture (as I didn't expect much).

Where it seems to hit the sweet spot (as expected since this is the only HD source I'm feeding it) is gaming with the 360 in HD, and watching downloaded content, etc.

My other TV is a 27" Panasonic CRT that has an excellent picture with a DirecTV SD receiver and a DVD player connected via the component inputs.

Main reason I picked up the LCD was that the SD TV it was replacing was starting to die (turning off, etc), and so I could dabble in HD with the 360. I picked LCD over Plasma for concerns with others in my house possibly burning in an image due to leaving static images, etc on it.

So, I'm not overly impressed either, but then again I didn't expect to be with what I was inputting into it.

[Kaiser Soze]

Kaiser Soze and SoSpacey replying to one another. Are they the same person?

virgil?

HA! Didn't even notice that until you pointed it out.

And like that. Poof. He was gone.

[Cosmic Bus]

how close do you sit that a 40-42 is too large?

the new panasonic plasmas have a black bezel and can be pre-ordered for around $1350 on Amazon. They were supposed to be released a week ago.

I'm about 7' or so back, which I don't believe is particularly out of the ordinary (maybe a little closer than average) but to me, the numerous image flaws (from both standard DVDs and the general picture quality of the set) are just far too apparent at this size. I'm not even convinced that a 37" is going to magically fix things, either; this being my first foray in HDTV, I think there was a certain expectation - possibly unrealistic? - I went into this with and it simply isn't being met, and may not be unless a full 1080p, HD/Blu-Ray upgrade were possible for my entire collection, and that's a pretty silly idea really...

Do you have a model number available for the upcoming Panasonics? I don't see anything new or recent listed on Amazon, only the current PX60 series and older. But again, am I going to run into the same gripes with the picture on a plasma? The blacks might be better and color more "true" but it seems unlikely that my DVDs and standard programming will come out significantly better looking than on an LCD.

Honestly, I feel like I'm too practical to even have bought this in the first place since my old 27" CRT was perfectly fine! I'm wondering now if maybe a Sony XBR tube is better option in my case, although the TV table I have isn't spec'd quite high enough to hold something of that weight. Yeesh! What a lousy week. -confused-

[Patman]

I think a lot of folks with DVD collections are going to be disappoint in how the newer HDTV sets will show too much of DVD's (and SD's) video limitations. This is "progress". :D

But then you get some good HD content, and you'll be salivating for more HD, and simply tolerate the not-as-good-as-HD DVDs and SD programming feeds with the newer HDTV sets.

[leest3]

If you can't decide between plasma and LCD, Go LCoS. The Sony SXRD blows away anything I've seen (although I hear the new Pioneer plasma's coming out rival SED). Plus they're cheaper, relative to size of Plasma's and LCD's.

[leest3]

LCDs are not all that good with the Standard Definition programming, they are much better when you send it High Def programming/material.
I think my LCD looks fine with SD programming. OTA or digital cable, both looked fine. The next TV I get though will probaly be a plasma though. When I bought my LCD, the 42" plasmas were nowhere as cheap as they are today.

[Cosmic Bus]

Well, I brought back my LCD this morning. Unfortunately, no one in the area has any good plasmas in stock (aside from floor models. Uhh, no thanks), so it looks like I'll be waiting until mid-April when the new models are available.

[Sdallnct]

I think a lot of folks with DVD collections are going to be disappoint in how the newer HDTV sets will show too much of DVD's (and SD's) video limitations. This is "progress". :D

But then you get some good HD content, and you'll be salivating for more HD, and simply tolerate the not-as-good-as-HD DVDs and SD programming feeds with the newer HDTV sets.

Actually, I'm still pleased with 480p DVD. I have recently gotten a PS3 and a few blu-rays, but it has not convinced me to buy only blu-ray. In fact, I recently purchased a nice up converting DVD player to see if I can squeeze just a touch more out of SD DVD. But even if I can't, I'm still good with it.

[Mr. Salty]

I think a lot of folks with DVD collections are going to be disappoint in how the newer HDTV sets will show too much of DVD's (and SD's) video limitations. This is "progress". :D
I bought an Oppo 981 upscaling DVD player to go with my Sony SXRD and I'm amazed at how good SD DVD looks on it. If the transfer has flaws, they show, but DVDs look damned close to HD with this player using HDMI.

[mugwump]

So the Panasonic TH-42PX600U arrived on Wednesday and I'm in plasma heaven. Everyone has their PQ pet peeves and the weak black levels on the LCD just bothered me to no end so I had to go back to plasma.

[Patman]

Congrats on the 42PX600U! It's killing me that I have my 50" version and it's just sitting in my garage while I get my carpet situation sort out.

[Spiky]

So, you're carpeting your garage?

[Patman]

I recently suffered a flood in my house by a water heater (http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=496415) giving up the ghost.

[Jadow]

I get so freaked out by the idea of burn-in, I side with LCD.

[Dane]

I'd go with a plasma as well. LCD still not good enough.

[68ShelbyGT500KR]

I bought the Panny 42 60u set about 6 months ago, and it displays an very very good pic in SD. Very Good pic on DVD 480p. I still have the pic settings set for the burn-in even with 450+ hours currently on the TV. Very happy with it. Excellent HD Quality thru the QAM tuner.

[Sdallnct]

modern plasmas have very little chance of burn in.

I get so freaked out by the idea of burn-in, I side with LCD.

[mugwump]

I had a Vizio plasma before and it suffered from regular image retention but never any burn in. With the Panny I have yet to see any IR at all and it's still in the break-in phase. If it's this good at this stage I don't think I'll be giving burn in a second thought with this set.

Patman -- I read your tale of woe over on HTF and it freaked me out enough to have a new hot water heater installed even though mine's in the garage where it won't cause much trouble even if it does go kaput. Water damage is not fun to deal with. I hope you can get everything fixed up soon.

[Spiky]

Ouch. My mo-in-law went through that a couple years ago. Hose to the washer popped a little hole when she was out of town for the day. Came back to a foot of water. Really sucks. Now she replaces the hoses every 2 years or something.

[Cosmic Bus]

After returning a 40" Samsung LCD (the LN-S4041D) a couple of weeks ago, I ended up buying the 42" Samsung HPS4233 plasma tonight and so far I'm thrilled with it. Much nicer picture overall than the LCD had, better OTA HD (in terms of both quality and quantity; this one picks up almost ten more channels than the LCD did), and wonderful standard DVD playback via component along with positively gorgeous HDMI upconversion on the player I picked up as well -- again, a Samsung... mainly because it matches the design of the TV :lol: but it was a good price, to boot.

So in my short experience thus far, plasma definitely takes the cake. :)

[Patman]

Patman -- I read your tale of woe over on HTF and it freaked me out enough to have a new hot water heater installed even though mine's in the garage where it won't cause much trouble even if it does go kaput. Water damage is not fun to deal with. I hope you can get everything fixed up soon.

Glad to inspire some proactiveness from my misfortune, but it's an opportunity to get to do things over again, so it's not all bad. Thanks for your sympathies.

[bjh_18]

I have both, and I love the picture on the plasma so much more than the LCD.

[Sdallnct]

After returning a 40" Samsung LCD (the LN-S4041D) a couple of weeks ago, I ended up buying the 42" Samsung HPS4233 plasma tonight and so far I'm thrilled with it. Much nicer picture overall than the LCD had, better OTA HD (in terms of both quality and quantity; this one picks up almost ten more channels than the LCD did), and wonderful standard DVD playback via component along with positively gorgeous HDMI upconversion on the player I picked up as well -- again, a Samsung... mainly because it matches the design of the TV :lol: but it was a good price, to boot.

So in my short experience thus far, plasma definitely takes the cake. :)

Now I'm interesting in the tuner situation. Why do you think you got more channels? The tuner should not be an LCD v Plasma issue. When you had the LCD did you try adjusting your antenna to get more channels? Did the LCD not pick up some sub channels that plasma does? May be the LCD was not set to pick up sub channels?

[Cosmic Bus]

I can't explain it, honestly. Obviously the type of display has no bearing on my reception, so I'd just have to assume there's a superior tuner in this set.

I played around with the antenna when it was originally on the LCD and managed to pick up 8 channels of moderate quality: they looked decent enough, but there was a lot of break-up and pixelization, along with sound cutting out. Last night, I screwed in the antenna hook-up to the plasma, did an air scan, and it grabbed 17 channels right off and they're quite a bit better than before. Gorgeous picture and no break-up whatsoever. And now I can see why sports broadcasts are often considered the real selling point for HD... :drool: I don't even like the stuff, but couldn't pull myself away!

[Mr. Cinema]

Well, thanks to SoSpacey's post I now have a Panasonic TH-42PX600U on its way. I've always had issues with LCD PQ but decided to try one myself. I'm happy to be going back to plasma.
I'm seriously considering a tv upgrade and this is the one I'm leaning towards. Panasonic plasma's have gotten great reviews and the 42" is in my budget. That model also has 2 HDMI inputs, which helps me out.

For the Plasma owners, I'll be going from a Sony 30" 16:9 CRT to this 42" Plasma, provided I can find one in stock locally. Will I notice a big difference in pic quality?

My apartment has quite a bit of light during the afternoon. Are Plasmas as bad as CRTs when it comes to light reflection?

[ANDREMIKE]

When comparing standard programming on the TV's, you should put the image into the 4:3 mode. Not the wide screen mode. The wide screen mode will distort the image slightly because it is being stretched to fit the screen. Older shows like from the 80's and 90's can look really bad on any widescreen TV.

But I agree that PLASMA's are much better.

The way I look at it is if you like the picture from a tube TV then a PLASMA is what you want to get. If you you are used to the old rear projection sets, then get an LCD....you will not be able to tell the difference.(both pictures are pretty bad.)

[Original Desmond]

Ive just bought a Panasonic Plasma, the Australian model equivalent of TH-50PX600U

Getting it delivered Saturday, woot !