New TV time

[econ]

My Hitachi 50" LCD is now 8 years old and it's time for a new TV.I'm confused.8 years ago I went with an LCD TV over plasma because the plasma TVs were too expensive and the burn in issues. Plasmas have come way down in price,but everyone I've talked to in the stores has given me a different story about burn in issues.I've got my eye on a PANASONIC "54 inch Class G10 VIERA 1080p Plasma HDTV,but would like to hear any recommendations.Thanks

[Skaggs]

I purchased a 50" Panasonic plasma about 3 years ago and love it. It is in my large family room with seat locations all over the room. One of the benefits of the plasma is that you can view the picture at an angle and that was the clincher for me. Since my 50" Panny is 3 years old, it is not 1080p, only 1080i. I watch plenty of DVDs on the plamsa by using a HDDVD player to upconvert. The picture quality is outstanding, although not HD. My family could not tell the difference in picture quality between HDDVDs and regular DVDs. Since HDDVD is dead, we can't get them through Netflix anymore and only watch DVDs.

When I first got the 50" plasma, I burnt a break-in DVD from a file I got on the AVS Forum. I ran it for a day (or whatever time they recommended). It flashed random colors on a full screen. I don't know if it helped, but the techies at AVS all seemed to use it.

[econ]

Thanks Skaggs

[adam]

1080i and 1080p don't matter in terms of true HD images, such as bluray. Because there are no artifacts to begin with (as there are with HDTV due to compression) there should be no difference, because motion won't cause the true HD image to pixelate, which is what progressive scan (the P in 1980p) is supposed to help.

And in terms of viewing angle, most LCDs have a 178 degree viewing angle as well.

I know that didn't help you decide but figured I'd throw it in there.

[hurnik]

I say, unless you're a serious techie or picky, go with whatever is the best price for the size of the unit you want.

At certain sizes, plasma is cheaper.

If you want the pickiness, technically the plasmas have a wider viewing angle (on average), better black levels, and less "motion blur" compared to LCD. (note, these are generalities, some models are better than others, your mileage will vary)

But for most people, sitting at the proper distance/angle, I honestly don't think you can really tell the difference unless you're looking for things.

Some LCD have diff. backlighting now (LED, etc.) and may also consume less power than a plasma.

[pmp]

You could go ahead and get one of the new LED sets and let us know how it performs (unless someone else on the site has already taken the plunge). on the other hand, why shell out big bucks when you'll still be dealing with crappy TWC service, or butchered Fox coverage of the Giants. (or Fox's coverage of the Yanks tonight, which hasn't been totally smooth - or maybe that's just Tim McCarver getting on my nerves.)

[Chris Miller]

I picked up a Sony 40W4100 40" LCD last fall and I haven't had issues with motion blur or viewing angle. On thing that I noticed when i was shopping that the major brands had 2 or 3 different quality levels. A store that had a 40" Sony for $899 was selling a different model than another store selling a $1400 Sony 40".

One thing that you will want to do is to calibrate the display for your viewing conditions. And DVD or Blue ray disk that is THX certified will have the THX optimizer on one of the menus. If you have a recent Pixar or Star Wars DVD, then you will have it on one of the DVD menus. You can search by the title here to see if your DVD has it. Gizmodo had a decent article explaining how to do this. It's worth doing whether you get a LCD or Plasma display.

[UsualNoise]

I would probably opt for plasma at this point. LCD and plasma are pretty comparable, and burn-in on plasma is all but gone. It really comes down to your personal taste; I've seen both and generally prefer the picture on a plasma for various reasons.

[davidjr]

Another vote for plasma here. We purchased a Samsung 50" 50A550 about a year and a half ago and absolutely love it. Everyone of my family and friends (no techies) that have come in and seen it have been blown away by the picture quality (Dish Network HD). And there is no difference no matter where you are in the room (up down or sideways). As far as burn in goes it has not really been an issue. We are pretty careful, but not over the top. Kids have had the xbox on it, but I try to limit that. We do watch letterboxed movies using HDDVD player and right after you can see a slight dark image where the letterbox bars are on a fully black screen. I have tried very hard to see them with regular programming on and can't. The TV also has tools to reduce/remove image retention. We have 3 LCD in the house and 1 plasma and the plasma is the one that really blows people away. Also the 58" Samsung plasmas are pretty reasonable right now. Good luck and let us know what you get.

[hurnik]

In this months article of Home Theater Magazine, they have a nice rundown between LCD and Plasma in case anyone cares.

[econ]

Thanks for all the input on my question about Plasma TVS.I've got the Panasonic Viera TC-54G10 being delivered on Monday.From what I've read I shouldn't do any 4X3 viewing for the first 100 hrs or so and I'm going to burn a break-in DVD from a file on the AVS Forum as Skaggs recommended.Any other thoughts on breaking this TV in?

[Skaggs]

Oct 14, 2009 8:38:44 GMT -5 econ said:

Everyone I've talked to in the stores has given me a different story about burn in issues.

The HD Guru posted an article today about the burn-in "myth". I made it available here.

[hurnik]

It can happen, but rarely and especially if you adjust the settings from full blare contrast, etc. Especially during the first what, 200 hours or something?

Plus it you don't watch say, CNN (or something with that scrolling bar thingy) 24/7.

And most modern sets have an anti-burn in feature that moves the picture around slightly (but again, if all you watch is say 4x3 mode you will get burn in, I've seen it before--but it takes some time).

Personally I say go with whatever is in your price range for the size you want with the features you want. I have a 42" plasma because at the time LCD was like 3x more at that size. I also have a 55"projection TV because at that time there was no plasma/LCD. I had the 55" ISF calibrated and use it only for movies.