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HDTVs: Why not to go Plasma?

Well I guess other disadvantage is that if your into light gun games, they just won't work. There's one light gun that does work with plasmas, but I don't know how good it is.
 
AB 101 said:
I still think the best bang for the buck is a DLP or LCD based rear projection.

Why not a CRT rear projection? They're even cheaper, and the better ones out-perform DLP and LCD in contrast and black-level.

If you have a bright room though, LCD or DLP might be a better choice.


Toshiba's CRT rear-projectors, priced about middle-of-the-road for CRT, are definitely worth checking out. I'd probably pick them over any comparably-priced LCD, and there aren't any DLP's in that range worth talking about.

This is based on last years offerings, but I think my choice still stands in the majority of cases.
 
Next time you guys head to a real home entertainment store ask the plasma guys to put a 1080i feed on them.......then have them place an edtv panasonic plasma in the mix playing the same feed. You may see a difference, but you'll also lift your jaw back off the floor at how amazing an edtv looks when showing 720p and 1080i feeds on them. Just because its edtv doesnt mean it wont take the 720.1080i fideo feed.

Plasma is a great deal these days....you can find hdtv plasmas 2500 or so..and even at costco you can find a 50inch at 2999 that the avs forums say is pretty damn impressive.

I have played video games on my panny 42 inch plasma for a couple yrs now. Even played halo2 around 12 hrs straight and Knights of the old republic a few days in 8hr sessions. Never have had any burn in. Burn in is one of those things that would happen only if you pause a game and leave the house for the weekend. Todays technology makes it really hard to do.

720p baseball, etc is awesome on my cheap panny plasma.

Also, I tend to move alot as I dont own a house yet....sure is easier moving my plasma than any of those rptv's or those old tanks that take up half a living room.

Get what ya want to get...let everyone else do the same. Tv's are like cars....everyone has a favorite type.
 
Norse said:
Also, I tend to move alot as I dont own a house yet....sure is easier moving my plasma than any of those rptv's or those old tanks that take up half a living room.

Just a point I'd like to bring up - for the same size I can virtually guarantee an RP LCD or DLP tv is going to be much lighter than a plasma. In fact, despite their flat-panel appeal, plasmas are very heavy. This isn't really a problem for most people, as they don't tend to move their TVs around a lot (especially flat panels, which people like to mount on walls and such), but it i srather misleading.

My RP LCD is lighter than my SD CRT tube tv, and almost twice as big.
 
Nerevar said:
Just a point I'd like to bring up - for the same size I can virtually guarantee an RP LCD or DLP tv is going to be much lighter than a plasma. In fact, despite their flat-panel appeal, plasmas are very heavy. This isn't really a problem for most people, as they don't tend to move their TVs around a lot (especially flat panels, which people like to mount on walls and such), but it i srather misleading.

My RP LCD is lighter than my SD CRT tube tv, and almost twice as big.


I can wrap my plasma with a nice cloth and pick it up..60lbs.....a rptv needs 2 people to move. So, ts not the weight...its the size.
 
AB 101 said:
I still think the best bang for the buck is a DLP or LCD based rear projection.

I agree with you in regard to MSRP and sale price at B&M stores like Best Buy and Circuit City.

But - the thing that bother me about DLP and projection LCDs is that you have to pay somewhere between $200-$300 for new bulbs every 5,000 hours or so. If your TV is on 40 hours a week (4-5 hours a day), then you are looking at an extra 2-3 hundred every two years or so.

To me - this is a big hit on the "bang for the buck" of DLP and LCD - not to mention how annoying it would be to have to order and replace the bulb.
 
Bluecondor said:
To me - this is a big hit on the "bang for the buck" of DLP and LCD - not to mention how annoying it would be to have to order and replace the bulb.

Actually ,newer DLP's are said to last twice as that (10.000 hours).
And after changing the bulb, your dlp should be as good as new, as they don't burn in, don't require recalibration, their components are not subject to usage consuption etc.
They should easily last 20 years with no drop in performances, provided you change the bulb
 
eso76 said:
Actually ,newer DLP's are said to last twice as that (10.000 hours).
And after changing the bulb, your dlp should be as good as new, as they don't burn in, don't require recalibration, their components are not subject to usage consuption etc.
They should easily last 20 years with no drop in performances, provided you change the bulb

So - an extra 200-300 every 5 years or so. This is definitely better, but, for me, the choice is going to come down to what I can get for around $2,000 (up to $2,500 or so) that is 40+ inches (50 inches sounds like the ideal for me), runs 720p/1080i in high definition, has an RGB or VGA input for a PC, has two component inputs, has DVI or HDMI, and has a decent sound system.

According to my needs, there are some 50 inch high def plasmas that are almost in my price range (just over $3,000 right now and have been falling recently), and could be really attractive by the time I pull the trigger to buy around Thanksgiving (i.e. the launch of the 360). The current model that I have my eye on is the Panasonic 50PX500U, which is going for $3,200-$3,400 at several sites. Panasonics get consistent rave reviews at CNet and at the AVS Forum.
 
Bluecondor said:
So - an extra 200-300 every 5 years or so. This is definitely better, but, for me, the choice is going to come down to what I can get for around $2,000 (up to $2,500 or so) that is 40+ inches (50 inches sounds like the ideal for me), runs 720p/1080i in high definition, has an RGB or VGA input for a PC, has two component inputs, has DVI or HDMI, and has a decent sound system.

Well, those are more or less exactly my criterias :)
And i'm probably buying a Sagem 45", 1280x720, 3 rgb inputs, i forgot how many composite (which i'll never use) 2 s-video, DVI HDPC (can't wait to play me some half life 2 on it) only one component input though.
And a decent subwoofer which makes it a 2.1 tv, or so they say.
All for 2000€ : )

According to my needs, there are some 50 inch high def plasmas that are almost in my price range (just over $3,000 right now and have been falling recently),

I've seen those Panasonic plasmas and they are incredible, if i didn't think it's simply 'not right' spending that much on a tv (a hd 50" panny plasma would probably cost well over 6000€) that's what i would buy.
If they are so close to your price range already, i think you should resist and wait until you can afford one. You would regret doing otherwise:)
 
Orin GA said:
"DLP's have the "rainbow" effect"

Most people cant see it.
...but it's an absolute show-stopper for some who can, like me.

I get headaches when watching DLP...but even if I didn't, I might still be leary of purchasing one because I have no way of knowing which guest I eventually have over might have similar problems.
 
I have a DLP, a toshiba 46HM84. I do see rainbows on occasion, but usually only when there is white text on a black screen like when a game is booting up or the Adult Swim bumpers. Otherwise, it's pure sex watching movies etc... Black level is a lot better than some would have you believe too.

People seem to forget that a lot of CRT's also give a type of rainbow effect, though for a different reason. usually it's when black and white patterns appear on screen and between the fine white lines you see color. No TV is perfect.
 
eso76 said:
I've seen those Panasonic plasmas and they are incredible, if i didn't think it's simply 'not right' spending that much on a tv (a hd 50" panny plasma would probably cost well over 6000€) that's what i would buy.
If they are so close to your price range already, i think you should resist and wait until you can afford one. You would regret doing otherwise:)

No - the HDTV Panny plasma - in the model that has all of the features I want (50PX500U) is going for $3,200-$3,400 (+$250 for shipping) at several on-line retailers. I'm going to really start looking once I can get one for under $3,000.
 
Fafalada said:
Well, for me, the first thing I noticed about DLPs, LCoS, SXRD(well, I've only seen Qualia for this one, but I can't imagine lower end versions will be better) etc. is that they all have very noticeable viewing angle issues. It reminds me of LCDs back in 2000.
That said they are relatively cheap, not as bulky as CRTs and new models tend to support 1080P.

I have a Samsung DLP set, and the only viewing angle issue is in the vertical axis, i.e. the viewing angle is limited if you watch from too far above or below the screen, though only if you are sitting pretty close (within 5' or so). The horizontal viewing angle is nearly 180 degrees--as good or better than any LCD I've seen.

My biggest beef with plasmas is that they are way overpriced. The picture quality on my DLP looks every bit as good as any plasma that I've seen, and it cost me about a third as much as I'd have to spend to get a plasma at the same size. I'd also be a bit nervous about color fading and burn-in (though I've heard that the latter is much, much less of an issue on plasmas than it used to be).
 
Orin GA said:
"DLP's have the "rainbow" effect"

Most people cant see it.


Have any stats that back that up?

From my observation and a lot of reading, "most" people can only see them if they try to see them. And "trying" to see them approximates moving your head like a bobble-head doll.

Some people are more prone than others, but they are in the minority, not the majority.
 
You can often find quite a good deal on a CRT HDTV if you look around - especially those in the 4:3 aspect ratio. I wanted one because I play a lot of old games - NES,SNES, etc, so I didn't want those nasty little bars on the side.

I found a closeout at Wal*Mart on a 32 inch Tau Panasonic HDTV with more inputs than I have fingers and toes for $400 - within even my pitiful college budget.

Pros: Great picture, nice color, decent geometry (compared to my Toshiba :( )
Cons: I nearly died, as did my girlfriend, trying to get it into the house. Nearly 200 pounds of bulk.
 
Bluecondor said:
No - the HDTV Panny plasma - in the model that has all of the features I want (50PX500U) is going for $3,200-$3,400 (+$250 for shipping) at several on-line retailers. I'm going to really start looking once I can get one for under $3,000.

Yes....THERE :)
I meant HERE in europe...a good 50" Panny plasma 1366x768 won't cost you less than 5000€..anything else will be something like 1024x720 or less
 
HokieJoe said:
Have any stats that back that up?

From my observation and a lot of reading, "most" people can only see them if they try to see them. And "trying" to see them approximates moving your head like a bobble-head doll.

Some people are more prone than others, but they are in the minority, not the majority.

Well it also happens if you have to turn your eyes quickly from one side of the screen to the other, which however generally means you're sitting too close to your tv. I mean, generally you shoud sit at a distance from which you have a good view of the entire screen..
Some people see rainbows even when blinking or quickly turning their head away from the tv. I can see them, but frankly they don't bother me.

Right now, the only thing that scares me about DLP's is the latency issue someone has experienced...i heard it's worse on certain samsungs and generally with models equipped with HD3 chip, but i've heard people complaining about a 20ms lag with other sets too.
That would suck for videogames.
It'w worth mentioning that i've also heard of a lot of people having no problem at all, it's probably dependant on the signal you feed them; a good 720p signal through composite doesn't need to be processed and you should have no lag.
 
eso76 said:
Right now, the only thing that scares me about DLP's is the latency issue someone has experienced...i heard it's worse on certain samsungs and generally with models equipped with HD3 chip, but i've heard people complaining about a 20ms lag with other sets too.

Yeah, latency is a legit issue for some of the Sammy's. From what I've read, it's the HLP's and HLR's which seem to exhibit the problem the most. I posted a link in another thread about ways to solve latency problems on all DMD's HERE
 
Ben Sones said:
I have a Samsung DLP set, and the only viewing angle issue is in the vertical axis, i.e. the viewing angle is limited if you watch from too far above or below the screen, though only if you are sitting pretty close (within 5' or so). The horizontal viewing angle is nearly 180 degrees--as good or better than any LCD I've seen.
I dunno, I've looked at both Qualia 006 and the latest Samsung HL-R5678W DLPs (the ones with 10000:1 contrast) and both have a pretty narrow ideal viewing angle horizontally.
I'm not really concerned about extreme angles as I'm not gonna use the screen from those anyway - what bugs me is when the colors are changing within the first 30 degrees or so, and I saw this type of effect with all backprojection panels so far.
LCDs used to have the same problem for a long time - which was also a reason I didn't use a LCD for desktop until last year or so.

To be fair, angle issues aside the latest DLPs do look pretty spiffy, and I'm seriously considering getting the above mentioned Sammy panel. While I absolutely love how their plasma's look, you have to pay more for 720P and slightly smaller size.
 
MidgarBlowedUp said:
I'm a Sony Wega CRT man myself.

Super Fine Pitch Display + Trinitron Tubes = :D

I love my Wega CRT. Best TV I have ever owned. It's still beautiful to this day.

I prefer the image a high end CRT can put out over everything else.
 
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