Plasma or LCD, which do you prefer??

everyone i spoke to b4 getting my lcd said DO NOT BUY PLASMA! they dont last long,one hard knock can ruin the screen which cant be fixed, easily done when u have kids,after seeing wat happened to a friends ,we got a 42' lcd even though for the same price we could've got a much larger plasma.

LED or LCD

my husband always says never get a Plasma, they are *kitten*! I don't know of course....because Im not into the whole electronics thing, so i take his advice!

Plasma really isn't all that good, plus you can't lay it on its side....my dad says LED is the best...and you want to get 1080p not the 760p or whatever its called. LCD is the better of the two though. WARNING: They say tv's were made to only last about 5 or so years now....so you might see defects start up around 2.5 years or so.

And this is so you can do your workouts?? ; )

Geez, all those Plasma haters out there! I did a ton of research before buying my TV a year ago and I went with a 50 inch plasma. Best picture quality, no blurry images during fast moving programs like sports and a wider range of view with good quality, that is to say you don't have to be sitting so much directly in front of it and the picture is still clear. The stuff about Plasma burning out fast is ancient history, those days are long gone.

But having said that, LCDs are better than they used to be too. So some of the puzzle is the quality of the specific one you buy.

Anyway, last month I bought my wife a 42 inch plasma for her workout room so she could do her P90X.

I just bought a plasma tv. I liked the picture much better than the led/lcd. The colors were richer and deeper. plus Im a sports freak so I like that they look better on those. theres a blur or delay on the others.

That used to be the case.

Plasmas have come a long way. They are energy star rated now, and don't give off massive amounts of heat like they used to, don't drain power like crazy, and they have an estimated life span of LONGER than a tube based tv. And you know how long those things last.

The boasted life span of a new model plasma is about 100,000 hours. Which is EXACTLY the same as what an LCD boasts. Keep in mind these are from top teir manufacturers. Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony. Those types. But Sony doesn't make Plasma anymore, they're gung ho into the LED era.

Now with that out of the way. Plasma TV's are generally known to have a better picture quality than an LCD in a side by side comparison. For a living room or bed room, somewhere low light that's not bright, a plasma is a better option than an LCD if you're going just by picture size. If you're talking about a sunroom, or a very light and bright space, you need an LCD because they don't have the glare off the screen, because they're not glass. If you're planning to use it to run a computer through though, go with an LCD. Because they're more adapt to displaying images from a VGA input, and a Plasma will make it look like crap.

As far as refresh rate, and things of that nature. A plasma is going to be better than an LCD. LCD tvs are known to be 'catching up' as far as high action picture refreshing, but they're still slightly behind. But you can get a 120mhz/240mhz LCD that can compete pretty good with a Plasma as far as lag and such goes.

Also, and a lot of people skip this aspect, it depends where you live. At higher altitudes such as mountain areas, or places pretty high above sea level, a Plasma tv will start to buzz. It can be highly annoying, but they live in a glass shell, and have gasses inside of that glass. Once the air pressure is lower the TV has to adjust, but it can't. So it keeps making that sound. Basically, if you live in Colorado, Utah or Wyoming, get an LCD.

Power usage is an issue, but not like it used to be. Plasma tvs have come a long way, but still use about a third more power than an LCD.

Now, I see people saying LED. LED isn't technically the "best". It's basically an LCD with fluff. An LED tv is still an LCD, it uses the liquid crystal display, but has LED backlighting. With basic led backlighting there is basically no difference at all in picture quality. If you get one with RGB backlighting then you'll have whiter whites and darker darks. Marginal difference, but it again depends on other aspects. I wouldn't suggest buying anything under 120mhz. LED has the same refresh rate, longevity and power usage as an LCD, just with a slight upgrade in picture quality in comparison to an LCD depending on which backlighting you get.

I currently have a Vizio 42inch LCD, Samsung 46inch Edge Lit LED, and I bought a 46 inch Plasma for my mom. Surprisingly, the Vizio, while being a Walmart brand pretty much- not to mention pretty cheap, looks just as good as the LED when watching regular TV. As well as video games. The only time I can tell the difference is when I watch a bluray. The LED has a slight advantage. But not enough to warrant a lot of extra money.

The Plasma, my mom has it in their living room and it looks great. Doesn't get hot. BEAUTIFUL picture. I just don't like a TV with a glass front.

So yea, hopefully I've helped.

We have both and we prefer LCD all the way!!

All you people saying don't buy plasma televisions are not correct. I have a 42' plasma in my bedroom and 60' plasma in my living room and I will never buy anything else.
My plasma in my bedroom has lasted eight years and has never suffered any image burn-in (its not the old plasma technology that was known for this). My plasma televisions have better colors than LCD's, MUCH better black levels and white levels, & none of the motion blur that plauges LCD televisions.
LCD is crap in my opinion and the research I have done supports this, not to mention my personal experience. You just have to make sure you are buying the right plasma television. I suggest panasonic. And if you can, go for one designed for commerical use, these last forever.
Plasma is a light producing technology and not a light filtering technology so that is why the color is better. Plasmas also have a wider veiwing angle without trying like LCDs do. Not to mention a plasma television, even a cheap *kitten* one, is going to last longer than the light bulb in your LCD.

All you people saying don't buy plasma televisions are not correct. I have a 42' plasma in my bedroom and 60' plasma in my living room and I will never buy anything else.
My plasma in my bedroom has lasted eight years and has never suffered any image burn-in (its not the old plasma technology that was known for this). My plasma televisions have better colors than LCD's, MUCH better black levels and white levels, & none of the motion blur that plauges LCD televisions.
LCD is crap in my opinion and the research I have done supports this, not to mention my personal experience. You just have to make sure you are buying the right plasma television. I suggest panasonic. And if you can, go for one designed for commerical use, these last forever.
Plasma is a light producing technology and not a light filtering technology so that is why the color is better. Plasmas also have a wider veiwing angle without trying like LCDs do. Not to mention a plasma television, even a cheap *kitten* one, is going to last longer than the light bulb in your LCD.

Mostly true, except for the cheap plasma thing. Lower end plasma tv's usually boast about 30,000 hours of life. Significantly lower. Always go for a top tier brand if you get a plasma. Always.

LED LCD.