scottbrown

right then, want a hd tv, ideallly 42", have no more really than 1k to spend, have seen 1 I like but it is a lcd plasma??

what is this? how is it both? are they any good?

cheers

Turbo lag

Plasma if you watch football


Dave.

scottbrown

yes I do, but I also play alot of xbox 360.

so whats the deal with the lcd/plasma combi things.

Dan

I'd be interested in what people have to say aswell as i'm in the market for something indentical really

Watch Rugby though, not football!

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

No such thing as a "plasma/LCD combi"...... It's either one or the other, and if the place you are thinking of buying from doesn't know the difference, then stay well away from them!!!!

There are currently three (main) types of TV on the market. The original CRT (the "normal" TV's), plasma (glass front, thin body, usually only a thin frame around them) and LCD (very similar to your TFT pc monitor; soft front, thin body, thin frame around them) (There is also LCD Rear Projection too, which are bigger and bulkier, a bit like CRT, but use LCD bulbs to project the image onto the screen from behind (inside) the TV housing)

Plasma and LCD are two very different animals tho. Plasma television technology is based loosely on the fluorescent light bulb. The display itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green, and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel (picture element).

Although Plasma television technology eliminate the need for the bulky picture tube and electron beam scanning of traditional televisions, because it still employs the burning of phosphors to generate an image, Plasma televisions still suffer from some of the drawbacks of traditional televisions, such as heat generation and screen-burn of static images.

LCD televisions, on the other hand, use a different technology. Basically, LCD panels are made of two layers of transparent material, which are polarized, and are "glued" together. One of the layers is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Current is then passed through individual crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block light to create images. LCD crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light source, such as florescent bulb is needed for the image created by the LCD to become visible to the viewer.

Unlike standard CRT and Plasma televisions, since there are no phosphors that light up, less power is need for operation and the light source in an LCD television generates less heat than a Plasma or traditional television. Also, because of the nature of LCD technology, there is no radiation emitted from the screen itself.

The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better color accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.

2. Plasma TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Shorter display life span (about 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day for 9 years) than LCD. However, screen life span is improving to as high as 60,000 hours. due to technology improvements.

LCD television ADVANTAGES over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma.

5. Longer display life (about 60,000 hours - at which time all you may need to do is replace the light source, not the entire set). This can vary according other environmental and use factors.

6. Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizeds) than Plasma counterparts.

The DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts) - However, this is improving.

3. Not as common in large screen sizes above 42-inches (although the number is growing).

4. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

5. LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions, especially when comparing EDTV Plasmas to HDTV-LCD Televisions

So thee you go

Personally, when I was in the market for a bigger, widescreen TV to replace my 24" square (4:3) CRT TV, I looked at the plasma's and LCD's, and unless you spend big money (ie, over Ł1000) I simply didn't like them as much as I liked my CRT (in terms of colour, contrast, black levels, and motion blur/lag) so I bought a 36" widescreen CRT TV instead. Sure, I can't watch HDTV broadcasts like SkyHD, or HD-DVD/BluRay or play consoles like the xbox360 or PS3 in full hi def glory, but then I don't have/want a PS3, xbox360 or intend to get Sky/whatever, and doubt I will get on the new HD-DVD/BluRay bandwagon till the format war is over and one has become the stable media, and come down in price! So for now, all my TV will see is normal DVD, Freeview digital TV, a couple of VHS tapes (bleaugh!) and some DivX/VCD movies - so no need for HD compatibility for me!

Plus I simply do not think you can (as of yet) better a CRT picture image when comparring stock standard def images (such as Freeview, Sky or DVD)

dojj

iTrader: (3)

so how does that help him decide which one he should get then

stonehavencossie

I did a LOT of research into this before i got a 50" lg plasma

Not regretted it one bit

Play 360 all the time and i had no issues with screen burn

infact, last night a fell asleep after the hatton fight with the tv on and it was showing the advert for the re-run. must of been like that for at least 3 hours. panicked thinking id have screen burn. screen was fine

phew

dojj

iTrader: (3)

the screen burn is for things like sky, when the cocks decide that youHAVE to have the little red dot on the screen in the same place on EVERY frickin channel

thats what will cause the screen to burn

alternativly, go to any airport and you can see the burn into the screen on their departures/arrivals moniters

or my cousin who used to have one telly constantly on cafax or the like for his shares, there were bars on the screen where everything went

User 32922

IMHO LCD is the only way to go. the 37" Philips 37PF9731D won the EISA award for 2006-2007. the Cienos screen gives Black levels just like a plasma and has such fast processing (less that 3ms) football and fast moving images look perfect.

Plus is has a full 1080p screen that is a full HD screen (1920x1080p) most plasmas don't get anywhere near this. Pixel Plus 3, Ambilight etc etc. If you use an Xbox360 then it's the only way to go.

I've done so much research into this and am waiting for the Philips 42PFL9832D which should be out in 6months, it wont be cheap though

Paul

dojj

iTrader: (3)

talking of screen burn, just got the news tf:tm double disc edition and all i get is optimus prime on the screen after i';ve turned the dvd player off

stonehavencossie

i have no issues like that

you can also set sky to turn the button off

new lcd's are improving still no where near as good as plasma

scottbrown

so what would you peeps reccomend for Ł1000, ideally 42"???

dojj

iTrader: (3)

how? i'm forever pressing back up to get rid of the blasted thing

JjCoDeX75

Save up a little longer and get something for about 1500 is my advice

JJ

dojj

iTrader: (3)

good 42's tend to be around the Ł1100 mark nowadays if you look in the normal red to[ shops

scottbrown

ok, tesco have a hitachi 42", it says plasma lcd, so I presume that means plasma, for 1k... any good?

dojj

iTrader: (3)

got a hitachi one
the sound output's tend to go wrong after a few months, only had it since last may and the guys been out 3 times to fix it
no output to the amp from the back and no sound on the speakers so everything runs through the amp to get the sound

not bacd but now the amp is starting to fuck up too

vx220

ain't that the truth!

some of the HD demos are fantastic quality STATIC pictures, but for football/rugby/tennis/golf/games consoles ie anything fast moving, CRT easily best. plasma definitely better that LCD, but be aware that almost every game has some static stuff that could burn in (lap times or scores for example) more than you might think!

got myself all excited at work a week or so ago, some paperwork came through for a transfer of a toshiba 36pf38, and i nearly died when it turned out to be a faulty one being written off!

we hadn't sold this crt tv for a couple of years but every now and again stuff turns up! as it was a discontinued model i could have had it for about Ł300!!! gutted...

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

I bought the Tosh 36ZP18, second hand (bout 18mths/2yrs old?) for Ł250 and it's superb

Currently it's in my bedroom ( ) so I have the built in 5.1 set up connected (DVD to TV via component and digi coax, 4 satellite speakers connected to TV, built in centre channel and sub : works well ) but when I get it to my new house, the TV will basically just become a monitor, as everything will be routed through the AV amp (well, all the audio anyway, component and RGB scart will still be plugged directly into the TV inputs, as my AV amp doesn't do component switching, only S-Vid or Composite, neither of which I'd use as they are PANTS )

But as I said, the only things I have connected tothe TV is a DVD player (standard def), Freeview box (standard def) and a VCR (standard def) and also a HDD media player I just bought on sale But that connects via component or composite (have to be composite as only one component input on TV) so thats standard def aswell. No games consoles for me either! Rather sit at my PC and do something interesting that play games

vx220

thrush, the -38 was a slight cosmetic facelift of the -18. you basically (IMHO) have the best tv ever sold in this country!

as i say, sometimes brand new stuff surfaces for us after a long time, and this is what i hoped had happened!

imagine a brand new boxed one with a years warranty for Ł350!

it doesn't happen often... i might even have got away with buying it for the missus birthday pressy!

vx220

hitachi ok

try your local comet, panasonic 42px60 (i think that's the one) for a grand

i reckon the best you can do without spending another Ł500

we sold our last one yesterday, you may struggle to get one, but well worth a try. sold two to mates of mine, both very happy

stonehavencossie

services - system setup - picture settings - On screen icon timeout - on

stonehavencossie

LG is excellent value for money

42" wouls save you Ł250

http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/produ...oduct_id=11188

Or a few more bob for the 50"

The tv ive got and it has been superb

http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/produ...oduct_id=11409

Or as above, panasonic is good but users on avforums.com report a 'snaking' problem where background colours become distorted

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/stor...ory_oid=-30633

dojj

iTrader: (3)

done that
but it's stil there, how long does it stay on for then?
it's start to bug me

stonehavencossie

usually goes off after about 10-20 secs on my sky hd box

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i'll be more patient then