Okay. I'm looking to go out and buy an LCD tv and PS3 today. I think. I've been looking for quite awhile now at tvs and really can't make up my mind. One day I want plasma....the next I want LCD. Thought I'd come here and see what people's opinions are. I think I decided on the PS3, I just need a good tv to go with it. I'm concerned about refresh rate, etc. I'd like to keep the tv cost under or right around 1k. So, if anyone knows of any good deals this week let me know. Also, is there a "best" place to buy the PS3?? Or are most of them the same. Thanks everybody!
Taheen, first of all welcome to Afterdawn. :-D I will be honest in saying that your question is likely to result in quite varied opinions. You will find a lot of people here at Afterdawn are quite passionate about their technology of choice. Like yourself not knowing which technology to choose is a result of them both having pros and cons. I personally have a LCD TV. I have a Sharp Aquos. Which research has proven to me to be the leader in LCD technology. Although this brand may be above your price range. As far as the two choices go, put simply if you are a hardcore gamer then a LCD could be a better choice. They seem to display more vibrant colours when displaying computer rendered images such as video games. After all, that is what they were made for in the first place. If you will spend more time watching TV, DVD's etc. then a Plasma could be more suited to your preference. They usually yield a more natural looking picture with smoother fast action scenes. However, the above information is by no means an absolute guide as there are too many variances when choosing a TV. For example, the best LCD will smash the worst Plasma in every department and same goes vice versa. A lot of it will come down to personal preference too. Some general shopping advice I can give you is... Try to see a TV you're interested in, in at least 2 different shops. Try to see it with different source material displayed (DVD, Blu-ray, games etc.). Always shop around for the best price and negotiate hard (at least 20% off RRP). :-D
I have owned a plasma in the past, and personally I won't ever buy one again. It lasted 2 years before the plasma burned out in it, and the colors were completely off. On top of that I played video games more than light but not exactly all of the time, and I had quite a problem with ghosting. I felt like I had to worry about burn in all of the time when playing games, and even when I wasn't, it was annoying because when my satellite went out or froze up when I wasn't in the room, there was a possibility of that messing it up. Another problem I had with ghosting, was when I would watch a letter boxed movie and after it was over, I would see black outlines on the top and bottom of my screen. I read that I should watch a movie of the same duration in full screen before I turned the TV off. Now who wants to have to do all of that just to watch a letter boxed movie? I'm not saying newer plasmas will be that way, they have gotten better, I'm just saying it's one of those things you always seem to have to worry about. That was my one major problem with plasma, if it hadn't been for that I might still own one. Aside from that, last time I looked, (most, not all) plasmas were only 720p, where as most new LCDs are all 1080p. With the bad being said about plasmas, here are some of the things I like plasma for. When I purchased mine, the colors looked alot better on all of the plasmas compared to the more expensive LCDs. The blacks were alot deeper, and there wasn't the issue with refresh rates and response times. LCDs are supposed to last alot long than plasma also, which I now agree with, since mine pretty much died two years after the purchase. Now, some of my opinions of LCD have changed, lately it does not seem worth the trouble of having a plasma when you can get an LCD that will last, and will display anything for any amount of time without worry of damaging the screen. Most issues with LCD are fixed, some have refresh rates of 120Hz, and response times of 8ms, the blacks seem much deeper than they used to be, and they have 1080p resolution. The colors are brighter, which in my opinion is alot better for games because I always had to turn the brightness up in dark areas on games with rear projection and sometimes plasma. Bottom line, if you wanted a larger screen, and wanted to watch mainly movies, and HDTV programing then I would recommend plasma. But your primary usage seems to be for the PS3. I wouldn't want to use my PS3 with my old plasma due to resolution limits for the PS3, and because of the burn in possibility, especially when using the menu features and the web browser. I personally have a DLP now, which I love. It wasn't that expensive for a 61", no burn in, alot of brightness, 1080p resolution. There are some cons though, viewing angle, bulb replacement, size. They aren't for everybody, but if you have a good room for one, their nice. I purchased my DLP at amazon.com, the TV was around $2,400 at bestbuy, around $2,000, after they came down in price, and this is with me also purchasing an addition $2,000 in audio and video game equipment. Needless to say I didn't purchase anything from there, I went to amazon.com, and got the TV for $1,500 with free shipping.
Thanks for the information guys, it has been really helpful. I still can't say I know which tv I'm going for, but it's going to be an LCD. I would like to have an Aquos, but they are just slightly out of my price range. Do you find that you can get up to 20% off at retailers like Best Buy or Circuit City? I wasn't aware of this, I'm not sure how to even approach the subject! Again, thanks.
20% would be off RRP. Obviously if it is already marked down then there isn't as much profit margin to play with. I am not sure what the retail culture is like in the USA but here in Australia there are quite a few electrical appliance stores that you can negotiate with, some of these are Bing Lee, JB Hi-Fi, Domayne, Harvey Norman etc.
The Plasma LCD debate can go on forever, For movies, Plasma (Panasonic or Pioneer) is the choice. Spenman91's anecdotal reliability opinions are just plain wrong. Consumer Reports reliability surveys have shown Panasonic plasmas to be some of the most reliable TVs ever made, with only 2% needing repairs. Compare that to the most reliable DLP (Samsung) which had a 19% repair/trouble rate. My first plasma, a Panasonic 42" EDTV has been running 15 hours a day, 7 days a week for almost 3 years and still looks great. And yes plasmas do come in 1080p. Ryu77's comments on the other hand are well though out and do a nice job of explaining the choices and variables involved.
I've read alot from people who say plasmas have good lifespans, I don't disagree with them, all I'm saying is the one that I purchased which was a Samsung, lasted 2 years. If I had purchased a Pioneer or Panasonic, I might still own a plasma, but Samsung I bought didn't make me want to buy another. If most of my usage for the TV was going to be movies, I would without a doubt recommend a plasma, I believe that although it is close, and some may not notice a difference, plasma does have a more natural, better looking picture, including darker blacks. However, for video games, I would rather have an LCD. I'm fully aware of the issues and problems that come with DLP. Naturally they are going to have a few more issues since some of the parts involved have a limited lifespan, and they have more moving parts unlike plasma. As I have stated, DLPs are not for everyone. When did I say plasmas did not come in 1080p? Bestbuys floor main floor model TV is 1080p. I'm sure alot of the newer plasmas do support 1080p, it just seems as if more LCDs support it than plasmas. If you read thoroughly through my post you would note that alot of the things I was referring to were relevant around 2 years ago, then I compared the issues to present day plasmas and LCDs. You make it sound like all of my information is completely wrong, alot of the things discussed are just different opinions and have no factual answer. Would I have bought a plasma originally if I thought badly about them? I was simply stating that plasma used to be the best, and still "arguably" can be, but LCD is catching up and making things alot closer. With the worry of burn in, some may rather go with an LCD to be on the safe side, although newer plasmas are supposedly immune to burn in, I believe the possibility is still there.
Jesus De Christo! That's a lot of time on that plasma, you either have a sweet pub style theater room or you run a daycare, which of the two is it?
It's in one of my Taverns (a real Pub), along with a 37" Vizio, 3 20" CRTs and a Panasonic LCD projector.
I like my 37" Vizio HD LCD, My PS3 shines playing Blu-ray movies and games, HD Direct TV programming also looks amazing ...
Yea, I ended up grabbing a 47" Vizio and PS3. COD4 looks amazing and so do the movies. I'm thrilled so far.
