Plasma or LCD?

katana1200

Unhealthy obsession?
I need more input. Looking to upgrade finally. What do you guys prefer?

Uses: Mostly Movies. The big blockbusters, Iron Man, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Braveheart, Harry Potter, you know the movies you sit down and want to really get into.

Casual Gaming. I don't game as much as I used to, but still enjoy some HALO, or Guitar Hero, Gears of War. Having three kids sort of puts the Wii higher on the list and I'm not worried about how my Mii looks in HD.

Regular TV/Sports. Football, Nascar, and most everything on the history/discovery channel. If sponge bob is in HD more power to him but not a priority.

Most of the important times will be during dark hours. Looking at the 40"-42" range under 1k. What do you recommend?
 
I have one of both...prefer the plasma. Depends on the light conditions in your room is what I most often heard when buying.
 
I got a plasma and never looked back 42" is good for movies and the norm tv and sport
but they're operate hotter,as long as you have enough space from the unit your keeping it on it'll be fine.....
LCD how ever is not to bad for pic quality but you can't walk around the room and see a clear pic,you have to sit square on to the LCD.
Do some homework and find out on whats right for you..... but you decide.

hope this helps
 
Made this decision just this past fall. Went for an LCD model, a Sharp Aquos 46 inch. Very happy with it for sporting events etc, and my kids can't get enough Wii playing!
 
I also made the same decision this past fall, and went with a panasonic plasma, and am quite pleased with it. Go to highdefforum.com and pose the same question and you'll be more confused yet.
 
I remember stepdad was saying that the plasma or LCD we have DO NOT DO NOT leave the screen paused or it will burn into the screen even when turned off.

And one has better pixels.
 
You get longer life out of an lcd, but a better picture with plasma from what I understand.
 
Yup. To me, plasma is better for dark viewing (home theater style) and it features a better picture, as well as a higher refresh rate (though, from my understanding, the cells refresh differently compared to LCD). LCDs are usually cheaper and picture quality is highly variable. If you get a good one, you're set, but others are just horrible in terms of white and black levels, color accuracy, etc. If you do get an LCD, try to get one with a higher refresh rate.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. In all the research I have done there is no clear cut winner. As RB stated earlier the one of the best indicators that I have run across so far is the room lighting. Plasma for dark rooms, LCD for bright rooms. Computer monitor is an LCD and I love it.

Plasma uses apx 25% more power is negative
Plasma has a much sturdier stand is a +
Plasma has glass screen wich is stronger and may deflect the occasional flying matchbox car is a +
Burn in has been mitagated to the point of being a non issue in the new TVs is a tie
Plasmas rule the bigger screens as LCD can be as small as 2" unfortunately I'm righ at the twilight zone of sizes where it could go either way.
Plasma technology is the stimulation of gasses by electrical impulses so color changes can be incredibly fast, no color blur for sports and games.
LCD is the cycling of a backlight through colored liquid crystal cells, color blur is possible but many don't seem to notice.
Plasma has the possipilty for a phosphorus lag or tracer effect wich is described as a faint green hugh.
Plasma has a 178 deg. veiwing angle wich is 100% left to right and up/down
Plasma glass screens reflect more light from ambient sources than matte finish LCD screens.
Plasma colors are said to be truer. Blacks on a plasma screen are said to be at least 10 x the black you get from LCD but heavy color stimulation and bright images can shorten the life of the set.
LCD's can have pixles stick. Small green, red or blue "dots" permanently etched into the screen, impossible with plasma.
LCD's are marginally lighter weight and thinner.
...................no clear cut winner yet. Guess the real test will lie in the store with a side by side comparison.

Anyone else purchased either type of TV have a rave review or a problem with thiers?
 
I have a 42" LCD that works great for TV. I'm disappointed with it whenever I watch a movie. Turn down the lights, and it's flaws come out. The lack of rendition in the shadows is really aggravating. If it should be grey, the TV shows it as grey, if it should be anything darker than grey--black for example--the TV shows it as grey. Not a big deal for TV with the lights on. Bad for movies. Most new first person shooters now also have a lot of darks in them, and I can't play unless I go tinker with the color.
 
AquariaCentral.com