plasmas hold a half life of about 60,000 hours. meaning thier display will be half as bright as new after 60,000 hours of watching it.

So, if you are a hardcore TV junkie, and watch tv 10 hours a day every day it will last 16.5 years before its half life.

Most DLPs rate thier bulb life around 1000-2000 hours. You can probably squeese 3,000 hours, and you will pay roughly 200 bucks for a new bulb.

That means if you watch both the plasma and the DLP for 60,000 hours the DLP will cost you an additional $4,000 worth of bulbs by the 60,000 hour mark, and that is a best case scenario.

and yah, 1080p is definatly better than 720p, but honestly unless you have a 52+ screen and sit 6 feet away from it you wont be able to tell a difference unless you have eyesight sharper than most f-16 fighter pilots.

Thats why my general advice on the 1080p vs 720p is dont worry about it. If the TV you get is 1080p all the better, but spending an extra $300-500 on the 1080p model vs the 720p model is a total waste of money.

 

Just curious, any reason for that?

for the past 6-7 years plasma has outperformed LCD in refresh rates (no motion blue) better contrast ratios, the ability to hit darker levels of black, larger screen sizes, they are less expencive, the plasma phosphor creates more lifelike colors, better off-axis viewing...

LCD weighs less and uses a little less energy... thats really about it..

this latest generation of LCD's has overcome many of thier deficiencies...

as for screen burn-in on plasma, ive never had an issue with either of mine, i played out 80 hours worth of gameplay on Lost Oddessy a few months back, 3-4 hours a day for weeks straight and never had any burn in... in fact, i dont think i have ever seen a plasma actually get burn-in

dont get me wrong, ive seen Samsung LCD's and they are fantastic TV's, if it were me i would go with a Sharp LCD because they are a bit ahead of the game in the LCD production..


not trying to pick an arguement really, just that statement really deserves a good reason behind it.

personally i think you have seen too many LCD's with thier color jacked way up sitting next to plasmas with thier color reduced so the salesman can convince you to spend more money on the more expencive LCD.

lol...

 

I don't know where you're getting your facts from on the "jacking up of LCDs versus plasmas" because I work as a senior in home theater at best buy and we do no such thing. Many people like you said believe LCDs are better simply because of all of the rumors that have been spread around. It's never really been who has caught up to one or the other, because both have their pros and cons. But, in this new generation of flat-screens both are on equal playing fields IMO. At our store we personally sell more plasmas than LCDs and DLPs combined because of the deeper blacks, and generally the $100 the consumer might save. We don't, however, try to sell LCDs versus plasmas just because they're more expensive. As a store we make just as much profit off of a LCD as we do a plasma, so you can't say that we're doing this just for profits.

Plasmas generally look better in a dim lit situation, or complete darkness, and since our store is VERY brightly lit maybe this is whats causing you to see a major difference between the two in other places.

 

Lol... wow, hey re-read my post where i said "present company excluded" i wasnt suggesting YOU did that, but it IS done. Dont believe me? Go pick a random home theater store, or maybe a citcut city since best buy is so obviously above such tactics and open that little door you see on the front bottom of the TV, then go into menu, options, display options, and take a look at the settings.

I was not suggesting you do this and if that is how it came across i apologize, but i have seen first hand where the LCD sitting next to the plasma is set on "VIVID" and the plasma has the contrast and color are knocked down to 1/4

I saw this, several years back when i used to be an advid poster on Audiogon.com which is a high end audio site where several salesmen have admitted to doing as much in order to get the larger commission. It was a thread that was started about how to buy an HDTV and what to look out for.

Im not saying all salesmen are crooks, but they are not all saints either, and it doesent matter if bestbuy goes with such tactics or not, that doesent mean other stores do not.

once again, present company excluded, but i have never been even remotely impressed with the level of knowledge from the salespeople at any of the circut citys or bestbuys or ultimate electronics ive been to, more often than not thier information is incorrect about the model they are referring to, or they dont know much about it, or they are trying to push me into buying something else that i am not looking for. Hell, last time i went TV shopping about a year back, the salesman tried to get me out of buying a Panasonic 42in Plasma Tv and into a Samsung LCD and actually had the nerve to try to tell me that plasmas need to be "Recharged" every few years.

Granted, it is nowhere as bad as car salesmen, and i understand they are trying to make a living, but such shorthanded tactics are common and anyone who doubts this is completly niave.

that said, i havent been in your store, but before i got into mustangs i was into high end audio and home theater was my hobby, most of the brands you would never see at a best buy, and i dont think i have ever met a salesmen who knew even half of what i know unless im going into a mrick&mortar high end audiophile botique. When i get a hobby i become somewhat obsessive into learning everything about it because hobbys are expencive and i want to make sure im making the right decision. That way i dont find myself investing tons of money into Tice Clocks and Shaki Stones. lol.

 

i heard that i can remember many times i was looking at stuff at a big name electronic store and was curious about a product so started asking "what does this do? what's this for?" and the sales guy was more confused about the product than i was.

 

When it comes to plasma TV's:

Panasonic > *

My family has a 50" plasma panasonic 1080p, 42" plasma panasonic 1080i, 26" LCD panasonic. Then I have a 32" lcd hdtv panasonic at my place

 

^^ hell yeah.

Panasonic makes the best plasma displays hands down.

I have a 42in EDTV in the bedroom and a 42in 720p in the living room.

Ive always been impressed with panasonics build quality and reliability. Next time i buy a TV (probably not for a few years) im definatly gonna go with a 50in 1080p, and it sure as hell will be plasma.

i think sharp edges out Panasonic in the LCD department though

 

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

Hey jack take a look at this. It's a chart thats supposed to tell you what distance you need to sit to see the differences between all the resolutions. It seems pretty good but I honestly have never done any side by side comparisons between the different resolutions so it could be total bullshit too.

 

thats an interesting chart and i wouldnt be suprised if it is correct

like i said, dont get me wrong, if the TV you are looking at is 1080P then awesome! However, if you are looking at a 720P and realize you could pay 300 extra for 1080p, dont bother.

per the chart, at a distance of 15 feet, you would have to have a screen size LARGER than 75 inches to start noticing a difference between 720p and 1080p

 

wow, didn't realize there would be so much discussion when I brought up a thread about tvs. Well we didn't actually get a new tv. Wife figured we really didn't need a new one at the moment, but I'm still working on her. I have to say, I have a 42" 720p Samsung DLP now and think the picture is fantastic. High Def looks awesome. You are always gonna have people argue that Plasma's look better than LCDs and then LCDs look better than Plasmas and so on. I think they all have there ups and downs and there isnt truley one perfect tv. When all is said and done, if the tv is setup properly they all look great. A lot of it comes down to space issues and so on. I have room for either a big DLP or a flat panel. The new DLPs aren't all that big these days. That 60" I was talking about only weighs 64lbs, and is like 14" deep. Anywho, I'm sure discussions can go on for days about this, but I just wanted to see people's opinions and apprently it's 50/50.

I also wouldn't consider being a senior at Best Buy as being the most knowledgable when it comes to electronics. No offense, but I've seen some of the people that work there and have talked with them. My friend is a supervisor at one and ended up getting himself a Samsung LCD which looks awesome. Everyone will always have their own opinions.

Thanks for the input though. So carry on.

 

DLP FTW!!!

I have a 52" toshiba DLP 1080 pi and im very happy with it

 

I have a cheap best buy version 27" LCD HDTV sadly only does 480i,480P, or 1080i no 720p for me for my bedroom that I got when my TV blew a year ago and I needed one that was under $400. My dad has a nice 60" Samsung DLP and his does look better then mine by leaps and bounds, but for fast moving things like races and or sports his does not look as smooth as my LCD. Though the size difference I'm sure doesn't help him.

 

1080p Vs. 720p, basically no differance.

720p Vs. 1080i, huge differance.

DLP Vs. Plasma? Plasma, hands down, no contest. ----DLP sucks major butt, they're just like old school projectors that have crappy viewing angles and usually have some serious shadowing issues.

I bought a 42" Vizio plasma a few months ago and I absolutely love it. 720p - 30,000:1 Contrast, etc etc.. Bright, vivid colors, no glare or reflections absolutely great TV for $700.00..

If I could buy any TV though, it would definitely be a 1080i Samsung + Blu-Ray player/PS3. The movies played on blu-ray in 1080i are nearly 3D, simply amazing.

 

My buddy just got a samsung 46in plasma and a blueray player and says it looks amazing!

however,

correct me if im wrong...

this is as far as image quality. not horizontal resolution.

480P = DVD standard
720i = 480p (roughly)
720p > 480p
1080i > 720i
1080i = 720p (roughly)
1080p > All (as far as current consumer products)

 

I couldn't tell you all of the specific differances honestly. I'm a computer nerd that pretends to know abou TV's.. lol

In my opinion though, there is no reason to have anything higher than 720p unless you plan on buying a blu-ray player and shelling out $30-40+/- for each movie. For standard DVD playback and HDtv/Movies the human eye really won't see anything any different from 720 to 1080 not in something 60" or smaller anyway...

Like I said, I bought a $649.00 42" Vizio Plasma and could not be happier. I used to be an all LCD or nothing guy, but Plasma technology has become absolutely amazing.. There is no more fear of burn-in, they aren't nearly as hot as they used to be, the available contrast levels are unbelievable, even up to 1,000,000:1 now..

 

I don't see a bit of difference between 720p or 1080i. They are pretty close to the same with 720p suppose to being the better since it's progressive. There is only a real difference with 1080p when you are watching a screen larger than either 50" or 60". You do notice a difference with 1080p if you put your face right up to the screen as the picture will be clearer. DLPs have improved a lot since they first came out and are hardly crap. YEs the viewing angle isn't the best, but why would you be sitting on the side of the tv anyways? The blacks are richer than most other tvs.

 

Just to fulfill my own curiosity.. Why are you so interested in DLP anyway? The price I assume?

IDK, when I was looking at TV's the DLP's just didn't do it for me and with the uber-high contrast ratios that Plasma's have now I don't think there is any more true black available, not to mention the fact that the color on a Plasma is nothing short of incredible..

 

It's simple.

If you have a bright room, go with an LCD. They're naturally brighter with the way they're backlighting works.

If you have a dark room, go Plasma. They do have better blacks and shading, and the colors are just as good if not better than LCD's.

If you're looking to get the most tv for your money and don't care about the footprint of the tv, go with a DLP. They have great quality pictures, all the way up to 1080p, and they're much cheaper for their size.

I personally spent hours watching tv's in different stores and comparing them to see which one had the better picture. I went with a 46 in. Sharp Aquos LCD because I have a window right across the room from the tv. I love it. If I would have put it in a den or something where I could block the windows, I'd have gotten a Samsung plasma- their "Touch of Color" line has the best picture on the market.

In your situation, it all comes down to whether you want the bigger tv with the bigger footprint, or the show factor of having a huge plasma. Either way you'll be happy.

 

Well I have a DLP now and I'm happy with it. I think the picture looks great and all. I just wanted to see if people would prefer having a smaller tv and lower resolution, but in a Plasma or have a bigger screen, higher resolution, but in DLP. I think all three look great. Price isn't a huge factor, but I do like the fact you can get a bigger screen for less. I can get a 57" 1080p DLP for $800. I don't think people can make a good decision picking a tv in a store like Best Buy or anything since they don't really calibrate any of the tvs. They always make the more expensive tvs look better.

I have to say though, I borrowed our 720p projector from work a little while back and just projected the screen onto my wall. Having a giant *** screen like that was awesome. Picture quality was pretty damn good considering I was projecting it on a tan wall.

 

I have a 42" panasonic plasma tv in my room and I love it.

 

A few weeks back i was going through the whole plasma vs lcd argument in my head and then i found a 46'' sanyo lcd 1080p on a midnight sale at walmart for 800bux when it was normally 1100 so i camped out and scooped up 1 of 4. I have to say i love every aspect of it. I never knew what i was missing watching tv in hd and NFL games holy hell was that an experience in it self.

 

I just bought a Vizio 32" Plasma for my bedroom for only $437.

Walmart FTMFW.

 

This is what I have..http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId=11040961

It's an awesome set but I can tell a huge difference between 720P and 1080i.

Here is a review of the 55 inch,I have the 60.
http://www.dlptvreview.com/dlptvrevi...rojection.html

 

I'm resurrecting this because I am now in the market.

I'm looking for around a 40 inch screen, plasma or LCD.

I don't think I'm going to go with 1080p to keep the cost down a bit. Does 1080i or 720p look better?

My room is fairly bright, but I was planning on buying some curtains anyway. So basically the question is 1080i or 720p?

 

Also, Toshiba TVs tend to be cheaper, are they lesser quality?

 

Don't buy a 720 dpi TV if you can afford a 1080. You will hate yourself.

What you should really be asking is should you get a plasma or a DLP?

Plasma -
They still have burn-in problems. Not good for video games despite improvements. If you buy a plasma ther are way better TV's then samsumg. They do last the longest of any TV type. Depending on the model, you can expect 50,000 to 100,000 hours. The glass is also very hard to break. Sports bars and businesses you them because they will run forever.

DLP -
Best picture and size for the price. Great for TV or gaming. You need more space because they are deeper. They last about 20 - 30,000 hours and the bulbs require replacement. Many models have problems burning out within weeks or months. They also get hot because of the bulbs.

If you buy a DLP, stick with Samsum and ONLY get a TV with LED's. It will last nearly as long as a plasma and used less electricity. There are only a few DLP's that run off of LED's. The LED TV's are WAY brighter and you will get a much better picture.

In my opinion, a DLP LED will give the best picture of any TV.

Buy it from Crutchfield. Free shipping, really low warranty prices, no tax, great price, great support, and a very reputable company.

I bought my 53" SAMSUNG, 1080 DLP LED TV from them this past summer for $1299. It was a scratch and dent and had absolutely nothing wrong with it. Best Buy has it at $2300. I also got a free stand and a warranty at 50% what Best Buy wanted.

Here is a 61" Samsum DLP LED for $1699

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_30561A7...DLP+LED&tp=162

 

Like i said, from 6 feet back on a 42 inch tv if you can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, ill eat my hat.

If yer buying a TV and it is 1080p, all the better, but you wont see a difference unless you have a very large screen. My buddy recently got a 46in 1080p Sharp LCD with Blueray, and honestly the pic looks about the same as a HD (720p) movie off comcast. and yes, his equipment IS setup correctly.

Plasmas and burn in, i dont understand why everyone thinks this. I have probably 300-400 hours of video game use on my livingroom plasma TV, and probably over 1000 hours of video games played on my bedroom plasma. Neither of them have a hint of burn in.

Ive owned plasmas for about 4 years now, i have several friends with plasma, and several co-workers with plasma, i have NEVER seen the "plasmas have problem with burn in" myth confirmed. And yes, it is a myth. If you actually play enough video games to cause Burn-In on a plasma then odds are you have no friends in real life and have never seen a real vagina, or you have a faulty display

Video games will not cause burn in on any plasma that is worth half a ****. The only "REAL" burn in problems with plasmas are when you watch ALL 4:3 perspective show on a 16:9 with the aspect format where it shows a 4:3 image in the middle of the screen with bars on either side. If you use a zoom, justify, or full aspect then the problem is basically non existant.

 

If you want to see a plazma with a burn in problem, just go to Circuit City and ask them to turn off the TV. You will see what I mean. Also, most plasmas now have an anti burn-in feature. Why? Because plazmas have burn-in in problems.

 

Sure, if yer going to run the display with a static logo on it for 12 hours a day 365 days a year you are bound to see some problems, because yes, burn-in is a possibility under extreme conditions. Like if you are going to use a plasma for video surveillance, or for stock marqui where the two bars around the stock trading never go away.

However I have never heared of a consumer actually having an issue with thier plasma suffering from burn in, regardless to the amount of video games being played.

Also, if you shut off a plasma you can often see "ghosting" For example, if i pull up a comcast on-demand menu and let it sit like that for 20-30 min and i shut off the tv, i see a ghost image of the display that takes 3-4 min to fade. but it does go away and is only visable when either shutting off the tv, or switching to a source with no input where it gives a black screen. Put on another channel and it disappears with a few seconds. Oddly enough, only my newer HD plasma has this problem, my older ED plasma has never had that issue.

the entire "burn-in problem" is vastly over exaggerated in my view, after all, i have had a plasma for over 4 years now, im on my 2nd plasma, neither of them show any sign of burn-in whatsoever and i have done tons of multi-hour gaming sessions on both tv's.

 

Yeah, sorry.. There are no burn-in issues with Plasma televisions anymore. Like Chris said, you'd have to leave the television on one single image for hours, possibly even days to have any kind of burn-in issue and most have dimming features now to prevent that if someone was dumb enough to leave the picture paused.

I got a 720p 42" Vizio Plasma for about $650 from walmart. Best bang for the $$. You can get 1080i Vizio's for around $900.00 or less now. My best advice would be to make sure whatever you get, make sure it has a high contrast ratio.