Plasma Television

[ColinBarber]

Thats an urban legend mate, with normal use a modern generation Plasma should last 10 years at least, they don't need "charging" either.

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They suffer from burn in. Some of the displays at work are completely :tsktsk: due to Sky news banners and dogs etc.

Still shouldn't really be a problem in a domestic environment.

LCD defo has the edge though and that is where the R&D is being placed along with other technologies, not plasma.

[adz]

They suffer from burn in. Some of the displays at work are completely  due to Sky news banners and dogs etc.

Yeah that's true, they definitely have their limitations but they do advise about the burn-in in the manuals and no doubt LCD's will get the size they are still lacking. I saw an article where multiple LCD's were being joined together to make one big LCD display which was almost ready to go into production, that was last year but for now Plasma still has size and price on its side compared with LCD. That will change though due to all the R&D, no doubt.

Here's some info. for anyone considering buying a Plasma TV. I found it on a website when I was looking for a Plasma/ LCD or projector setup. It's a bit long winded but good info. and he wasn't selling anything (usually a good sign).

Misconception #1: Plasma TVs need to be "serviced," or have their plasma changed out, every couple years or so.

Perhaps the only compelling thing about this idea is that it resonates with good auto maintenance know how. To many people, plasma displays are like cars: You know how to use them, but you don't know a whole lot about how they work. Which is surely how this Urban Legend gained its foothold in the popular imagination in the first place. It has certainly been utilized by any number of unscrupulous TV salespeople to push extended warranties on otherwise unknowing "marks" -- people who have already spent $5000 on a new TV and would have no compunction about shelling out another $250 more, provided it will help safeguard their investment. While purchasing some additional "insurance" against mechanical defects might be worthwhile, especially when you are buying something this expensive, using scare tactics to ring up extended-warranty sales is unethical.

Not to mention bogus: The idea that the ionized gases inside plasma displays either need to be replenished periodically or can be refilled is patently untrue. You simply cannot change out these phosphors every 3,000 (viewing) miles. Nor would you want to, because this would require you to change its entire glass display element out. And most manufacturers will tell you that it's cheaper to replace an entire plasma unit that it is to replace its screen alone.

Misconception #3: Plasma TVs are like shooting stars, brilliant but short-lived.

It is difficult to say for sure how long a given plasma TV will last, but one thing is certain: Plasmas can (and generally do) last a decade, sometimes longer. The useful lifetime of a plasma display is calculated according to the amount of time it takes for the monitor to appear half as bright as it did the day you bought it. "Half-life" denotes the point at which manufacturers consider the picture on a given set to have dimmed enough to make a noticeable difference in picture quality and possibly merit replacement. The stated half-life of most plasma displays is around 30,000 hours -- that's 10 years worth of 8-hour viewing days!

[Rodders_UK]

Thanks for all the advice guys

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whatever u decide rodders you are going to have 37" of viewing pleasure you can't go wrong really :D get back when you go for the surround sound :D

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Already have the sound sorted mate - lovely Yamaha DSP-A5 and a set of mission speakers - it's only the telly that I'm, changing

[Maz]

Well my Philips 32FP9986 is coming tomorrow, and it been voted the best 32" LCD for 2005, i was thinking about Plasma before, but after seeing a few plasma and LCD side by side, i went for LCD instead, and the Philip is fully HDTV ready as well... :) :) :) :) :)

[Brettster]

Well I used to service both Plasma's and LCD's, Both have their good and bad points, but for me seeing them day in and day out, I would go for either a new Pioneer or Panasonic Plasma the ones with the billions of colour displays, they just look amazing, Lcd's just dont have that edge in colour definition.

Im against LCD at the moment because LCD's suffer from faulty pixels, and this is so annoying, even more so when you try to take it back and the shop pulls out the manual on you and points to the manufacturer's note about this being a side effect of LCD production, you wouldnt put up with anything else costing£1000's not being perfect so why should you with LCD displays?

Having said that, if LCD is what you want, then check out the Sharp aquos range, they seem to be about one of the best HDTV 37"er's about at the moment.

If your tempted by brand names, do some searching before you commit, Sony do not make their own large LCD or Plasma displays, they buy them from Hitachi, Samsung etc.

[Rodders_UK]

Does anyone know anything about Thompson?? - who makes the display? - reliability etc etc (they're French, and I love France, but the French are not reknowned for the reliability of their electonics)

[Monster-Mat]

Does anyone know anything about Thompson?? - who makes the display? - reliability etc etc (they're French, and I love France, but the French are not reknowned for the reliability of their electonics)

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:)

My LCD is made by Thomson. as ive said ive had no issues, infact in Germany Thomson is one of the if not the biggest selling TV manufacturer

[Rodders_UK]

Does anyone know anything about Thompson?? - who makes the display? - reliability etc etc (they're French, and I love France, but the French are not reknowned for the reliability of their electonics)

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:)

My LCD is made by Thomson. as ive said ive had no issues, infact in Germany Thomson is one of the if not the biggest selling TV manufacturer

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That's good to know mate - there's a good deal on at Comet on a very well specced Thompson machine - I'm quite tempted.

[ChewBakker]

My freinds Plasma went pop - VERY Expensive to fix. Have you looked at Rear Projection TV. A 46" RPTV with 2000:1 Contrast ratio costs around £900.00. The TV, although floor standing is typically only 12" deep. Picture quality is EXCELLENT. Alternatively, I went for a high quality, loow noise SONY projector. I bought a motorised drop down screen (72") and this is the dogs danglers !!

[Parthiban]

My freinds Plasma went pop - VERY Expensive to fix. Have you looked at Rear Projection TV. A 46" RPTV with 2000:1 Contrast ratio costs around £900.00. The TV, although floor standing is typically only 12" deep. Picture quality is EXCELLENT. Alternatively, I went for a high quality, loow noise SONY projector. I bought a motorised drop down screen (72") and this is the dogs danglers !!

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I agree with the projector, but even DLP rear projection isn't a patch on plasma or LCD

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Questiop - what is this 1080 pixels people refer to? For example there is a 37 inch Toshiba LCD that has a resolution of 1366x768, but can't see anytthing else about the resolution.

[MacRS200]

Questiop - what is this 1080 pixels people refer to? For example there is a 37 inch Toshiba LCD that has a resolution of 1366x768, but can't see anytthing else about the resolution.

Pixel is short for Picture Element :D

It is the number of "dots" the screen can resolve so 1366x768 is 1366 dots on each horizontal line with 768 lines vertically.

[Parthiban]

Questiop - what is this 1080 pixels people refer to? For example there is a 37 inch Toshiba LCD that has a resolution of 1366x768, but can't see anytthing else about the resolution.

1080 is the vertical resolution of HD (as well as 720, personally still don't get why there are two in the first place)

1080 will have a resolution of 1920x1080, and 720 will be 1280x720

Obviously, that means that a 1366x768 screen will not be able to display the full 1920x1080 image, hence all the hype about the 1080p displays that are a few months away

[Gord]

My freinds Plasma went pop - VERY Expensive to fix. Have you looked at Rear Projection TV. A 46" RPTV with 2000:1 Contrast ratio costs around £900.00. The TV, although floor standing is typically only 12" deep. Picture quality is EXCELLENT. Alternatively, I went for a high quality, loow noise SONY projector. I bought a motorised drop down screen (72") and this is the dogs danglers !!

Ive had a plasma tv for well over 3yrs no problems at all :D

[Steve ( West Mids )]

1080 is the vertical resolution of HD (as well as 720, personally still don't get why there are two in the first place)

1080 will have a resolution of 1920x1080, and 720 will be 1280x720

Obviously, that means that a 1366x768 screen will not be able to display the full 1920x1080 image, hence all the hype about the 1080p displays that are a few months away

Interesting that, I called into the local Sony shop this morning and acted my normal "I don't know anything" self to see what they'd say. Guy said all Sony LCD TVs can display 768 or 1080. Also said don't know why you are worried about 1080 as Sky won't be broadcasting 1080i.

Is it he right? Didn't seem to be to me.

[Parthiban]

Interesting that, I called into the local Sony shop this morning and acted my normal "I don't know anything" self to see what they'd say. Guy said all Sony LCD TVs can display 768 or 1080. Also said don't know why you are worried about 1080 as Sky won't be broadcasting 1080i.

Is it he right? Didn't seem to be to me.

Well to be honest he's not lying, all Sony LCDs have 1366x768 resolution and they will all display both forms of HD - however, it will always downscale the 1080 image to 768 horizontal lines so you aren't seeing the full image that was broadcast (this also means it upscales 720 images to 768)

As far as I know, his second statement is rubbish though, because I recently read that Sky has changed its mind and will no longer broadcast in 720p, but instead in 1080i. These two formats both have their merits and disadvantages but I would imagine that a 1080 display would be better for it.

However, its 1080p material for which you will definitely need a 1080p screen as with that much extra picture quality, you wouldn't want to lose it - but this won't be broadcast for a while, and only HD-DVD and Bluray will really have this quality material on it :)

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Cheers for the advice.

He did mention Playstation 3 but I'm not into games.

[LexAzur]

I bought an 42 LG Plasma about 3 years ago no problems.

If you are looking at buying a new plasma the Pioneer range is fantastic, I bought the PDP 436XDE about a month ago and its unbelivable. Way better than the LG I bought, the blacks are a deep rick black not smokey in any way, the flesh tones are spot on and no picture fizz anywhere.

Sky will be using both formats 720p and 1080i. 720p is a progresive signal so alot smother the 1080i has slighly more detail but not as smooth. HD has been in the States for about 3 years now so some of the us shows will be in 1 format and some uk shows in another format.

Will the human eye really be able to tell the difference between 720p qnd 1080i, unlikely only electrical equipment used in the magazines can only see the difference.

Noone seems to mention that to get the fantastic pictures you also need quality cables from a specialist shop that tha avarage cables in most stores, when you change to the quality cables you will see the difference in the picture if you have a good plasma/lcd likewise if you have a poor quality plasma/lcd and there alot of them on the market you will see all the problems!!!

Remember you get what you pay for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you can affored it the Pioneer is worth your money.

Interesting that, I called into the local Sony shop this morning and acted my normal "I don't know anything" self to see what they'd say. Guy said all Sony LCD TVs can display 768 or 1080. Also said don't know why you are worried about 1080 as Sky won't be broadcasting 1080i.

Is it he right? Didn't seem to be to me.

Well to be honest he's not lying, all Sony LCDs have 1366x768 resolution and they will all display both forms of HD - however, it will always downscale the 1080 image to 768 horizontal lines so you aren't seeing the full image that was broadcast (this also means it upscales 720 images to 768)

As far as I know, his second statement is rubbish though, because I recently read that Sky has changed its mind and will no longer broadcast in 720p, but instead in 1080i. These two formats both have their merits and disadvantages but I would imagine that a 1080 display would be better for it.

However, its 1080p material for which you will definitely need a 1080p screen as with that much extra picture quality, you wouldn't want to lose it - but this won't be broadcast for a while, and only HD-DVD and Bluray will really have this quality material on it :)

[Whoosh]

if you can afford an LCD get that....

i ummed and arred for a while over quality, and the LCD just seems to have the edge.......and doesnt require servicing like Plasma

It’s a very personal thing. I prefer the deeper blacks and depth and warmth of picture of a Plasma over an LCD any day, as I say it’s a personal choice.

My reason for replying to your post Monster-Mat is that I have had a 42” Panasonic since April 2002 and have never heard anything about the servicing that you mention, it still works absolutely fine. Please enlighten me as I also have a 37” and this is also fine (a little newer). What do I have to do get the oil and filter changed or something?

[adz]

y reason for replying to your post Monster-Mat is that I have had a 42” Panasonic since April 2002 and have never heard anything about the servicing that you mention, it still works absolutely fine. Please enlighten me as I also have a 37” and this is also fine (a little newer). What do I have to do get the oil and filter changed or something?

See my earlier post Whoosh

Misconception #1: Plasma TVs need to be "serviced," or have their plasma changed out, every couple years or so.

Perhaps the only compelling thing about this idea is that it resonates with good auto maintenance know how. To many people, plasma displays are like cars: You know how to use them, but you don't know a whole lot about how they work. Which is surely how this Urban Legend gained its foothold in the popular imagination in the first place. It has certainly been utilized by any number of unscrupulous TV salespeople to push extended warranties on otherwise unknowing "marks" -- people who have already spent $5000 on a new TV and would have no compunction about shelling out another $250 more, provided it will help safeguard their investment. While purchasing some additional "insurance" against mechanical defects might be worthwhile, especially when you are buying something this expensive, using scare tactics to ring up extended-warranty sales is unethical.

Not to mention bogus: The idea that the ionized gases inside plasma displays either need to be replenished periodically or can be refilled is patently untrue. You simply cannot change out these phosphors every 3,000 (viewing) miles. Nor would you want to, because this would require you to change its entire glass display element out. And most manufacturers will tell you that it's cheaper to replace an entire plasma unit that it is to replace its screen alone.

Misconception #3: Plasma TVs are like shooting stars, brilliant but short-lived.

It is difficult to say for sure how long a given plasma TV will last, but one thing is certain: Plasmas can (and generally do) last a decade, sometimes longer. The useful lifetime of a plasma display is calculated according to the amount of time it takes for the monitor to appear half as bright as it did the day you bought it. "Half-life" denotes the point at which manufacturers consider the picture on a given set to have dimmed enough to make a noticeable difference in picture quality and possibly merit replacement. The stated half-life of most plasma displays is around 30,000 hours -- that's 10 years worth of 8-hour viewing days!

[Pip]

Well I used to service both Plasma's and LCD's, Both have their good and bad points, but for me seeing them day in and day out, I would go for either a new Pioneer or Panasonic Plasma the ones with the billions of colour displays, they just look amazing, Lcd's just dont have that edge in colour definition.

Im against LCD at the moment because LCD's suffer from faulty pixels, and this is so annoying, even more so when you try to take it back and the shop pulls out the manual on you and points to the manufacturer's note about this being a side effect of LCD production, you wouldnt put up with anything else costing£1000's not being perfect so why should you with LCD displays?

Having said that, if LCD is what you want, then check out the Sharp aquos range, they seem to be about one of the best HDTV 37"er's about at the moment.

If your tempted by brand names, do some searching before you commit, Sony do not make their own large LCD or Plasma displays, they buy them from Hitachi, Samsung etc.

Agreed. Especially annoying with dead pixels on PSP.

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Went shopping on Saturday and looked at various ones.

Have to say - below 37" LCD looks OK, above 37" and it has to be Plasma. Especially the HD ready ones - the LCDs > 37" seems to snag moving pictures and they appear blocky to me.

Plasma - especially the latest Pioneer and Pansonic seem superb. Sony not too bad, but overpriced imho.

The other one that caught my eye was the HD Sagem DLP (not plasma), but the picture quality at £1400 odd was outstanding for a 40" TV. This was at my local Comet. DLP's are unreliable and cost a lot to fix the bulbs...

Like Pip says, they are still too expensive and will get cheaper cheaper and the quality better and better...I'm gonna hang on until I really have to change my CRT out.