Benefits of Plasma?

[Legion]

I'm looking to pick up a new 50" Tv for the parents birthday, as the one they have at the moment has started to have a lot of dead pixels.

I'm currently looking on Amazon and a few other sites and I'm just trying to get an understanding of the benefits and negatives of modern plasma tv's.

 

I currently know nothing about them, and want to make an informed decision. Just wondering if anyone here can actually make it clear the differences plasma tv's bring to the table.

[_ASSASSIN_]

you look like a baller st8 frum 2006

[KaareKanin]

Refresh rates (motion on screen), black levels. I think it was just announced that the last guys who made plasma were going to stop, it's very much considered obsolete nowadays

[WorldDominator]

I hate plasma. I had a 50" screen and the color is distorted in big chunks of the screen. I'd recommend you stay away from them.

[dalekphalm]

I'm looking to pick up a new 50" Tv for the parents birthday, as the one they have at the moment has started to have a lot of dead pixels.

I'm currently looking on Amazon and a few other sites and I'm just trying to get an understanding of the benefits and negatives of modern plasma tv's.

 

I currently know nothing about them, and want to make an informed decision. Just wondering if anyone here can actually make it clear the differences plasma tv's bring to the table.

 

 

Refresh rates (motion on screen), black levels. I think it was just announced that the last guys who made plasma were going to stop, it's very much considered obsolete nowadays

 

 

I hate plasma. I had a 50" screen and the color is distorted in big chunks of the screen. I'd recommend you stay away from them.

 

I have a modern (2013 model) plasma TV so I can shed some light on this for you @Legion. Basically as @KaareKanin said, the main benefits are:

 

Pros:

- Refresh Rate and Motion Playback (Generally considered far superior to LCD based TVs - this includes LED TV's) - it also does superior 24p playback (Blu-Rays) because of the way refresh rates work on Plasma's

- Black levels are much better than LCD, this also means the contrast is generally significantly higher (But not always the case, see brightness in Cons)

- Colour reproduction and accuracy is usually superior

- Image Burn-In is basically non-existent with modern Plasma TV's. You'd have to leave it on a static image for hours and hours to cause permanent burn-in.

 

Cons:

- Heavier and thicker (They use an actual glass panel on the front, as opposed to mostly plastic type screens for LCD)

- draws more power, gets a little hotter

- Brightness levels are lower (LCD TV's can get quite a lot brighter)

- Glare can be an issue because of the glass screen - depends on many factors including ambient light, direct sunlight, room orientation, ability to control light with blinds, etc

- Non-permanent Image Burn-In (Called Image Retention) can still happen - This is only visible on a blank static page consisting mostly of one colour, and it goes away instantly upon playing new motion. If you're watching a Movie or TV show for example, then image retention will immediately disappear if it has accumulated.

 

Basically if you're using your TV to watch movies and TV shows, then Plasma is superior in my opinion. The visual quality is just mind blowingly good.

 

If you use your TV as a secondary monitor where a desktop might be static on the screen often, OR if you have a very bright room that you cannot control (eg no blinds or curtains), then LCD would be a better choice.

 

Now, yes, Panasonic (The leading Plasma manufacturer) has announced that they are getting out of the game. However, Samsung and LG still produce Plasma TV's as well. I have a LG Plasma TV and it blows away any LCD TV I've seen in Best Buy, and it's not even "high end". The Panasonic VT-60 TV's are basically the best TV you can buy today in my opinion.

 

Once OLED TV's start being mass produced for similar prices, then Plasma will FINALLY die. But I firmly believe that LCD TV's are not the future. There are too many compromises to black levels and visual quality over Plasma. OLED is the proper successor to Plasma.

[Legion]

I have a modern (2013 model) plasma TV so I can shed some light on this for you @Legion. Basically as @KaareKanin said, the main benefits are:

Pros:

- Refresh Rate and Motion Playback (Generally considered far superior to LCD based TVs - this includes LED TV's) - it also does superior 24p playback (Blu-Rays) because of the way refresh rates work on Plasma's

- Black levels are much better than LCD, this also means the contrast is generally significantly higher (But not always the case, see brightness in Cons)

- Colour reproduction and accuracy is usually superior

- Image Burn-In is basically non-existent with modern Plasma TV's. You'd have to leave it on a static image for hours and hours to cause permanent burn-in.

Cons:

- Heavier and thicker (They use an actual glass panel on the front, as opposed to mostly plastic type screens for LCD)

- draws more power, gets a little hotter

- Brightness levels are lower (LCD TV's can get quite a lot brighter)

- Glare can be an issue because of the glass screen - depends on many factors including ambient light, direct sunlight, room orientation, ability to control light with blinds, etc

- Non-permanent Image Burn-In (Called Image Retention) can still happen - This is only visible on a blank static page consisting mostly of one colour, and it goes away instantly upon playing new motion. If you're watching a Movie or TV show for example, then image retention will immediately disappear if it has accumulated.

Basically if you're using your TV to watch movies and TV shows, then Plasma is superior in my opinion. The visual quality is just mind blowingly good.

If you use your TV as a secondary monitor where a desktop might be static on the screen often, OR if you have a very bright room that you cannot control (eg no blinds or curtains), then LCD would be a better choice.

Now, yes, Panasonic (The leading Plasma manufacturer) has announced that they are getting out of the game. However, Samsung and LG still produce Plasma TV's as well. I have a LG Plasma TV and it blows away any LCD TV I've seen in Best Buy, and it's not even "high end". The Panasonic VT-60 TV's are basically the best TV you can buy today in my opinion.

Once OLED TV's start being mass produced for similar prices, then Plasma will FINALLY die. But I firmly believe that LCD TV's are not the future. There are too many compromises to black levels and visual quality over Plasma. OLED is the proper successor to Plasma.

Thanks for the detailed information think I might pick it up considering the main think it will be used for is sports and movies

Cheers for the help. Putting my mind at ease really didn't want to pick up a plasma TV since I know very little about them.

[MPX309]

Yeah Dale pretty much summed it up but in short, if I were to make a small home theatre where there's barely any daylight, and it would be strictly used for watching blu ray's I'd run with a plasma too. . . plasma screens genuinely seem to be bigger too.

 

Anything smaller in a light room, say kitchen or I dunno, just standard def stuff and gaming I'd run with LCD

[ShearMe]

Once OLED TV's start being mass produced for similar prices, then Plasma will FINALLY die. But I firmly believe that LCD TV's are not the future. There are too many compromises to black levels and visual quality over Plasma. OLED is the proper successor to Plasma.

 

I was just about to ask/suggest this idea - good info.

[Torg73]

OK if what Dale is true then is it best to wait a few years to upgrade my 4 year old 37" LCD or go for something like http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-audio/televisions/large-screen-tvs-32-and-over/samsung-ps51f5500-smart-3d-51-plasma-tv-21334482-pdt.html will be a better option for watching DVD/Blu Ray and Netflix?

[dalekphalm]

OK if what Dale is true then is it best to wait a few years to upgrade my 4 year old 37" LCD or go for something like http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-audio/televisions/large-screen-tvs-32-and-over/samsung-ps51f5500-smart-3d-51-plasma-tv-21334482-pdt.html will be a better option for watching DVD/Blu Ray and Netflix?

 

Well that's not an easy question to answer. The answer is "It depends..."

 

There is no guarantee when OLED TV's will actually hit the market at affordable prices. Yes we've had OLED smartphone screens for several years now, but with TV's, they still tend to be extremely expensive. You might only have to wait 2 years, or it could be 7.

 

I'd say that getting a Plasma now, as opposed to waiting for OLED to come into the budget you have, is a good decision. I looked up reviews of that particular Samsung model, and they're very favourable.

 

Basically you need to ask yourself: If you waited a few more years, would you be able to afford a bigger budget? If so, how much bigger? But if you're using a 37" LCD (Presumably 60 Hz) right now, then getting this Samsung Plasma now will likely blow it away visually.

 

I'd say go for it!