fbov Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I understand the popularity of Consumer Reports around here, but i also find that "even a blind squirrel finds a nut, once in a while." In that vein, I think CR got this one right... Plasma TV is dead, so go buy one The article talks about Samsung leaving the Plasma market shortly after Panasonic's exit. LG has since announced they're pulling the plug as well (see last 4 paragraphs; includes shipment volumes). In CR's latest flat panel comparison, the top models are plasmas, and I can't find a dissenting opinion among those who own both. Why should you care? It all depends on the value you place on video system quality, assuming you even watch TV. I'm the polar opposite of an early adopter; I upgraded to HD just as the best quality displays (monster CRTs) were being phased out (and discounted accordingly) and I've done it again now that plasma displays are disappearing, Granted the LG 60PB6900 isn't "top dog" but it's close enough at ~1/3 the price... well it used to be 1/3 the price. I'm not seeing deals on it, or any other plasma displays anymore, so I'm wondering if my timing wasn't better than I'd hoped. If you're in the market for a new TV, and quality matters, you've been warned... HAve fun,Frank Jus-A-CMax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleytoons Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) I always live life on the bleeding edge but in the case of HDTV I was *somewhat* late to the party (I had an HD projector but had not replaced our CRT displays until they finally gave out). I'm not a big fan of plasma -- there are LOTS of reasons, but today the best one is that you can easily get a MUCH better picture (say 30% better) and spend MUCH less (say half the cost even of a plasma close out). To put it another way, if you are buying a 55+" set and paying more than $700 or so you're getting ripped off (and the sweet spot today is about 55", although personally I'd never have a set that small -- we have a 60" in our bedroom and that's about as small as I'd ever go. Then again, our theater room screen is 9' so it's all relative :>). The biggest issue you'll face in today's market, particularly if you're an early adopter, is that everyone will start to push the 4K TVs, which right now are about where HDTV was 8 years ago. I used to scoff believing that it really couldn't get much better (my 9' screen is better than anything you can see in the actual theaters, for example) but now I'm not so sure. I think within the next five years we'll be looking back at HDTV the same we now do at 480p television, wondering how we could have ever thought that picture was decent enough. So if you ARE a late adopter I'd wait at least another two or three years before spending major bucks. Edited October 24, 2014 by Kelleytoons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) Funny enuf, I have bought the Samsung Plasma about a year ago. Very pleased with it and the main reason for the purchase was its black and plasma refresh rates vs LCD. It's really nice and I can't complain. So the Toaster Review company is now a potentially TV review company. Wow, with their writers knowing which remote button to press and what HDMI stands for, they may yet replace those blind squirrels and company issued lead boots :lol: there in the Car department.... :baby: Edited October 24, 2014 by Jus-A-CMax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiling Jack Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I always live life on the bleeding edge but in the case of HDTV I was *somewhat* late to the party (I had an HD projector but had not replaced our CRT displays until they finally gave out). ........................................... Kelley, You and I must be operating out of the same play book. I came into a nominal 70-inch motorized screen (i.e. 80-inch diagonal for 16x9) for free. (All I had to do was fix an open circuit.) So, in 2003 I went the digital projector route, and I did not even think of replacing my CRT TV's with HD until they "gave up the ghost." So we watched CRT in the den until just about a year ago. No problem there, since if we had someting important to watch in the large, we would just go to projection. I started out in 2003 with a projector at native 800x600 and later replaced with 760p. (It does 1080i, but I like the near-native 760p better.) Now I'm thinking of upgrading to 1080p. (Any suggestions?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdiesel1 Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 4K :worship: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopherTheME Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 While I far prefer the image quality of plasmas vs. LCD TV's, they use way to much power. IIRC, there aren't any plasma TVs that have an energy star rating. drdiesel1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Smith Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 theother concern, at least IMHO other than power consumption is weight... I'm running a 55" LED on the same mount i was running for my 42" LCD that gave up the ghost (under warranty) It mounted above a fireplace on a rock fascia fireplace so even though I used nice anchors to mount it I did not have to upgrade the mount or buy another mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinytop Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) My 50" Panasonic plasma recently took a hit from a lightning strike. None of the HDMI inputs would work. Replaced it with a Samsung 7155. Could not be happier. Much brighter picture, Oh, and the Samsung weighs half of the Panasonic. Much easier to move around as you age and get to meet arthritis. Edited October 25, 2014 by shinytop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiling Jack Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 4K :worship: Are there 4k projectors available? Does anyone think that an 80-inch diagonal screen is large enough for the difference between 1080p and 4K to be visible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleytoons Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 Now I'm thinking of upgrading to 1080p. (Any suggestions?) My current projector (a Panasonic) is 1080p and it's gorgeous. But, as I said earlier about LCD/LED screens, 4K is just around the corner and it will come to projectors as well. If you are happy with your picture and can hold off for at least two-three years I think you would be better served waiting until then. At the very least the prices of the 1080p units will come down (although truth be told my Panny 1080p projector was half the cost of the 720p it replaced, and it's far better in every regard. The price of early adoption in the case of the 720p unit). Because I'm so old I can't really afford to wait -- five years for me is just about a lifetime (sigh). So despite the fact I have more patience with life in general, for things that I can use and enjoy now I really have to pull the trigger. That said, I *may* not live long enough to have a 4K projector (although at the moment I'm thinking of expanding my screen -- right now it's 9' but the room could use a 12' screen and I think the projector is capable of pulling it off. OR, I might get another... But my 720p projector is collecting dust under my feet and I'd hate to end up with another piece of technology going to waste). Smiling Jack 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted October 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) Wow, great discussion! Let me throw some fuel on the fire, using current data from this very nice site. A lot has changed. Image QualityThis is what matters to me, and plasma wins on all fronts, save maximum image brightness. If IQ matters, get a plasma while you can. That's why I posted... Kelleytoons, I can only assume you have a very bright room... Power consumptionPlasma display power consumption varies with brightness, with the maximum at 100% white. You can't go by power requirements, as that's always a maximum value. LCD power consumption does not normally vary, as the backlight is always on. The big change is the recent move to LED backlighting, which offers significant energy savings over CCFL, especially zoned LED which vary LED intensity, at a premium price. LED LCDs win, but how much do you save? Mine's rated at $4/year less than a top rated sony UHD LED LCD. Without LED zoning, that difference is gone. Ultra HDSeveral folks mention this as a positive thing. I look at Ultra UD like 3D - a neat marketing feature that few want and no one actually needs. Here's why, for rreasons other than the lack of UHD source material anywhere on the horizon. The human eye can resolve 1 arc minute, 1/60th of a degree. For HD displays, that's a viewing distance of about 1.5x screen diagonal. For UHD (8K kilopixels, by the way, 4x HD, but called 4K for it's horizontal pixel count), one can halve these values, so you'd only start to see pixels closer than 0.75 screen diagonals. However, you're losing image content viewing that close, because the edge of the screen is washed out. Per the link above, you have to sit ~1.33x screen diagonal away, and centered on the screen, to see the whole image with no more than 50% loss of contrast at the corners. That's why the new, large UHD displays are curved, so there is a seat - one seat - where you can see a reasonable faithful HD image. There are no seats where you would see increased image detail from a native UHD source, as you'd lose contrast at the edges before you could resolve all the details. UHD and curved LCD displays are marketing snake oil, pure and simple. Like I said, CR got this one right.... HAve fun,Frank Edited October 27, 2014 by fbov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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