Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners LCD TV owners...seeking input

Better deal from Abe's of Maine, anybody order from there? Free 150$ wall mount as well on this deal

http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=PSTH50PZ80U&id=PSTH50PZ80U&l=PRICESCAN

About what?

There isn't much difference any more although I still feel that the Plasmas have a better PQ and very little blurring issues with any content SD or HD.

Most Plasmas now have antiglare coatings on them so the LCD advantage of no glare and easier to see in brightly lit areas is a wash, even the pricing at the 50-52" level is pretty much the same now. All you have to do is choose the one that has the best PQ to you. From everything I have looked at, I would have to agree with what Alan had commented on about the better manufacturers of LCDs and Plasmas.

I don't know too much about the US sites but doesn't one call have a pretty good reputation? If Abe's is OK for service and returns then the free wall mount seals it though.

I still think Plasmas are better but the advantage has been narrowed signifigantly. The Sharp LCD that I just purchased is very close to plasma picture quality at least for the HD channels. For the SD channels my Panny plasma is better.

Here are the differences: All LCD displays have reduced contrast and overall picture quality when viewed from extreme angles to either side. The picture on plasma sets does not deteriorate viewed from angles. The best LCD sets have improved considerably, but you can still easily see the effect--try it in a store. Watch the picture intently and walk to either side and you'll see the contrast and the color values deteriorate.

This isn't a big deal if you normally sit on-axis or at modest angles away from the LCD screen.

Plasmas tend to use quite a lot more power than LCD displays, some almost twice as much.

The other problems of LCD displays are occasional "motion artifacts" with rapid motion--a blurring of a ball or hockey player moving cross-screen. The increased refresh rates of newer LCD displays combat this to a large degree. Keep in mind that the video compression of MPEG2 or MPEG4, used in all satellite, cable-TV, Blu-ray, DVD, and broadcast transmission of HD also introduce brief but sometimes visible motion artifacts, so it's hard to know what's causing them. Still, watch some fast-motion sports on a couple of different brands of LCDs in a store (and a plasma if there's one nearby) to see if you can spot any annoying motion trails.

Generally speaking, plasmas don't have visible motion artifacts of the sort sometimes seen on LCD displays.

Regards,
Alan

Thanks Alan

Sorry about the delay. The onecall $$ is a great deal. 2 people I work with have the Panny PZ 50" plasma's and they rave about the picture. The only better consumer plasma on the market is the Pioneer, which will set you back mucho $$.

To add to Alan's comments, myself personally, to this day, still hasn't been sold on LCD displays. Although they are improving, there is still a problem with blacks(contrast during dark scenes). Case in point; a few months ago I was asked by a neighbor to calibrate the two sets he just bought. A 50" Panasonic Viera(Plasma) and a 46" Sharp Aquos(LCD). Both were hooked up to HD cable boxes. Both had similar DVD players hooked up to them so I took over my trusty DVE disc and threw it in the machines hooked up to each monitor. The first thing I noticed immediately was that the Aquos couldn't handle a below black signal and along with that and quite surprisingly, even though it was hooked up to its own cable box(same one as the Viera)having been commented on earlier, it did a considerably "poorer" job of handling standard(non-HD) television signals compared to the Panasonic! The Panasonic handled "below black" signals quite easily and had much more flexibility in set-up so in the end even though the gap closed between the two when comparing HD broadcasts, over all, the Viera was noticeably better. The bottom line is you don't know the difference until you have the opportunity of having the two types of sets close to each other so you can make reasonably accurate assessments of each when you are trying to set them up to get the most accurate picture. Dark scenes on an LCD still have somewhat of a "washed out" look and if you try to set the brightness properly(blacks), the picture is too dark.

Until LCD's can cure the "black" issue. for now , I will stay in the Plasma camp.

To add to Casey's comments--and I'd agree on his side-by-side judgment of LCD vs. plasma black levels--, the other advantage cited for LCD is that they're able to deliver a brighter picture than plasma in a brightly lit room.

However, all displays, when run in the so-called "torch mode" ( the setting often used by retail stores to demo TVs), result in burned out whites (no detail visible) because the pixels are over-driven, with color values that become over saturated and unrealistic. My own DLP run in this mode (Samsung calls it "Dynamic") is dazzlingly bright--ridulous, frankly, if you're looking for accurate color rendition.

Granted, there may be times when you have people over and you don't want to view the display in its "cinema" setting in a dim room, but it's better to use the middle setting rather than the brightest.

Regards,
Alan

I bought a Sony 52" XBR (120 hz)last year around Thanksgiving. I agree with Alan that occaisionally I see motion artifactss - mostly pixelizaton. This occurs not so much during fast motion but when there is a lot of activity on the screen. Activity such as maybe an action scene in low light where there is much motion. I do not think it is the TV as much as the compression of the signal. I was surprised to see the comment that side by side the Plasma does not experience the compression artifacts? I have never tried it - I just assumed that compression artifacts were compression artifacts. As for the lack of Black Level - in actual usage I never notice it. I do not look at the screen and think - "those blacks are washed out". Alternatively, if you are going to sit off axis as Alan pointed out, you do lose the contrast and color but that is not an issue for me either. As for the SD content - I would classify it as Good on my set. Glare - I would check out the anti glare coatings on the Plasmas to see if they degrade the picture quality either head on or off axis. Some of the LCDs - Samsung, I think also have put glass over their LCD's introducing glare.

The comment I would add is that all HD is not created equally. Looking at the network sports broadcasts - whether ESPN, NBC, FOX, etc., you can tell when they have brought the "good" equipment to the broadcast. Channels like Discovery or Nature channels can produce some real "jaw dropping" picture quality. Lastly, I would say "Trust your eyes, Luke" - not the Force..............Rob