Plasma.
I work for a large regional furniture/appliance dealer in their TV repair shop. I do clerical work, not actual repair, but I do deal with just about every set and part that comes through the shop. I've noticed that there are fewer plasma screens coming in for repair, but it could just be that there are more LCD's out there to go bad.
Stay away from Toshiba, Hitachi, LG, and RCA/Phillips...parts can sometimes be hard to get if they need repair. Rarely see a Sony or Samsung on our benches. We see a fair number of Mitsubishis but the parts are usually easy to get.
Heres a breakdown of sets currently in our shop that have been waiting over a week for parts:
Toshiba - 8
Hitachi - 5
LG - 4
RCA - 2
A manufacturer will make x number of a model of TV. They will take y sets and put them in a warehouse for parts pulls.
So, I have a Sony Trinitron 1234 that blows a tuner. I order the tuner, and some schlep goes out and pulls the tuner out of the warehouse and ships it to me. Well, once those parts are all gone, they're gone.
The problem with that, of course, is if there is a "bad run" of tuners on that model, the surplus parts can disappear quickly; and unless Sony decides to make more, when they're gone, they're gone.
I would disagree with algraf; I know that Plasma sets will "fade". However, they are brighter than LCD as a general rule... but both LCD and plasma can suffer from "dead pixels". But I still stick with my original statement; LCD generates less heat, they're usually lighter, and they draw less power.
Just my 2¢
"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly replaced his Dilithium Crystals with new Folger's Crystals."
LCDs draw less power than plasma when they're showing bright screens, more power than plasma when they're showing dark screens. With LCDs the power draw is fairly constant, with plasma it varies with brightness. See here.
But anyway I'd go for LCD in a shop floor environment as they're more robust than plasma and generally lighter.
Sure they are, in a few years Plasma will be dead.
Still, let's assume the technologies are equal; with the current status of them, the only reason to go plasma is for a marginal improvement in the blacks.
"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area" - Major Mike Shearer
Grenage,
I would add that there are several reasons why one would choose Plasma over LCD:
- Deeper black levels (as you mentioned)
- Better motion performance (easily beats LCD's that are not 120Hz, but even those that are have a hard time matching plasma. 240Hz LCD's with LED backlighting are the only exceptions)
- Superior viewing angles (LCD though has come a long way the past couple years...plasma only has a slight advantage now)
- Better "native" contrast ratios (not to be confused with "dynamic" contrast ratios)
So for my theatre room, I would still heavily consider plasma over LCD. But for an open area with a good amount of light, LCD is usually the better choice. Plasmas need a dark setting otherwise they're hard to see. Regardless of the other advantages or disadvantages, that might be the most significant factor in the decision.
gbaughma,
Keep in mind that the comparisons between the two have changed a lot over the years. Old complaints on plasma such as burn-in and fade no longer apply to newer models. Advancements in the phosphor gas and a new technique of slightly shifting the image in intervals (not detectable by the human eye) prevents burn-in. Although plasmas will eventually fade, lifespans have significantly improved. Many claim 70,000 hours or more. That's the equivalent of leaving the plasma TV turned on for 8 years straight, which is not likely to happen! Therefore, it is safe to assume that you can easily get over 15 years of life out your plasma purchase before fading becomes an issue.
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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Oh I know they have their edges, but there is so little in it at the moment between a good LCD and plasma (aside from price). My housemate picked up a Samsung 50" plasma last year for a fraction of the cost of an LCD (consequently getting a nice burn-in of the GMTV logo).
However it's days are coming to an end, and as soon as the individually charged pixels on plasmas are matched by the next gen of per-pixel LCDs, that will be that.
"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area" - Major Mike Shearer
It's possible that his model has the pixel shift feature but it's not enabled or needs to be adjusted. The newest models have an "all-white" function to help repair the screen when burn-in occurs.
Trust me, I've been researching this a lot lately as I'm about to upgrade my old HDTV rear-projection!
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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I have a 52" Samsung LCD and I love it. I bought the higher end model and everyone that comes over can't believe how clear it is...motion is not an issue with it either
I bought the LCD over a Plasma because I a run a computer on it and my son plays a Playstation 3 on it.
One of the big problems with plasma is that they must lot lie flat. They should remain vertical all the time. You may have to send it to the repairers if you lie it flat. This is pretty expensive business (we've had to do it twice).
We have enormous problems when moving plasma panels between sites for demonstrations. It would be so easy if we could lie them flat: once person could do all the moving. The fact that it needs to remain in a vertical position means we always need 2 people to do the moving: one to pull the trolley and the other to hold it vertical.
Unless I missed it no one mentions screen glare.
The reason that I went with LCD on my new 42" TV was I didn't like the screen glare in the situation that I have.
Lights and a window that would reflect in the plasma.
The LCD looks great, accurate color and a natural looking image, with good fresh tones etc. and no noticeable reflections.
I'm a graphic designer and I really fussy about color and image quality. I did spend days adjusting to get everything right.
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