I’m looking to get a new TV. It will be 50+ inches in size. My current TV is hosed, and rather than repairing/replacing the individual parts, I’ve decided to go for a new one. The busted TV is an OLD Toshiba projection TV. I missed the whole HD craze. Now, obviously, whatever TV I decide on will be 1080p. So, my first decision has to be Plasma or LCD. Which do you recommend?
It will be in the basement, which is fairly dark, and will be used for watching SD and HD channels, sports (F1, NBA), and movies (DVD right now, no Blue-Ray). So I have a bunch of questions. Motion blur: I looked at a 60Hz vs 120Hz demo for LCDs, and noticed the 120Hz picture looked sharper (during movement at least). Of all the stores I was in, I couldn’t really compare Plasma vs 120Hz LCD (playing the same thing) to see a difference, if any. How serious of a problem is this for sports? Now, what about contrast and colors? Looking at various Plasma and LCD TVs, I noticed that generally, the Plasmas were darker, while the LCDs were brighter. This time, I could only compare an HD channel feed, since they didn’t have Plasmas and LCDs hooked up to a Blue-Ray player. So which has better picture, generally? Plasma or LCD? Also, burn-in. I’ve heard that it is a definite problem, and that it isn’t a problem. What is the reality of the situation? Do they have programs that “wipe out” the burn-in or not? Does the pixel rotation stuff (moving the image one pixel up/down/left/right) actually help? And finally, power use: I heard Plasmas draw significantly more power than LCDs, and I’ve also heard that the difference ends up being a few dollars a year.
Basically, I am looking for an all purpose TV, and I obviously want the best image quality I can get. My main concerns with Plasma are burn-in, power use, and heat (unless I am wrong to assume that more heat leads to quicker degradation of electronic equipment?). My main concerns with LCDs are motion blur and image quality (compared to Plasma). Finally, what about LED LCD TVs (or are they just called LED instead of LCD?)? Is a 120Hz LED TV comparable to a Plasma in terms of image quality and motion blur?
I have not decided on a definite budget yet, because… it depends on what exactly I’m getting, and how long I think it will last. I’d appreciate any help. I’ve read some LCD/Plasma comparison guides online, but I’m hoping to get more detailed information here.