Why do Plasma's look so damn good??!!

[madmac]

Hey all,

I was over at a friends house the other day and we were watching some hi-def stuff on his plasma. I couldn't get over how gorgeous the picture was!. Just beautiful depth, clarity and blacks.

So the thing is this.......what are your opinions on Plasma's vs. the new LED models. How long is a Plasma expected to last picture wise vs. an LED model. I understand that Plasma's can have power issues and also consume a lot of power.

I would be very tempted to buy one of these sets when It's time to change my Old Sony SXRD LCoS set because I just can't get over how beautiful the picture is on these sets. :E

[aud19]

Unless it's an addressable LED back-lit set, plasmas will inherently have better black levels by virtue of how they create light (or more accurately create a lack of light). Plasma's cells create their own light, hence they're able to shut down/off when no light is needed in a given cell.

LCD's of any variety have back lights that the LCD's individually attempt to block the light of to create a lack of light. They do this with varrying success. Addressable LED sets alllow zones of LED's (back lights) to actually shut down/off when the signal demands it, hence their improved black levels. Even this can still cause "halos" with signals like say a starry sky or white text on a black background (credits).

Plasma also inherently deals with fast motion better than LCD without having to resort to adaptive motion techniques that negatively alter the look of the picture.

They also have better off axis view angles than LCD's which to wash out if you move even a bit off centre.

LCD's tend to excel in bright rooms due to their ability to output higher light levels and in energy efficiency. They can also appear slightly more detailed with still/low motion material (but again tend to lose that advantage with faster motion).

[Kevin P]

Another thread discussing this: http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...asma-Is-Better

But it's mainly due to the emissive pixels rather than light-blocking pixels.

Someday we'll start seeing OLED displays and they could give plasma a run for the money.

[aud19]

Someday we'll start seeing OLED displays and they could give plasma a run for the money.

Yeah, when is that anyway...? :lol:

[impala454]

The latest news I've read on that front is none too promising

Even read that Samsung may go LCD with it's Galaxy S5 to keep costs down.

[Dmantis]

Plasma looks more like real film and video then any LCD panel I have seen or tried to calibrate. The best LCD panel I've seen is the Sharp Elite. But even that panel fails in comparison to the Panasonic VT and now ZT models. It's not just the spec's that tell the story which you can read all you want. It's when you sit down and watch a movie and not get motion sickness like LCD's give you. They just don't do motion very well not to mention I feel they all look like POP UP kids books with fake looking 3D like imaging.
Sony and Sharp seem to be the best at LED but I'd never replace my Kuro with one unless I had no other option.
The new ZT plasma from Panasonic is as close to my Kuro as I have seen. It's damn good and you can get it in 5 bigger inches. It's one thing I do like about it over my Kuro which is only 60 inches. IF my KURO breaks and is unrepairable, this is the ONLY TV I have found I could be happy with.

I personally like natural looking video. I'm no fan of overly bright and fake blacks.

[madmac]

What's the average shelf life of a Plasma TV ??

[Ovation]

I'm curious about one aspect of LCD technology. I have carefully examined plasma, LCD (both with and without LED lighting, flat panel and as front projectors)), OLED (only at trade shows), CRT (though it's been a long time), DLP, LCoS (both for RPTVs and front PJ) and laser lit projectors. I currently have an LED-LCD TV (22" secondary display in the HT room when I don't want to fire up the PJ) and an LCD Front PJ.

On flat panels, so far, plasma has consistently been the best to my eyes (OLED looked nice but was not an option in any way when I saw it, so I'm discounting it for now). I've seen all the motion-associated issues on various forms of flat panel LCDs, I can't afford the non-wheel DLPs (I see the rainbows even up to 7x wheel speeds) and LCoS PJs are more expensive than I'd like to spend when it comes time to replacing my current PJ (which I am slowly planning for as I'm on my second bulb and I don't think it will be worth the cost of putting a third one into it--but as long as the bulb is fine, I'm in no hurry to change).

My question is why don't I have any of the LCD motion issues with my projector (which dates back to 2007) that are still clearly visible on modern LCD flat panel displays today? I watch a lot of hockey on my PJ and at other people's homes (plasmas and LCD flat panels) and I'd put my aging PJ against any plasma TV in terms of motion on screen (other aspects of PQ are another topic) and miles ahead of the latest and greatest LCD flat panels. Anyone have any idea why a PJ should cope with motion so much better? I suspect it has to do with the size of the LCD array (much tinier in the PJ than the flat panel) but have never found any info to confirm or refute this idea. Thoughts?

[madmac]

I have zero issues with motion on my 60" Sony LCoS RPTV to be honest. Perhaps we are in the same arena in regards to this perceived issue. I watch tennis easily on my set and do not notice anything bothersome while I watch the ball go back and forth!.

I am now very attracted to buying a Plasma as my next TV. They are now priced lower than the LED sets. I would have to get one in 1080P (Full HD) and it would have to have a digital tuner in it for me to receive DTV broadcasts over the air. I do have concerns about the longevity and the power issues that go with them however. My wife has an LG plasma set and there were issues with it turning itself off because of a power (Ysus board) and transformer issues. $300 bucks later to fix it is a phenomenon I can do without. Anyone else here have any issues with their plasma's ??.

[kmak]

Zero issues with my 2008 or 09 60" Elite Kuro

[impala454]

My question is why don't I have any of the LCD motion issues with my projector (which dates back to 2007) that are still clearly visible on modern LCD flat panel displays today? I watch a lot of hockey on my PJ and at other people's homes (plasmas and LCD flat panels) and I'd put my aging PJ against any plasma TV in terms of motion on screen (other aspects of PQ are another topic) and miles ahead of the latest and greatest LCD flat panels. Anyone have any idea why a PJ should cope with motion so much better? I suspect it has to do with the size of the LCD array (much tinier in the PJ than the flat panel) but have never found any info to confirm or refute this idea. Thoughts?

My initial non-googling thought (even before I read the rest of your question!) is that the LCD panel on your projector is much smaller and "faster". Same reasoning goes for why other small devices (cell phones / tablets / etc) do not have those issues either. Not sure if that makes technical sense without further googing.