Plasma screen choice help

[Dazzla Veteran]

Ok, I've got absolutely no idea when it comes to 720p, 1080i, HiDef all that crap. I don't know what any of it means.

Anyone, now I've made an idiot of myself, I've been looking into plasmas and the res on most of the cheaper ones is 852*480, isn't 720p above that? So presumably something like the Xbox360 would have to downscale? I've also seen models with 1024*1024 (and 16:9, consider me confused). Then some of the ones at the higher end are 1366*768.

Now I've not got a clue, but I'm looking towards the Xbox 360 launch in a few months (damn that doesn't seem far away) so that's the sort of time frame and usage I want from it, I've just not got the faintest clue. And that's just the resolutions, I've not started on inputs.

I'm not limiting myself to plasma either, I'm open to every suggestion, bar a huge CRT set.

Help me :D

[nekrosoft13]

i would advise against plasma

they might be a bit cheaper, but they can burn-in and go bad in about 5-6 years so its not really a good investment

i'm thinking about getting a 37inch lcd hdtv, and the one i'm looking at has native res of 1920x1080 (true 1080p)

[Dazzla Veteran]

I saw a nice sharp LCD which was 1920*1080, it was like ?5k though. Thing is with the plasma, you talk about 5-6 years, I've never owned a piece of hardware that long, I doubt I'll still have it then.

[nekrosoft13]

the lcd tv i'm getting is allot less then that

[Dazzla Veteran]

But this is the UK :p of course it'll cost more :D

[nekrosoft13]

only two issues i have with the hdtv i will get are

1) comes with only one component input

note: that is already fixed, i found a source switch box that supports component video (up to 4 devices) so that is not a really big issue

2) it doesn't ship yet, i ordered it 4 days ago, and so far the store doesn't know when it will be available for shipment, as i might have to wait 2-4 weeks

[0zerocool0]

dazzla im in the uk and have just got the sagem HD-D45 DLP Projection TV and it rocks hi def 45 inch and only ?2000 great picture go to comet and have a look

Edited May 18, 2005 by 0zerocool0

[bangbang023 Veteran]

The cheaper plasmas are actually EDTv (Enhanced Definition), giving you a maximum of 480 progressive scan (DVD quality). HDTV's have to be at least 720p (horizontal lines * vertical lines; vertical line number indicates the maximum resolution. A 1024*1024 set would give you a max of 720p/1080i).

What's Interlaced and Progressive Scan? Interlaced is the old style of displaying video. An image is drawn in two passes, with one half of the image being updated each pass. Progressive scan updates the entire image in one pass, giving a sharper, more responsive display. Progressive scan is often preferred for fast motion. However, that said, most HDTV's simply upconvert everything to their native resolution of 1080i.

While you will be hard pressed to find a plasma that's affordable and has 1080p, you will definitely be able to find a 42inch plasma/37" LCD with 720p/1080i support in the range of $3500 - $5000 US.

If you have any questions man, feel free to hit me up on MSN.

[Martog]

nekdrosoft, what LCD are you getting and how much is it? LOL, you have me half tempted with the whole 1080p thing. :p

[Dazzla Veteran]

The cheaper plasmas are actually EDTv (Enhanced Definition), giving you a maximum of 480 progressive scan (DVD quality). HDTV's have to be at least 720p (horizontal lines * vertical lines; vertical line number indicates the maximum resolution. A 1024*1024 set would give you a max of 720p/1080i).

What's Interlaced and Progressive Scan? Interlaced is the old style of displaying video. An image is drawn in two passes, with one half of the image being updated each pass. Progressive scan updates the entire image in one pass, giving a sharper, more responsive display. Progressive scan is often preferred for fast motion. However, that said, most HDTV's simply upconvert everything to their native resolution of 1080i.

While you will be hard pressed to find a plasma that's affordable and has 1080p, you will definitely be able to find a 42inch plasma/37" LCD with 720p/1080i support in the range of $3500 - $5000 US.

If you have any questions man, feel free to hit me up on MSN.

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Excellent, cheers :) That explains quite a bit for me. I'll have to grab you on MSN.

[Alan Zeino]

Great, another person wants to waste money on a plasma. The most annoying part of my job at target is having to tell customers to remove the dreams of plasma screens being the best they can buy from their heads. Plasmas still suffer fromt he fact that their lifetimes are amazingly short, and even the most expensive brands dont live up to the 10000hours that they state. Even the newer ones with the longer lifespans of 20000 dont live up to any crt in terms of image quality, image luminence is no where near what even lcds put out, adnd basically all id have to say to you dazzla is save your money, and buy a wide-screen hd-ready crt (dont worry about resolutions, i dont think anybody really needs to worry about that at the moment, unless they are planning on wasting moneys on technologies that arent fully matured at the moment). I dont if you have digital broadcasts in the area where you live, but id say standard definition is enough for anybody.

[nekrosoft13]

nekdrosoft, what LCD are you getting and how much is it? LOL, you have me half tempted with the whole 1080p thing. :p

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BenQ DV3750, i need to wait till mid-june for it ship

[Dazzla Veteran]

Great, another person wants to waste money on a plasma. The most annoying part of my job at target is having to tell customers to remove the dreams of plasma screens being the best they can buy from their heads. Plasmas still suffer fromt he fact that their lifetimes are amazingly short, and even the most expensive brands dont live up to the 10000hours that they state. Even the newer ones with the longer lifespans of 20000 dont live up to any crt in terms of image quality, image luminence is no where near what even lcds put out, adnd basically all id have to say to you dazzla is save your money, and buy a wide-screen hd-ready crt (dont worry about resolutions, i dont think anybody really needs to worry about that at the moment, unless they are planning on wasting moneys on technologies that arent fully matured at the moment). I dont if you have digital broadcasts in the area where you live, but id say standard definition is enough for anybody.

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HDTV CRT just isn't an option because I don't have the room, so it's LCD or Plasma, I'm not fussed (mainly because I don't know enough about both).

[nekrosoft13]

dazzla, like few people said, stay away from plasma.

if 5-6 (in most cases less) life span don't bother you.

then burn-in issue should, especially if you plan on using the display for pc from time to time.

burn in happens when the same image is being displayed for long time, so lets say you would watch some channel for quite some time, you change the channel later, and the channel/station logo will still be visible on the screen. if the same screen is displayed for very long time, the burn-in can even be semi-pernament, meaning it will take a very long time to get rid off.

[insurektion]

Ok first of all to address some of your questions.

720p means that the image is displayed in 720 resolution one image after another. Kinda like a digital flipbook. Progressive means one whole image after another. 1080i means the the image is interlaces meaning it will draw out lines 1,3,5,7,9.....,1079. Then 2,4,6,.....1080. This is a lower quality method of showing frames but for the tradeoff you get higher resolution.

Anyways Id shoot for a nice LCD if possilbe (longetivity) but If your only gonna have it for 2 or so years and dont leave it always on Plasma should be okay. Good luck bargain hunting in the UK.

[bangbang023 Veteran]

You guys have some rumors to work through.

Lifespan:

Cheap plasmas will give you a crappy lifespan, yes. However, sets such as Pioneers are guaranteed to last much longer. I know, at one point, Pioneer guaranteed their Elites would last 20 years, gas wise.

Burn in:

Burn in is a factor, but not as bad as it used to be. Sets from LG even include a "whitewash" feature which burns out the burn in. Kind of cool.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

heres my take... i know plasma's only last an average of 5-6 years (if youre lucky) but seriously i would hope to have something new in 5 years anyway... and personally, i think plasma's look a helluva lot better than lcd's.

[Alan Zeino]

Well yes pioneer if you have the money...

[SonComet]

avs forums

The general consensus for 42" ED plasmas is that the panasonic model is the best (the TH-42PD50U and the TH-42PWD7UY). The resolution on these are 852X480p, and its generally accepted that a high quality ED produces a better picture than a low-end HD model. (Also, the general consensus is that if you sit roughly 10 feet from the panel that the difference between a 42" ED and a 42" Pseudo HD (pseudo since they don't have full HD resolution) is nil. Also, dvds and regular cable will look better on an ED panel, although the ED really doesn't provide much future proofing.

For HD 42" Plasmas panasonic again is pretty much considered to have the best image quality. (TH-42PX50 and the higher end versions of the 2005 lineup. The industrial model is called the TH-42PHD7UY). The resolution on these are 1024x768. You can find some 42" HD plasmas that are rated at 1024x1024. I am pretty sure that the 1024x1024 panels display in a very similar way to 1080i but I am not totally sure (I just know that they are not progressive like the 1024x768 panels).

The fun starts when you get into the 50"+ category, which is only HD (pretty much always 1366x768). These are the only plasmas that can display all of the detail in a 1280x720p broadcast. The best plasmas in this category are both built around panasonic glass. The cheaper of the two is the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY (yeah another industrial model) or any of its consumer derivatives (only the 2005 line-up as the 2004 line-up did not use the same glass). The only plasma at this size that is generally considered to be better is the latest fujitsu 50" plasms (the 40 series model, not the 30 series model). Though it uses the same glass I have read that the circuitry and scalars in the tv are much better; thus it produces what I have read is the nicest picture available on a plasma.

Oh and you can probably keep it for more than 5-6years, almost all modern plasmas have a 60,000 hour half-life and claim to have reduced burn-in to a level equal to that of crts. But yeah, check out that forum as it has lots of information on every type of tv. And if you can afford it, get the 50" fujitsu :).

[bangbang023 Veteran]

The Panasonic ED's are nice, but, maybe because my eye is trained for it, but I can tell the difference, especially around the edges of lettering and people's clothing :unsure:

[SonComet]

The Panasonic ED's are nice, but, maybe because my eye is trained for it, but I can tell the difference, especially around the edges of lettering and people's clothing :unsure:

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Have you tried turning the sharpness down to a natural level? (not saying an ed will be as sharp as an hd in hd material, but what you are seeing sounds like the sharpness control being set too high). If you see the same thing when comparing dvd feeds then its the sharpness setting because an ed will look better on dvds.

[SonComet]

I meant to say sharpness and edge enhancment. Not just sharpness.

[bangbang023 Veteran]

Well, it's when watching the HD feed at work. I'll look at the levels tomorrow. Customers tend to screw with them. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's bad, I just notice these things easily. Also, I hate the idea of spending $2500 on a set and not having it even be HD. Waste of money, if you ask me.

[sfalcon]

What about Dell's offering? The price is nice but I've heard little about quality.

[notuptome2004]

go with LCD better quality no burn ins. also with Plasma you have to recharge the gases that are in the dang thing . a walmart i used to go to had a nice pioneer one on display and they had to have it recharged within 8 months and thats only running it for 5hrs each day. so dont got Plasama i advise agianst it. oh and when ya you a LCD HDTV make sure you find one with atleast 3 compnant imputs atleast and make sure you use RGB Compnant video in for each of your video companant sucth as DVD player Xbox if you have one and any others and make sure progressive scan is supported on DVD player for best possable Picture.