Need a little assistance from the techies here

Guys, getting ready to buy a 50 inch or so TV for a Theater Room. What is the best to way to go. Plasma, LCD or something else. Also, can anyone recommend a surround sound brand and a disc player that have had good luck with?

Thanks in advance.

If money is not an option, Plasma.
Plasma has a better display, more vivid color. However, you will need to replace it every 5-6 years or so which can get pretty expensive down the line.

Must… resist… being… that guy…

OK… I have to do it

Dude: [URL]http://www.ninernation.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=60[/URL]

I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but threads are easier to find when they are in the right forums. Which TV you want to buy isn’t exactly Niners Sports forum material. Just sayin.

That having been said, the next Niners game viewing party will be at Hootie’s! :smiley:

[QUOTE=Hooner49;351441]If money is not an option, Plasma.
Plasma has a better display, more vivid color. However, you will need to replace it every 5-6 years or so which can get pretty expensive down the line.[/QUOTE]
Plasma has darker colors and better blacks compared to junk brands. Your big 4 LCD makers all have comparable black levels and much brighter, more vivid colors. Plasma’s now have a lifespan similar to LCD’s, although not quite as long. Watched an average amount, both will last you for over a decade. LCD’s now advertise (major brands at least) approximately 100,000 hours of life (life is when color has faded by half), which is 11 years running 24 hours per day. Plasma’s are 60-100,000 hours as well. Plasma’s are quite a bit cheaper than an LCD of comparable size with Pioneer being the only exception. Their product is absurdly expensive and you could get a quality Samsung or Sony for less with pretty much the same quality of picture. At Sears, we were selling a 50" plasma (720P) for 999 two weeks ago, plus an additional 10% off with a sears card. The 1080p version was 1800. A 52" LCD of similar size will run you about 2100 or more. Buy from Amazon. I’ve had multiple people come into the store asking us to price match (which nobody does with online retailers) and Amazon had some deals that were 3-400 cheaper than our best sale on the same TV as well as free shipping.

If money is not an option, Plasma. Plasma has a better display, more vivid color. However, you will need to replace it every 5-6 years or so which can get pretty expensive down the line.
Highly, highly disagree.

LCD > Plasma. Especially for games. I have yet to see a plasma compared to an LCD that I thought looked better… the same at best for high end models.

^ Have you seen a 1080p plasma yet? Almost no one has them yet, but I think they are superior to 1080p LCDs. The only argument I could ever see for LCDs before was you could get higher resolutions… not anymore…

High end plasmas have flat out better color saturation than high end LCDs.

And the life thing is funny. I have a 4 year old plasma and it looks as good as the day I bought it. That was more of an issue with 1st gen plasmas (when they were $15,000). Im pretty sure the life on mine worked out to be like 18 years watching 6 hours a day… and mine is 4 years old

[QUOTE=Ninercentral;351478]^ Have you seen a 1080p plasma yet? Almost no one has them yet, but I think they are superior to 1080p LCDs. The only argument I could ever see for LCDs before was you could get higher resolutions… not anymore…[/QUOTE]Everyone has 1080p plasmas and has for the last couple of years. I see them side by side all the time at work and the Samsung and Sony LCD’s are head and shoulders above any plasma not named Pioneer Elite. Plasma’s are definitely cheaper these days because they are not nearly as popular. I sell at least 10:1 in favor of LCDs.

when you say everyone are you referring to brands or people? I know a lot of people with flat panel TVs, from the cheapies like Vizio, to the more high end models, and I only know one person with a 1080p plasma.

Where do you work that you sell 10:1 in favor of LCDs?

It also might be considered that LCDs are cheaper to make and therefore more manufacturers make them. Hence best buy for example carrying 158 LCDs vs. 39 Plasmas, which is already a 4:1 ratio. I know a little something about manufacturing cost too as I used to own stock in Syntax Brillian and kept up with it pretty closely.

I personally just bought a 46" Samsung 1080p and absolutely love it. It’s not the newest model, but I can’t find a flaw in it!

[URL=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889102203]Link to my tv[/URL]

I have a 53" LCD from Sony. It’s great.

[QUOTE=hootie;351440]Guys, getting ready to buy a 50 inch or so TV for a Theater Room. What is the best to way to go. Plasma, LCD or something else. Also, can anyone recommend a surround sound brand and a disc player that have had good luck with?

Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]

Plasma and LCD have pretty much normalized at this point. You just need to buy a decent brand to assure you get a good product, regardless of which you choose. In general, LCD’s are cheaper and offer greater utility. But for watching movies in a dedicated room, I’d probably rather watch a Pioneer Plasma.

There are several threads which have been started sporadically on this forum. My best advice is that it’s pretty impressive what you can get for under $1,500, in terms of 50" and bigger displays. And if you want a 42" or smaller, you can come in under $1k.

I think by this time next year, you’ll be able to buy a name brand 42" 1080p LCD for $500, which is plenty of TV for most households.

As quite a bit of a home theater guru, my advice is the same as it is for speakers: Make a trip to a few stores and see/hear for yourself. Unfortunately, the majority of the televisions will be running in “torch” mode to make them look good in the store, but you should still be able to get a fairly general idea. Be sure to check online reviews once you find a few models that interest you. Reviews will be able to give you a better idea of how the TV compares when calibrated.

As several folks have mentioned, the difference between good LCDs and good plasmas is very small now, and you will really only notice a big difference on the high-end sets. Neither is going to burn out anytime soon, neither is at any kind of risk of breaking more than the other, etc. The only other thing I haven’t seen mentioned here is power consumption - plasmas typically use quite a bit more and put out more heat.

A dedicated home theater room (enclosed, complete light control) would likely benefit from the better black levels of the high-end plasmas, a sunlight-heavy living room would likely benefit from the increased brightness typical of LCDs…but for general viewing you will be happy with either.

[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;351642]Plasma and LCD have pretty much normalized at this point. You just need to buy a decent brand to assure you get a good product, regardless of which you choose. In general, LCD’s are cheaper and offer greater utility. But for watching movies in a dedicated room, I’d probably rather watch a Pioneer Plasma.

There are several threads which have been started sporadically on this forum. My best advice is that it’s pretty impressive what you can get for under $1,500, in terms of 50" and bigger displays. And if you want a 42" or smaller, you can come in under $1k.

I think by this time next year, you’ll be able to buy a name brand 42" 1080p LCD for $500, which is plenty of TV for most households.[/QUOTE]

I actually read an article on cnnmoney about 5 months ago saying that LCD and Plasma prices have likely bottomed due to increased labor costs in S. Korea, Taiwan, and China (where pretty much every brand except Vizio’s are produced. Vizios, some at least, are produced in the U.S.). That was before the economy tanked though, so they may go lower now since people have less expendable income.

Which is better for vieing stuff you might find in the [B]Pole Vault Thread? LCD or Plasma[/B]? :shades: