issues with plasmas in practical scenario

[junkmail159]

I was planning to buy a 40" full HD lcd. went through forums and after a lot research and auditions realize that Plasmas have slightly better PQ but issues like IR, TIR, burn-in, ambient light keep people away from it and price is also little higher for 40" range for example samsung 40c530 Full HD LCD - 48k where 42" Full HD plasma cost around 60k.

i want to discuss these issues in practical scenario.
1. Everyone(& family) will be watching everything on TV like single channel with logo for 2-3 hours without changing channels, movies with black bars on top and bottom for hours. so i want to know if we properly follow measures for break-in period(first 200-300 hours which almost everyone can take) then will situations like above cause any IR or TIR or burn-in after that?

2. As far as regular TV watching is concerned it generally means normal lit rooms neither very brightly nor very dim lit, means room with 1 or 2 windows covered with curtains. So watching plasma in this condition will not degrade viewing pleasure or we need to have dim-lit/darker rooms to enjoy plasma? how effective are anti-reflection coating in budget plasma like x10/x20/c450?

3. 3rd point that plasma are power-guzzlers doesnt make much sense as normal viewing will make a difference of around 150 per month for 42" range. 90% people are still living with CRTs.

inputs from experts will be highly valuable for all of HFV members who are still confused between LCD and plasma.

BTW my consideration for (80% DTH + 15% movies + 5% games) are
1. 42" panasonic x10 - 34000
2. 42" panasonic x20 - 36000
3. 42" samsung c450 plasma - around 39000

 

[marsilians]

Short answer is no there wont be any issues. If you want to know the details, you need to search in the forum as there are a number of posts talking about this.

I was planning to buy a 40" full HD lcd. went through forums and after a lot research and auditions realize that Plasmas have slightly better PQ but issues like IR, TIR, burn-in, ambient light keep people away from it and price is also little higher for 40" range for example samsung 40c530 Full HD LCD - 48k where 42" Full HD plasma cost around 60k.

i want to discuss these issues in practical scenario.
1. Everyone(& family) will be watching everything on TV like single channel with logo for 2-3 hours without changing channels, movies with black bars on top and bottom for hours. so i want to know if we properly follow measures for break-in period(first 200-300 hours which almost everyone can take) then will situations like above cause any IR or TIR or burn-in after that?

2. As far as regular TV watching is concerned it generally means normal lit rooms neither very brightly nor very dim lit, means room with 1 or 2 windows covered with curtains. So watching plasma in this condition will not degrade viewing pleasure or we need to have dim-lit/darker rooms to enjoy plasma? how effective are anti-reflection coating in budget plasma like x10/x20/c450?

3. 3rd point that plasma are power-guzzlers doesnt make much sense as normal viewing will make a difference of around 150 per month for 42" range. 90% people are still living with CRTs.

inputs from experts will be highly valuable for all of HFV members who are still confused between LCD and plasma.

BTW my consideration for (80% DTH + 15% movies + 5% games) are
1. 42" panasonic x10 - 34000
2. 42" panasonic x20 - 36000
3. 42" samsung c450 plasma - around 39000

 

[heynownow]

A good plasma TV is basically recommended if you're a videophile and if you watch HD sources. If your household watches a lot of news channels then maynot be the best option. also not good if your TV is kept switched on all the time.

 

[Kittu]

A good plasma TV is basically recommended if you're a videophile and if you watch HD sources. If your household watches a lot of news channels then maynot be the best option. also not good if your TV is kept switched on all the time.

What if I was watching a cricket match shld I turn off and on during advertisements ? :indifferent14:

 

[Dushie]

I was planning to buy a 40" full HD lcd. went through forums and after a lot research and auditions realize that Plasmas have slightly better PQ but issues like IR, TIR, burn-in, ambient light keep people away from it and price is also little higher for 40" range for example samsung 40c530 Full HD LCD - 48k where 42" Full HD plasma cost around 60k.

i want to discuss these issues in practical scenario.
1. Everyone(& family) will be watching everything on TV like single channel with logo for 2-3 hours without changing channels, movies with black bars on top and bottom for hours. so i want to know if we properly follow measures for break-in period(first 200-300 hours which almost everyone can take) then will situations like above cause any IR or TIR or burn-in after that?

2. As far as regular TV watching is concerned it generally means normal lit rooms neither very brightly nor very dim lit, means room with 1 or 2 windows covered with curtains. So watching plasma in this condition will not degrade viewing pleasure or we need to have dim-lit/darker rooms to enjoy plasma? how effective are anti-reflection coating in budget plasma like x10/x20/c450?

3. 3rd point that plasma are power-guzzlers doesnt make much sense as normal viewing will make a difference of around 150 per month for 42" range. 90% people are still living with CRTs.

inputs from experts will be highly valuable for all of HFV members who are still confused between LCD and plasma.

BTW my consideration for (80% DTH + 15% movies + 5% games) are
1. 42" panasonic x10 - 34000
2. 42" panasonic x20 - 36000
3. 42" samsung c450 plasma - around 39000

Well here are my 2 cents on it,
1.Firstly plasma are not power guzzlers, god knows from where that term came from.
2. Even if you have logos getting displayed, it is not an issue, you just need to break in the set for the first 100 - 150 odd hours and then you are good to go.200 hours of break in is not required.Nor you will face any issues regarding IR .Plus all plasmas have anti burn in software built in that works in the background, for example Samsung has pixel shift.

3.If the room is normal lit then you can enjoy the plasma it will be good, for brightly lit rooms its better to go for lcd.

If your maximum watch is SD , its ideal to go for plasma as the PQ will be great.

Audition the sets you want to buy and then buy whatever pleases your eye.

 

[heynownow]

What if I was watching a cricket match shld I turn off and on during advertisements ? :indifferent14:

No what I meant was a lot of houses, the TV is switched On, all the time irrespective of whether someone watches it or not. I'm watching Champions league in HD, and during ads I just switch the channel..duh

 

[rahuljonline]

No what I meant was a lot of houses, the TV is switched On, all the time irrespective of whether someone watches it or not. I'm watching Champions league in HD, and during ads I just switch the channel..duh

But there are no ads in Champions League HD....

 

[heynownow]

Really...i didnt notice. truth be told, I hate cricket anyhow

 

[junkmail159]

Thanks everyone for inputs.

Short answer is no there wont be any issues. If you want to know the details, you need to search in the forum as there are a number of posts talking about this.

Yes marsilians you are right, there is a lot of material on this forum regarding these issues and i went through that but the overall result is not very quantitative like dim lit may mean normal room at day time with window(s) covered with curtain or may mean a room with no windows and door closed. further ownership like this adds to confusion. I am using laptop(LCD screen) and if i decrease the brightness to save battery then picture becomes dull. Will the plasma look like that? So a first-time buyer will still skeptic as 50k is a huge investment and ambient light seems to be only real issue with plasmas.

I am not starting LCD-Plasma debate here, i just want some quantitative analysis from experts and owners.

 

[NetFreak]

I have both Plasma and LCD at home. This is my observation.

You buy plasma if:

1. You want a large screen at a reasonable cost (E.g. 50 inch at 60k)
2. Primary usage is movies
3. You can be cautious about image retention and burn. Search this forum for example where a user got a demo piece of Samsung plasma with a channel logo permanently burnt in.

I almost never watch TV, only usage is Movies. Thats why if I were in market again, I would buy a plasma. I control ambient lighting and ambient sound with heavy curtains to enjoy both video and sound from HT system.

However, if primary usage is TV, then all this is moot. Source material that comes from Cable/DTH/STB is so bad, TV would not make much of the difference.

Do you know someone who has plasma? You can check out performance in non-showroom conditions to make this decision.

 

[wingsoffires]

I have both Plasma and LCD at home. This is my observation.

You buy plasma if:

1. You want a large screen at a reasonable cost (E.g. 50 inch at 60k)
2. Primary usage is movies
3. You can be cautious about image retention and burn. Search this forum for example where a user got a demo piece of Samsung plasma with a channel logo permanently burnt in.

I almost never watch TV, only usage is Movies. Thats why if I were in market again, I would buy a plasma. I control ambient lighting and ambient sound with heavy curtains to enjoy both video and sound from HT system.

However, if primary usage is TV, then all this is moot. Source material that comes from Cable/DTH/STB is so bad, TV would not make much of the difference.

Do you know someone who has plasma? You can check out performance in non-showroom conditions to make this decision.

I am in the same boat.
So are you saying that if people in my home would be watching 95 percent sd channels (primarily star plus / colors / zee etc ) it would be better to go for a lcd. The lighting can be controlled but obviously I would not be completely covering my drawing room windows with curtains during the day time. I do happen to have a medium lit drawing room during day time but cannot completely cover it always.

 

[marsilians]

Its hard to quantise answers to your first 2 questions. I have a 50 inch Samsung plasma and the only times I have issues watching is if there is strong sunlight in the room esp, on opposite walls to the TV, you tend to see reflections. Otherwise for normal conditions including under clear light or brightly lit situations the pic can be viewed pretty well. Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone for inputs.



Yes marsilians you are right, there is a lot of material on this forum regarding these issues and i went through that but the overall result is not very quantitative like dim lit may mean normal room at day time with window(s) covered with curtain or may mean a room with no windows and door closed. further ownership like this adds to confusion. I am using laptop(LCD screen) and if i decrease the brightness to save battery then picture becomes dull. Will the plasma look like that? So a first-time buyer will still skeptic as 50k is a huge investment and ambient light seems to be only real issue with plasmas.

I am not starting LCD-Plasma debate here, i just want some quantitative analysis from experts and owners.

 

[hemantwaghe]

I was in similar boat around 2 yrs back ,my hall had a big French window opposite thr display also there are tubelights in hall
I had trouble of this when I had 29 inch CRT ,so I chose 1080 P LCD ,again my daughter and wife is more bothred about quick viewing than image quality ,so I think it was wise decision!

 

[NetFreak]

I am in the same boat.
So are you saying that if people in my home would be watching 95 percent sd channels (primarily star plus / colors / zee etc ) it would be better to go for a lcd. The lighting can be controlled but obviously I would not be completely covering my drawing room windows with curtains during the day time. I do happen to have a medium lit drawing room during day time but cannot completely cover it always.

I mean, for tv content it does not really matter since source material itself is poor. Specifically for the channels you have mentioned. So, plasma vs lcd does not make much of a difference.

In this situation, I would advice against plasma if windows are facing the tv.

 

[Kittu]

I mean, for tv content it does not really matter since source material itself is poor. Specifically for the channels you have mentioned. So, plasma vs lcd does not make much of a difference.

In this situation, I would advice against plasma if windows are facing the tv.

Even some of the LCDs have reflection issues ... unless the blacklevels are good .. I had a Sony W32 series LCD and now upgraded to a Sammy 50" plasma... I must say honestly SONY W series rocks . But then the experience of watching a movie in HD format on a 50" :licklips: .

Right now most SD channels are upscaled and streached to fit 16:9 ratio on 50inch so most SD stuff I watch on my LCD and rest sports and movies on my plasma... Hope all our channels turn HD soon .

 

[heynownow]

Yes i can appreciate what NetFreak is talking about. Plasmas requires a lot of care if u want the screen to be perfect in terms of uniformity of exposure to all the phospors. I've ignored those and am finding some dissapointing patterns in my TV in no signal mode (streaks from letterbox movies, and logo areas etc). These errors are not discernible for regular viewing. Anyhow since my TV has hardly done 25-30 hours, I'm in a position to rectify some of the past errors. A lot of normal consumers wouldnt be able to tell till their plasma panels suffers irreplaceable damage. A Plasma TV is an enthusiast product. Its not meant to be perfect out of the box, (unless u go for the super expensive high end ones like a Beovision 4) but perfection comes with proper usage and the proper precautions. It's like a sports car, you can't rev mindlessly from day 1 or do 250 km/hr in the first month. If you think running breakin slides, or keeping off static content completely off the screen and doing other acvitivies which might make you feel like a OCD afflicted guy, then dont buy. Also Plasmas are like a single master device, so it just can't be used as any other TV by all family members watching SD content with news and logos for hours on end. In that case stick to LCDs.

 

[heynownow]

Yes i can appreciate what NetFreak is talking about. Plasmas requires a lot of care if u want the screen to be perfect in terms of uniformity of exposure to all the phospors. I've ignored those and am finding some dissapointing patterns in my TV in no signal mode (streaks from letterbox movies, and logo areas etc). These errors are not discernible for regular viewing. Anyhow since my TV has hardly done 25-30 hours, I'm in a position to rectify some of the past errors. A lot of normal consumers wouldnt be able to tell till their plasma panels suffers irreplaceable damage. A large screen Plasma TV is an enthusiast product. Its not meant to be perfect out of the box, (unless u go for the super expensive high end ones like a Beovision) but perfection comes with proper usage and the proper precautions. It's like a sports car, you can't rev mindlessly from day 1 or do 250 km/hr in the first month. If you think running breakin slides, or keeping off static content completely off the screen and doing other acvitivies which might make you feel like a OCD afflicted guy, then dont buy. Also Plasmas are like a single master device, so it just can't be used as any other TV by all family members watching SD content with news and logos for hours on end. In that case stick to LCDs

 

[heynownow]

The only way one can enjoy the the PQ of a plasma (deep blacks, truer colors, excellent contrast ratio) , with the simplicity of LCD (switch on and play whatver u want) is to go for a full matrix LED backlit LCD with local dimming/spot control. But be prepared to spend thrice as much, or more for the same screen size. So whoever said life was fair