Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Battle of the FPTV's




"Oh thou knower of all things electronical, what tis better for me Plasma or LCD?"

Flat panel TV's have been dominating the market in the last couple of years and it's easy to see why. First of all, they look great. Not just resolution wise, but aestetically pleasing as well. Second, the price point allows all kinds of income levels to afford them. And lastly, it's actually difficult to walk into a retailer and find a lot of non-flat panels available.

Which leads to the question of what's best. My answer is always the one that looks best to you.

I was in Target yesterday and took a browse at their TV's. All of them were flat panels. All. And what to my wondering eyes did appear, but that a frickin' Westinghouse LCD dominated all comers with resolution aplomb. Yep, a Westinghouse looked best. Better than the Sony, better than the Phillips, better than the Toshiba. In fact I was so incredulous that I turned them all around to verify that they were all hooked up using the same kind of input. (Coaxials all.) They were. Westinghouse made bad toasters a few years ago. Wow!

Anyways, if you are in the market make sure that you get a good look at what's out there in your budget, and just look at it. You can tell what looks better. But as far as general rules, here are a few.






Plasma
Excellent home theater image quality
Wide viewing angle
Outstanding picture in large sizes
Excel in black level reproduction
No motion blur
Sharp details with HD sources
Burn-in reduction features
Better viewed from afar
Colors can be cartoonish

VS.

LCD


Bright picture even with ambient light
Viewing right in front is best
Available in a range of sizes
Poor black level reproduction
Motion blur/decrease in resolution
Higher native resolutions
Less color saturation than plasma
Can sit closer because of higher resolutions
Colors are very natural


Plasma Facts: After the first 100 hours of use (potential for burn-in), plasmas should be as durable as any television technology. Plasma life span is about 60,000 hours or about 10 years or more.

LCD Facts: Response time for fast motion has been improved with the newer LCD’s. Some brightness and color shifts are visible from outside angles but for the most part, provide a great picture.

Here's a great link if you want a little more juice.

9 comments:

dagus1976 said...

here's that link

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtv-plasmavslcd.shtml

Rick Edge said...

So, Dagus, oh ye of mighty knowledge of all things running on electrons, how hard is it to install DVD player and screens in my minivan (oops, I mean, um "ride")?
Would I be better off (or can I) buy a second screen for the portable DVD player that I have?
Obrigadissimo!

dagus1976 said...

Mr. Fischer,

You have several options.

There are certain portable DVD players out there with separate video outputs, but many of them kill the video on your portable DVD screen and send it to the other screen. Not to mention that it is extremely hard to buy just a screen that isn't already attached to something else.

The best solution is to drop 500 to 1000 dollars and have one professionaly installed. The benefit of dual screens is being able to run a dvd and a video game system simultaneously. If this is not paramount to you just buy a dropdown screen system as they are cheaper and come in various screen sizes.

I bought my wife a really cheap dual screen system that has portable monitors that velcro on to the headrests for her van. The cheapness of the system has prevailed once or twice but for the most part works pretty good.

Momma and kids will love the upgrade to your "ride"

Foi por nada. Estou assumado que fala portuges. "Obrigadissimo"

dagus1976 said...

OK

I should have looked at your blog first RICK.

Is Jamison Fischer your porno name?

ibid said...

I enjoy these informative posts.

dagus1976 said...

Darren,

I just enjoy you.

Rick Edge said...

My porno name?
my my, I never would have thought that I would have a Dagus in my audience...

dagus1976 said...

Rick,

You have no idea who I am do you.

disabled account said...

oh goody! i get to stalk you here too!!!

muah!