Plasma or LCD - which is better?

Your in Depth Guide to HD & Plasma or LCD TVs.

Site last updated: Sunday, 18th July, 2010 20:30

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Latest news: ***John Lewis Clearance Deals on Plasma or LCD TVs***

SPECIAL BUY *!!!! - £449 Panasonic Viera TX-P37C2B Plasma HD Ready Digital Television, 37 Inch

>>>***HURRY - Ends Saturday 31st JULY!!!***<<<

Freeview
Dimensions H64 x W93 x D9.5 (without stand)
Frame rate 100Hz
Guarantee FREE 5 year guarantee
HD Ready Yes
Memory card slot SD
Audio quality V-Audio Surround
SCART sockets 2
Screen resolution 1,024 x 768
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Fantastic tv for those on a tight budget (who's not these days?) who still want to enjoy their normal standard definition (SD) viewing while also getting to appreciate HD. This tv is not FULL HD, but for many people this is not necessary yet. This tv is HD ready at 1024x768 resolution, which means if your HD content is minimal at the moment, then this tv will not only give you an improved picture for HD content but more importantly all those programmes that many still watch in SD will still look good. One of the biggest complaints heard when people buy a new flatscreen tv is that the picture doesn't seem to be as good as on their old tube tv...that's because they haven't bought an appropriate tv for their needs.

* - (Means John Lewis has these offers available for a limited time only and are exceptional value as they've been able to secure one-off discounts from their suppliers).

While we are recommending good SD flatscreen tvs, you should probably have a look at the:

Samsung PS42C450B at 1stAudiovisual for £428

Plasma or LCD Recommended >>>Samsung UE40B7020 for £889.48<<<

and a Samsung UE40B8000 for £1234.93

If in doubt about these tvs. Here is 'Plasma or LCD's' quick guide to these Samsung top of the range LCD LED tvs. These are probably one of the best LCD tvs you can get to enjoy watching HD content. The bright colours are fantastic and SKY HD & Blu-ray movies look fantastic on it. Not only that, they are stylish, extremely slim and lightweight, plus they come with some great extra features (such as options to access the internet etc.)

Pros: Great for HD, Slim, Stylish and great little extras. Plus at the moment great price & is why we recommend not to miss this deal.

Cons: Not the best for normal SD content (i.e. Freeview)

OVERALL: Highly recommended tv for those with HD content to watch and tremendous value for money at these current prices!

Talking of HD - if you do want to upgrade this could be a good time - at the moment Sky are offering a FREE SKY HD Box, plus FREE BROADBAND & CALLS and to top it off £25 worth of M&S Vouchers when you join online.

...and finally don't forget for peace of mind, John Lewis offer a FREE 5 YEAR Guarantee on all their plasma or LCD tvs. Well worth it if you are going to be spending several hundreds on a new flatscreen tv.

High Definition (HD) has now made it's mark in the UK. Every day more and more programme content is filmed in HD and whether we want it or not, HD is here to stay. So what exactly is HD?

As the name suggests high definition basically impoves your viewing experience. This is done by increasing the image resolution i.e. the number of pixels on your screen. In the UK, the resolution we have been use to over the years on Pal TVs is 720 x 576 (SD). This basically means that there are 720 columns of pixels and 576 rows of pixels. Now it's difficult to use pixels when understanding the human eye but basically our eye is amazing in the amount of detail it can see (far more than a few megapixels). Ever wondered why in the past, watching your holiday videos on TV was never quite the same as being back there - well apart from the obvious reasons, the old video cameras were just not doing justice to the images captured on tape. High definition is now beginning to do it justice.

In the UK, the only way of watching HD is via Sky, Virginmedia & Blu-ray Discs. However, it is now possible to receive free HD via FreeSat - a satellite version of Freeview where you pay a one off installation fee for the dish and digibox but there is no contract. (You can buy a Freesat digibox and dish from the following stores: Comet, Argos, or Currys). HD on Freeview is available now but only in selected areas at the moment. Best to check your postcode first. In addition to this as you are probably aware you need to have a flat screen plasma or LCD TV to watch HD. In the television industry, HD Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TVs/monitors are used but these never caught on in the commercial world. Flat screens just look a lot sleaker and better in people's living room.

Plasma or LCD - which one is right for you?

The quick and easy answer to this one is this:

1) At present if you have the money to spend, to get one of the best quality tvs out there, then plasma still wins. However, to enjoy one of these types of TVs there are certain prerequisites:

The TV has to be 42" or more
You need to be watching HD content on a screen this big - preferably from a Blu-ray source.
Finally (and this one is debated among a few techies) the plasma TV needs to have a resolution of 1920x1080.

We say this last one is debated mainly because there are a lot of good makes of plasmas out there that only offer a resolution of 1024x768, which some people like for picture quality (mainly due to the great contrast ratios they offer - see our 'Guides to Buying' section). However, high definition means higher resolution and if the plasma or LCD isn't substantially increasing the resolution then you're not getting 'True' or 'Full' HD, no matter how good the TV.

2) If you don't want to spend a lot of money and 42" is too big a screen for your living room then LCD is the one for you.

Now as mentioned earlier. This was the quick and easy answer. If you want to make up your own mind, then please read our 'myths & facts' section where a detailed explanation of the technology behind plasma and LCD can be found that will shed some light into the reasons why one type is better than the other in specific situations.

Important Point to Remember before buying a plasma or LCD tv!

Even if you have money to spare do not automatically think that buying the most expensive tv will give you a better picture than your old CRT tv, especially if you are only ever going to be watching non-HD programmes for the foreseeable future. The reason comes down to resolution again. Freeview and normal terrestrial TV are broadcast at 720x576 resolution. Therefore this size image will have to be blown up to fit on a full HDTV of 1920x1080. If you can imagine it like blowing up a passport photo of yourself to a poster size image. The image will deteriorate as lines of pixels will have to be duplicated to fit the image onto the screen. Now some good make plasma or LCD tvs do this extremely well - namely Sony, Samsung, Pioneer, Panasonic - but they still won't produce a picture that is better than your old CRT.

Therefore rule of thumb is if you're only going to be watching Freeview or terrestrial TV then don't get a Full HDTV - only get a full HDTV if you are going to be watching HD content. If you still would just prefer to get rid of your old TV and buy a flat screen then choose an LCD with a maximum resolution of 1366x768. At least this way the problem of blowing up the image will be less significant and you are future proofing yourself if you do decide to go HD in the end.

What make and model TV should I buy?

Well in the end this will always come down to personal choice. However, here at "Plasma or LCD" we review many of the latest tvs on the market at the moment. These reviews can be found in our 'product reviews' section. Here you will also find some of the best deals around from a wide range of suppliers.

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Plasma or LCD....which is better?

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