Plasma or LCD....which is better?

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

Site last updated: Tuesday, 2nd June, 2009  10:30 a.m.

Latest News!

 

Best Deals here at Plasma or LCD. 

       

         New Arrival!

 

  • Lots of people have been asking questions about the latest LED LCD TVs. A full review of these latest LCD tvs will appear on this site in the next few days. In the meantime, for those who already know about them, then you will be pleased to hear that the Samsung and Sony LED tvs are now on sale at John Lewis, Comet and 1st Audio Visual, although John Lewis only has the Samsung UE40B7020 on sale at the moment. They're expensive but then again, they are really only for those who are or will be serious about their HD viewing! But if you want to get one of the best value LED tvs at the moment then try the:

                                       Samsung Series 7 LE40A786 40" LED LCD tv at £979

 

  One of the main complaints you will often here when people buy a large Plasma or LCD tv is that they are unimpressed by the quality of the Freeview picture. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that if you want to get the most out of your new flatscreen tv you should really think now about getting HD content either via Blu-ray or now we would seriously recommend getting Sky HD. For a limited time: 

  >>>***Join online to get Free Installation and 1 month free***<<<  

       (The normal price for all this would be:£199 for the box, £60 installation & £9.75/month)

 

 

We recommend this tv for those who are confused by High Definition and aren't sure whether Plasma or LCD is better. It is a good quality tv, has a good contrast ratio and brightness levels. Also, 32" is a brilliant size for those who want to watch a good picture while watching normal standard definition tv, yet at the same time be ready to watch HD when the time is right for you!

We would not recommend this tv for those who want to get the most out of their PS3 or Blu-ray player. For this you should really be looking for a Full HD set. Oh yes and we like the design of this Samsung model.
 

 

 

*Important Advise - Over the last few months, we have been noticing a general increase in consumer electronic prices. This is mainly due to the exchange rate and the problems the UK economy is facing. If this continues our advise would be to buy sooner rather than later. For example, at Christmas the Pioneer PDP-LX5090 50" Plasma TV could be found at several stores for around £1699. It has now increased to selling at around £2049. In addition the hugely popular Samsung LE32A457 that was selling for around £289 is now being sold for around £340+!!! This cheapest price can be found at Amazon.co.uk! BUY NOW BEFORE PRICES INCREASE AGAIN!

   

 

...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 or HD-DVD (although this format will be slowly dying out like Betamax did in the consumer world of VHS versus Betamax). 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). There is one tv in the UK with a built-in HD tuner - the Panasonic PZ81B series that is available in 42", 46" & 50". Unfortunately, it seems that HD will not be available via aerial - at least not until everyone has turned digital. 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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