Buying a plasma TV can be so frustrating. First, you as the informed consumer, know that plamsa TVs generally produce a superior picture verse LCDs but sometimes TV salesmen don’t agree. That being said, this guy managed to buy a plasma from Sears and turned down the $300 three-year service plan only to have the company call him a few days later to pitch the plan again. This time though, the rep ‘informed’ the buyer that plasma TV’s suck (or something like that) and need to be ‘recharged’ every five years at a cost of $500 so the $300 service plan is well justified. Thankfully, the customer turned down the service plan ’cause plasma TVs do not need recharging.
More plasma TV myths after the break.
- Plasma TVs do not need to be recharged
- Plasma TVs can suffer burn-in but only in extreme cases. Image retention is common but goes away after a few minutes.
- Plasma TVs are reliable and the display should last years. That’s not to say other, random things can happen to the electronics.
- Plasma TVs do not give off radiation.
- Plasma TVs are not delicate little flowers. They can take some abuse and feature a screen protector that is generally child and Wiimote proof. Unlike the majority LCDs, btw.
- Plasma TVs generally have better blacks and whites than LCDs.
I would buy a plasma over an LCD unless it’s going to be in an area with tons of sunlight which will cause glare on the screen protector. That’s just me though.
Can you please do some coverage on DLP TV too? I was told by Best Buy that I need to change the ‘light bult’ inside of my TV every 2 years. While I like to believe what the salesman told me, but some confirmation from Crunch would be nice. Thank you in advance!
Yes, they do have to be changed every few years if it has a halogen lamp. Some DLP sets use an LED source instead which lasts 20,000 hours as opposed to 4000 or so. You can maximize the life of the lamp by getting a decent power filter. Not just a regular surge protector but one that filters out all the noise in the power signal. In fact I would recommend one of those for any tv if the AC power in your area has a lot of noise. Just don’t spend a metric buttload on a Monster brand one. They are nice but a total ripoff. Their profit margins are well over 50% at the very least. I used to sell TVs so I know. You can buy monster products on ebay brand new for dirt cheap. Anyway, I personally would suggest you avoid a hassle and get a flat panel rather than a DLP. Their viewing angles are lousy and you will have to pay just as much in the end for maintenance.
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If you have a bright room (or like to use your set in the daytime at all, really), reflections and glare aren’t the only problem with plasmas. They aren’t nearly as bright as an LCD and will suffer in a bright room.
I compared LCD’s side by side with Plasmas (I’m fortunate enough to live near the excellent ABT Electronics), and the brightness levels are (to use a phrase) night and day. Until then I was a big plasma booster for the reasons you mention – deep blacks, realistic color, and excellent viewing angle. However, the plasmas were noticeably dim in comparison with the LCD. Given I have a fairly bright room in the daytime, I bought an LCD (Samsung LN46A750).
After setting it up it was definitely the right decision for my room. Even the LCD with the backlight turned up was struggling on a bright winter day, and a plasma would have been completely unusable. This has been sadly backed up by friends who bought one for a work conference room, and it’s similarly unusable due to reflections and bright daylight. Thankfully, the LCD I bought has excellent viewing angles (almost as good as plasma – a good 170 degrees or more), excellent color adjustments and fidelity, and decent blacks (not quite plasma levels, but very, very good).
Ultimately, buy a quality panel and you don’t have to be terribly concerned with viewing angle, black levels, color fidelity, etc. Just be sure to take stock of what your room is like, when you’ll be using the set, and take a look at them side by side (preferably in a high-end store, not a Best Buy where they’re all horribly “calibrated”).
Some DLPs have lamps that provide the DLP chip with light. Generally these last 6k-8k hours but yes, eventually you will have to change it. A lot of newer DLPs use LED clusters that provide a better picture and last a long time. Check those out if you must have the biggest possible picture.
Sears does not train it’s salespeople to give false information and the Master Protection Agreement is an extremely valuable addition to any major purchase including Plasma Televisions. The customer obviously misunderstood the salesperson, or if not, the phone conversations are recorded and the salesperson has long since been fired. The services of the Master Protection Agreement include yearly checkups even if the product is functioning correctly, free tech support, repair if anything happens to the television save the customer dropping it on the floor (abuse), No extra cost for any repair or parts, no trip charge even if it is a false call (customer mistake), and full value replacement with a NEW television if they cannot fix it or cannot fix it in a timely manner. The plan stays intact even if the product is replaced (unlimited replacement.) You can even extend it or transfer it to a new owner. Yes, Sears Master Protection Agreements are a little more expensive than their competitors, but what the competitors offer is merely an extended warranty that does not come close to matching Sears Service.
…I mean no offense, but when making an informed decision to buy a television, you can’t look at this year’s LCDs and plasmas and truthfully tell me that the plasmas have a brighter, clearer picture. It just isn’t true—a simple comparison of the specs of the units will suffice, but I can’t just let you say some of the things in your article without pointing out these few points:
1. Plasma tvs have a shelf life of 20 years, truly, but they have a halflife of 10, depending on how much you watch. This means that they will be on a steady downward slope of brightness and at 10 years they are half as bright as new(without a recharge service where they replace the chemicals).
2. Burn-in protection HAS gotten better over the past year, but it in no way idiot-proofs the tv; if you spend all day on the sportscaster or all night playing Halo, you get to enjoy that ghost image for the rest of your tvs life.
3-4. Points 3/4 are spot on…..always handle with care though :)
5. Though the tv isn’t a delicate flower, the chemical mix is—don’t position it any other way besides the correct viewing position for much longer than it takes to assemble the base or the attach it to the wall-mount and you’ll be fine. The comment about Wii and child-proofing, alas, isn’t so accurate. Plasmas have glass screens(and must, to deal with the gas/plasma requirements) that are not impervious to abuse, and can easily be cracked with enough forward force from essentially a giant white Nintendo lawn dart (or any number of kids toys).
6. Plamsas, unfortunately, have more-or-less stopped their technological development with contrast ratio(which is your black-to-white spectrum). Though the advertised perfect-dark contrast is called 1,000,000 to 1, in actuality the visual equates to about 10 or 15000 to 1. That being said, LCDs have continued their technological advancements, most notably in contrast(See the Samsung 850 blow the socks off of any plasma on the market….also available at Sears ;P), energy consumption(see the new Sharp Aquos with a 20% decrease in electrical draw), and the serious implimentation of 120 hz technology., which you can’t put in a plasma.
7. Alright man…obviously you’ve never had to buy a new tv a year after your manufacturer’s warranty ran out, but I did. I bought my 71 series Samsung LCD last year RIGHT after my 69f went down the crapper. My new set is covered by the Sears Master Protection Agreement, which covers me from any power surges such as the one that kiled my last unit…..its better to shell out 300 bucks initially (less than 2 trips to Starbucks a month broken down) than another $2000 later on. Cheers to all you tv buyers out there–>always get the full picture on a product, and don’t take one person’s opinion as law—do your own homework, talk to consultative salespeople(like the guys at Sears), and even call your manufacturers to get every detail…then you’ll enjoy your LCD(or plasma) that much more!
Sorry about the previous typographical errors, but its pretty late over here :)
I have never heard of this plasma “recharging.” Can someone give me a link to find out more about this? As I understand, this is not possible, but I would love to be educated.
Thanks.
I am getting a Panasonic TH-50PZ800U tomorrow afternoon. I did extensive research on it and for my needs, it seems to be the best choice. This is a high end model and is very expensive in comparison to the others.
I noticed that up close, large LCD TVs look better, but further away (4 feet or more) the Plasma TVs are at least the same, if not superior in many cases, depending on the TV set you are comparing it to.
120Hz is advertised because its a weak-point of LCDs. Plasma doesn’t need to advertise because they don’t have a motion-blur problem just by their very nature.
LCDs can get dead and stuck pixels. My 20″ LCD Monitor developed one the day before I ordered my Plasma TV. The LCD is 2yrs old and cost over 300$.
If you are not concerned about reflections or too worried about a slow and gradual decrease in brightness of your set (which you could offset by boosting the levels) then Plasma is probably for you.
Take your XBOX or Playstation in and try them on the LCD 120Hz and then on a Plasma. You’ll see the difference and your choice will be clear.
LCD by its very nature is slow to refresh as the liquid crystal material is slow to change state, in contrast to the Plasma which is not slow to change state. It’s more like the response time of a CRT.
CRTs have glare issues too. Their screens are glass.
I think if I’m watching a blu-ray or a DVD, I am most likely inclined to turn off the lights and cover the windows for a true theatre-like experience.
Happy TV hunting everyone. The more time you spend on research, the happier you will be later. Don’t rely on anyone in a store to give you advice. Go in knowing what you want and knowing the facts.
The closes store for us to buy a plasma tv is wal-mart.I am disabled and watching tv a lot is what i do.I would like at least an 42″ or bigger.Which do you think would be the best.Thank you