LED vs Plasma. Why is LED so much more expensive?

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DCVL

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So is there any benefit to buying an LED vs Plasma? The plasmas are so much cheaper for the size and the quality doesn't seem all that much different. Can someone please explain whether or not there is a TRUE noticeable difference that would make an LED tv worth buying?
 
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As far as I know, the main difference is 3D capabilities and thinness; however, I have not read detailed comparisons between 3D and Plasma, so for that I'm just going by word-of-mouth.

Personally, the only reason I'd watch 3D is to entertain my girlfriend and her kid. Otherwise, I really prefer to watch classic movies, as most of the stuff coming out these days is downright awful.
 
I think with plasma you get more accurate color reproduction, better refresh rates, and I think the better refresh rates make for better 3D. When it comes to led back lit lcds I think the brightness is more consistent long term but with edge lit the uniformity can be inconsistent. I could be wrong on any of this but my research has me convinced that for my uses of movies, gameing, and sports plasma would be best.
 
Plasmas are almost universally better looking with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions due to better black levels, uniform brightness, better refresh rates, better colors, and significantly better viewing angles.

LED-lit LCDs are more power efficient, brighter, thinner, and usually have more gimmick features.
 
LED back lit sets also tend to use less energy and are often physically thinner than plasmas. Plasmas can also do 3D. I like the picture on plasma sets better, especially if they support 24p playback so there is no weird hitching/stutter of moving objects on bluray movies. That issue is much less of a concern now with LCDs and LED LCDs that have 120/240 hz refresh rates. Color reproduction on some THX rated Panasonic plasmas is very nice for watching movies in the intended and/or original color settings of the movie being watched.
A good calibration is often in order for the sticklers out there, but not always really needed for most people. The main thing is you don't want to watch a movie where the reds and greens are blown out like when a tv is set to the "vivid" setting used in most stores for demo purposes.
I have not really paid much attention to the Sharp quattron sets with the added yellow pixel along with the RGB.

LOL poster above beat me to it by a few mins.... ;-)
 
Plasma has burn in. Sports, video games, or news/weather channels will cause long term damage.
 
thesecond said:
Plasma has burn in. Sports, video games, or news/weather channels will cause long term damage.
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Wrong?

This is a carryover myth from early Plasmas perpetuated by ignorance. Newer plasmas are as susceptible to burn-in as any LCD, all thanks to technological improvements. Moreover, what I meant by differences in 3D were differences in 3D quality (or "pop out"/noticeability factor) between the display types, such as that of an LCD projector vs a DLP one. But again, not much experience with 3D first-hand, as it's on the bottom of my priority list for displays.
 
Other than the points already mentioned here Plasma also has much wider viewing angles than LED.

A lot of people seem to be stuck on Plasma having burn in but it's really not an issue anymore, Temporary image retention can occur but nothing permanent. Ive been gaming like a madman on the same Plasma since 2007 and it still has a gorgeous picture without a hint of burn in.
 
thesecond said:
Plasma has burn in. Sports, video games, or news/weather channels will cause long term damage.
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Wrong.

My nearly 4 year old Panasonic 50" plasma has ZERO burn in despite thousands of hours of xbox game playing and several instances of DVD and/or game menu screens being left on overnight as my teenager fell asleep in front of the movie/game.

Burn in is a myth.

There was "image retention" after the overnight instances occurred, but a few (around 1-3) hours of any full screen content viewing cleared it right up.

BB
 
LED LCD's support passive 3D so you don't have to buy expensive bulky shutter glasses, and they use less energy. Those are the only two advantages I can think of.
 
My 42" LG Plasma TV is about 2 years old and after 1 year it started suffering from "Burn In" of the last image that was on the TV before it was switched off. However, after a minute or so the "burn in" effect disappears after switching it back on. I suppose the Phosphate on the screen is holding a residual charge for a short time because of the extended fixed polarization.
 
LED backlit displays are more expensive because manufacturer's market them as the newest, coolest and greatest thing knowing Joe Average will believe them and gladly pay extra. This is why there are so many threads saying "recommend me an LED," and why people put LED back-lighting as something they need to have when buying a new display.
 
If you are ok with an 42" Monitor then go for a Plasma you can't get a 27" Plasma because they can do the pixels as small like on an LCD.

I'm so annoyed with this LCD problems that i really consider to buy a 42" Plasma even if a 24" would be to big for my room.

You get the Panasonic Viera TX-P42U30E (Full-HD, 600Hz) for only 490€ / 654$
 
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DCVL said:
So is there any benefit to buying an LED vs Plasma? The plasmas are so much cheaper for the size and the quality doesn't seem all that much different. Can someone please explain whether or not there is a TRUE noticeable difference that would make an LED tv worth buying?
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I will give you my opinion based on my experience from all of the research that I have done before purchasing any of my TV's, and because I own both types of TV's that you are asking about. I own top of the line 3D versions of each type. I did not care about 3D as much, but I wanted the upper end versions due to specific features. So which type would I prefer? Plasma TV any day of the week. Better in most aspects of picture quality. Also much better at displaying 3D material. The only reason I needed the LCD/LED was due to a lot of windows in that room and the LCD's can go brighter than a plasma. Also burn in is not an issue with newer generation plasmas. The reason I believe LCD's cost more is because is because they came to the market later and were pushed by the manufacturers as the next best thing. They are in a few ways, but not in most of them compared to the older plasma technology, which has been developed and refined over the years. If you check out any videophile forums such as AVS, you will find that plasma TV's are the preference for picture quality. Hopefully this helps you out.
 
jreinlie4 said:
My 42" LG Plasma TV is about 2 years old and after 1 year it started suffering from "Burn In" of the last image that was on the TV before it was switched off. However, after a minute or so the "burn in" effect disappears after switching it back on. I suppose the Phosphate on the screen is holding a residual charge for a short time because of the extended fixed polarization.
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You probably know it already but i wanted to point out to everyone else that what you're describing is known as temporary image retention ;)

Certain models are more prone to temporary IR, the models that are more prone can be researched beforehand.

Even plasmas that aren't prone to it can still get it, especially if they are off spec, but it's easily reversible so it isn't a big deal for everyone.
 
All plasmas flicker at 60hz, similar to an old CRT. About 15% of folks can see the flicker and get headaches, eye fatigue, myself included. Almost bought a VT65 Panny, ended up getting a Sharp 70". Extremely happy with my calibrated 70.
 
Outside of some specific circumstance, I'd go with plasma. Generally better image quality for the money, especially if your furniture is at angles to the TV and you're facing the viewing angle issue.

(Actually, for a TV for myself, I'd first look at the Mitsubishi rear projectors. I'd want something as big as I can fit, but something that also hides the pixel structure. I'm also wondering if front projection might work out for me some day...)
 
Agreed that plasmas look best, however not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but plasma screens being highly reflective is a drawback to consider. I just helped my parents return a new 50" LG plasma (same model i have) because their family gets too much natural light. The thing looked like a mirror. The returned for an LCD and are happier.
 
SH1 said:
Outside of some specific circumstance, I'd go with plasma. Generally better image quality for the money, especially if your furniture is at angles to the TV and you're facing the viewing angle issue.

(Actually, for a TV for myself, I'd first look at the Mitsubishi rear projectors. I'd want something as big as I can fit, but something that also hides the pixel structure. I'm also wondering if front projection might work out for me some day...)
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I still use a 62" Mitsubishi 720P rear projector DLP TV :eek:, Still looks good to this day. When it gets replaced its going to be a plasma.
 
Seems like most recently the pricing between the high end Plasmas and LEDs are coming closer to one another.

I've had LCD, LED and most recently Plasma.


I think the Plasma has the best image quality. I have a 2011model Panasonic and I love the image quality. Seems to reproduce a raw image type quality. Based on the image quality is what you see. Also I have noticed that in some video images there is alot of depth in the scene that with the LCD/LED I didn't notice.
 
BB Gun said:
ok, Burn in is a myth for modern plasmas.

BB
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I wouldnt say its a myth. It CAN happen, but after breaking in they are about as prone to burn in as CRTs are. Meaning anyone shouldnt worry about it, just dont use plasmas to show flight scheludes on airports or anything. :D
 
Modern 2012 plasmas CAN still burn-in. Bad to use with a HTPC with static images. This is fact - spend some time over at AVS. Not an issue for most, but to say that it's a myth is completely false. Also, plasmas still fade over the years. They wash out in a bright room as well. They are NOT the end-all be all. And the best picture is subjective. The top 2 screens right now are the Sharp Elite series (LCD) and the Panny VT series (plasma) - each have their pros and cons. There are things LCDs can't do that Plasmas can, and things plasmas can't do that LCDs can.
 
Xinmosni said:
Wrong?

This is a carryover myth from early Plasmas perpetuated by ignorance. Newer plasmas are as susceptible to burn-in as any LCD, all thanks to technological improvements. Moreover, what I meant by differences in 3D were differences in 3D quality (or "pop out"/noticeability factor) between the display types, such as that of an LCD projector vs a DLP one. But again, not much experience with 3D first-hand, as it's on the bottom of my priority list for displays.
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Wrong. Our newer Plasma has burn in already on the screen. You leave it on a channel with borders or logos time after time it will burn in. I won't buy another Plasma due to this ever again.
 
BB Gun said:
ok, Burn in is a myth for modern plasmas.

BB
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It isn't a myth since we have had two SETS now do the same thing. And it's permanent. One is a Samsung Plasma, around 5 years old now, has the Weather channel logo stuck, and some other borders on the bottom. The other set is a Panasonic which is around 2 years old.

Nothing has corrected it and per the manufacture, it would cost too much to fix, so we said fk it.
 
It does take a little bit of self-aware maintenance to keep from damaging a plasma. If you plan on leaving the tv on all day, on the weather channel, a plasma is not for you. It takes an incredible amount of lack of common sense, to burn-in a plasma.
 
NIZMOZ said:
Wrong. Our newer Plasma has burn in already on the screen. You leave it on a channel with borders or logos time after time it will burn in. I won't buy another Plasma due to this ever again.
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If it goes away it is not burn-in, it is image retention, which is common. How new is your plasma and what is it? If the image is permanently burned in, you did some serious negligence as it is very hard to burn in plasma these days. If you are using it as an htpc, then shame on you.

EDIT: saw your other response.

Sorry to hear that. Like I said, you obviously were a little negligent. Did you just leave it on the weather channel all day???
 
Adam.C said:
If it goes away it is not burn-in, it is image retention, which is common. How new is your plasma and what is it? If the image is permanently burned in, you did some serious negligence as it is very hard to burn in plasma these days. If you are using it as an htpc, then shame on you.

EDIT: saw your other response.

Sorry to hear that. Like I said, you obviously were a little negligent. Did you just leave it on the weather channel all day???
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Actually we were not negligent. We did the proper procedure for break in, low brightness, etc for the first 2 years. We even didn't leave it on the same channel too. It still started having burn in issues then we didn't care anymore as it wasn't going away. We even ran the burn in procedure on it every few weeks. NOTHING helped. She leaves it on channels that had things like the weather channel box, cnn box rolling and so on after the point of not caring anymore. Either way, it is burn in and it's still a issue with Plasma's. I rather not have to worry about what we watch because of burn in issues could happen. LCD LED is my choice from now on.

The TV runs from 4am till 10pm all day every day. So it gets heavy use.
 
I don't treat my plasma any different than previous CRTs i've owned and its burn in free with over 17k hours in the last 5 years of ownership, The majority of those hours are from gaming as well, Wii,360, PS3 & PC all hooked up to it.

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Out of curiosity, is there a way to find that out on a Samsung how many hours?
 
After owning two Samsung plasmas, I would never go back to LCD (unless I got a killer deal on a high end one).

I love the Image quality, contrast ratios, black levels, viewing angles and especially the price on Plasma TV's. With that said, even though people claim that burn-in is no longer an issue, It still concerns me. However, I have (literally) hundreds of hours into call of duty on that thing and none of the HUD elements have ruined the screen.

I once even woke up @ 4am to get a glass of water and my roomate had fallen asleep with the TV on the static Netflix screen (for god knows how long it was like that). I ran the wipe function and no ill effects.

YMMV

They're both pretty heavy TV's though. My 55" is probably close to 100lbs... the 43" is probably around 50-60.
 
How's the response time on Plasma's for gaming? Is there an input lag issue and is it greater then some LCDs?
 
Chimay said:
How's the response time on Plasma's for gaming? Is there an input lag issue and is it greater then some LCDs?
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I think it depends on the panel. They're all different. I've never noticed any sort of lag though.


Both of mine (and I'd say most) have a game mode that will bring response time down along with some other benefits (brighter, higher contrast, etc). I've never actually measured what it was though
 
Bacillus said:
I've seen it on early models...like circa 2003. Not saying its widespread or common today, but I've seen the burn-in.
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And Burn-in is possible on LCD too (well in reality, it's image retention, but most people are going to say it's burn in) If you leave something on the screen long enough on everything except CRT it's theoretically possible. If you are leaving a set on 24/7 you should be a industrial grade set, not the set on sale at wal-mart.

The key thing is to get name brand equipment. It's likely that the people still complaining about it today are people who got Vizio's or some other generic type that is using 10 year old chipsets that don't have systems in place to attempt to prevent it.
 
Huh? I've never heard of or seen anything to do with burn-in on LCD. I've had LCD montiors on for 2-3 years solid with the same image on them without a hint of IR. But I absolutely have with CRT.

Check yer facts, jack. You're completely backwards.

And IR/burn-in is a technology thing, not a brand thing. Sure the high dollar plasmas have an IR wiper feature in them, but that's because the plasma tech needs it.
 
Brahmzy said:
Huh? I've never heard of or seen anything to do with burn-in on LCD. I've had LCD montiors on for 2-3 years solid with the same image on them without a hint of IR. But I absolutely have with CRT.

Check yer facts, jack. You're completely backwards.

And IR/burn-in is a technology thing, not a brand thing. Sure the high dollar plasmas have an IR wiper feature in them, but that's because the plasma tech needs it.
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actually, I have a buddy with a cheap LCD TV (vizio or something, can't remember off hand the exact brand) that got abused and there is absolutely an image burned into it.

I was always under the same impression as yourself and wouldn't believe it unless I saw it with my own two eyes. Next time I'm over there I'll snap a picture of it.
 
It's going to be a couple of days but I'll post a couple of images from a couple of LCDs from work to prove it. And I wasn't talking about the wiper feature, but how newer sets will rotate the screen in a circular motion with time to prevent burn in. Most of the dirt cheap sets don't do that.
 
Brahmzy said:
Huh? I've never heard of or seen anything to do with burn-in on LCD. I've had LCD montiors on for 2-3 years solid with the same image on them without a hint of IR. But I absolutely have with CRT..
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dr.stevil said:
actually, I have a buddy with a cheap LCD TV (vizio or something, can't remember off hand the exact brand) that got abused and there is absolutely an image burned into it.

I was always under the same impression as yourself and wouldn't believe it unless I saw it with my own two eyes. Next time I'm over there I'll snap a picture of it.
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I'm using an LCD at work right now that has the internet explorer top blue bar burnt into it. Its kind of funny looking to be honest. I'll try and get a pic of it a little later when I can log off.
 
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