I know this is a broad question...let me appologize now. Anyways as a loyal sony fan I am I was going to purchase the 40" sony bravia lcd. However everyone I have spoken to has told that the plasma panasonic th-42pz85u is the way to go. The tv will be in my bedroom, light is not an issue I have shades...I mostly will be using it to play my ps3 on and watching blue ray. Here is the two tvs please let me know which one you would go with.
Thanks



Sony:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8784032&type=product&id=1205246214790

Panasonic
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8723278&type=product&id=1200703056501

Well both have their pluses and minuses.

Personally, I am 95% sure I am getting an LCD, but in your situation, I actually would recommend the plasma.

From what I have been reading, the old burn-in issues are a non-issue now with plasmas. There is IR (Image retention), but I have also read that that goes away real quick.

Mark

ttt

As someone who used to own a 32" sony s3000 lcd and who currently owns that very same panasonic plasma primarily for ps3/blu ray....

I can definitely say that panasonic plasma is the way to go. Forget about burn in. I don't even get image retention, despite watching a lot of content with black bars. I watched casino royale a lot, left my ps3 xmb on just to dare my TV to show some IR. Absolutely nothing.

And what about picture quality? It completely blows away the LCD. More natural, life-like colors and the deepest blacks you'll get outside of pioneer. When you don't get any ambient light the blacks will basically blend with the bezel. And it's so easy on the eyes. After my experience with the 32" retina destroying LCD, I was expecting this 42" plasma to be brutal. But it isn't. It's like looking at a painting.

I put my hand over the back of the panel. It was quite cool. My sony LCD was fairly hot. About the only con I can think of is that this TV is much heavier than the sony LCD.

I game a lot on my new LG 50pg20, and I have had no problems with it. Its picture is incredible. No noticable input lag at all. Make sure fringing doesnt bother you before you buy a plasma though, as it annoys some so much that they return their set.

Another vote for the plasma. As long as you can control reflections, it has a much better picture than LCD. I game on mine all the time, no burn in or image retention yet.

As someone who used to own a 32" sony s3000 lcd and who currently owns that very same panasonic plasma primarily for ps3/blu ray....

I can definitely say that panasonic plasma is the way to go. Forget about burn in. I don't even get image retention, despite watching a lot of content with black bars. I watched casino royale a lot, left my ps3 xmb on just to dare my TV to show some IR. Absolutely nothing.

And what about picture quality? It completely blows away the LCD. More natural, life-like colors and the deepest blacks you'll get outside of pioneer. When you don't get any ambient light the blacks will basically blend with the bezel. And it's so easy on the eyes. After my experience with the 32" retina destroying LCD, I was expecting this 42" plasma to be brutal. But it isn't. It's like looking at a painting.

I put my hand over the back of the panel. It was quite cool. My sony LCD was fairly hot. About the only con I can think of is that this TV is much heavier than the sony LCD.

Not to rain on your parade, but you can't compare:
1. An older version of an ever improving technology.
2. A set that was not even the best in it's class when it was out.
3. (similiar to one but not quite) Compare a new set to one that isn't.

Funny, I tend to say the same thing over and over, but unless you're buying a Pioneer Elite, than plasmas aren't necessarily the obv choice like everyone that OWNS a plasma would suggest. People make comparisons all the time, and while I can admit that lcd's are horrendous out of the box, after proper calibration, I'd put them against any set (aside from the Elite of course lol).

CRT's still easily the king of gaming, but Plasma will be better than LCD because it has better motion resolution, better response time, etc. It's still behind CRTs, but significantly better than LCDs. If you do things right to avoid burnin and harsh reflections, then Plasma is the way to go.

bump - purchasing one or two displays for gaming/tv/movies in the office. I am leaning towards plasma - I have a 42pz700u and the reflection is not that bad in my living room. This will be in an office with the screens on a West wall and light coming from the North (no direct sunlight) through frosted reflective windows (reflective outside, frosted inside).

I love my panny - and I am leaning towards plasma for the office. Any dissenters with good reasons and great LCD alternatives?

Anyone take a look at the Sharp LC 65SE94U ? Reviews seem to be better than the last few generations of Sharp LCDs... I ordered it and have to pick it up tomm, but now I'm having second thoughts.

It will be used in an open-plan living room with large windows but relatively well controlled.

Using the set for blu-ray, ps3 gaming, and you have controlled lighting in your bedroom. Plasma is the best choice.

"Not to rain on your parade, but you can't compare:
1. An older version of an ever improving technology.
2. A set that was not even the best in it's class when it was out.
3. (similiar to one but not quite) Compare a new set to one that isn't."


Yes, I can. The 2008 Sony S whatever isn't an astronomical improvement over the 2007, just like the 2008 panasonic pz85 isn't that big of an improvement over the the 2007 pz77. Moreover, my chief complaints about that LCD were the motion blur and overly vibrant picture. Do these issues magically disappear in the 2008 32" sony S series? No, they don't.