There are two specific models I'm looking at right now:

LCD - Samsung 52" LN52A750
PLS - Panasonic 50" H50PZ800

I haven't seen the Panasonic plasma in person yet but I have seen the Samsung A750 and was quite impressed. It was by far the best quality of the screens in the showroom (though the competition wasn't very good). So here's the question Plasma or LCD? Here is the situation:

-Screen will be in a dark basement room with no windows

-Usage breaks down something like this

50% TV viewing (80% STD res 20% HD channels)
30% gaming (BOTH HD signals [PS3 and Xbox360] AND old gaming rigs SNES (I collect vintage consoles :) ) etc...
20% HD movie viewing. PS3 Blu-Ray via HDMI

The gaming will mostly be RPGs, strategy games and the like not many FPSs.
I plan on that 20% movie viewing to grow so despite being the smallest percentage it's still very important.

-Viewing distance about 9-10 feet

-Screen it's replacing is a 50" Sony Grand Wega DLP unit (720p/1080i max).

Price range 2500-3000 Canadian. The two screens above I've seen for $2999 so they are right at the top of my price range.

Which would you recommend or perhaps something entirely different given the info above?

Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks!!

Follow-up Q: What kind of PQ improvement would I likely be getting over my current Sony 50" Grand WEGA with either of these units (or anything comparable)? 1080i Blu-Ray output from my PS3 still looks pretty sweet on my current screen but I am not able to see it side by side with today's flat panels so it's hard to make a judgement. At first glance I'd say that these screen are fairly superior in quality but again I can't see them side by side.

Considering the amount of light in your viewing room (none!) I'd go with the Panny. It's a very nice tv, and you'd be happy with it:D

I'm pretty sure that the PQ improvement would be astronomical, if not ginormous!!!!...okay, maybe not that much, but it will be a lot better;)

Good luck!!!:D

definitely get a plasma much better PQ and less flaws then lcd and more enjoyable. as far as compareable to the sony that i wouldnt know. if you want Best PQ then you are asking for a pioneer kuro lineup regardless if its 2007 model or a new one quality is top notch ~ best also at your distance really you shouldnt pay attention to 720p vs 1080p/i

definitely get a plasma much better PQ and less flaws then lcd and more enjoyable. as far as compareable to the sony that i wouldnt know. if you want Best PQ then you are asking for a pioneer kuro lineup regardless if its 2007 model or a new one quality is top notch ~ best also at your distance really you shouldnt pay attention to 720p vs 1080p/i

I haven't seen the Pioneer Kuro 50"er for anything under $3999 here in Canada which puts it out of my price range. I'm starting to lean in favour of the Panasonic PZ800. Only thing that worries me about it is its standard def performance and performance under games.

well dont look for the 2008 models, look for the 2007 models....

although usualy 1k for better SD performance is worth it, if you watch it alot, you have to question yourself if you can enjoy watching it on a panasonic. the processing/scalling/de/interlacing is soo great on the pioneer (2007 or 2008)


i barely noticed you made another thread, try not to make mutiple threads of the same thing, i think this thread is now irrelevent since you are now sure of plasma choice over an lcd.

If I were you, I wouldn't take too much advice from gus738. He pretty much trolls in any comparison thread.

Both sets are comparable. With the Samsung having a slight advantage in brightness while the Panasonic may have a very small advantage in black.
HD would be better on the Samsung, while SD is probably better on the Panasonic.
Try to take a look at them in-store & see if you can tweak some of the settings with the display remotes.

As for the improvement over your set, can you be more specific on what model it is? I don't think Sony made any DLP units in the past few years.
They made SXRD LCoS & LCD-RPTV before that. If your set is anything older than that, than the Picture quality jump will be huge.

definitely get a plasma much better PQ and less flaws then lcd and more enjoyable. as far as compareable to the sony that i wouldnt know.
Wouldn't this post fit the definition of "oxymoron"?

Oxymoron is a combination of contradictory words.

Like LCD's are no good but I've never seen one?

If I were you, I wouldn't take too much advice from gus738. He pretty much trolls in any comparison thread.

Both sets are comparable. With the Samsung having a slight advantage in brightness while the Panasonic may have a very small advantage in black.
HD would be better on the Samsung, while SD is probably better on the Panasonic.
Try to take a look at them in-store & see if you can tweak some of the settings with the display remotes.

As for the improvement over your set, can you be more specific on what model it is? I don't think Sony made any DLP units in the past few years.
They made SXRD LCoS & LCD-RPTV before that. If your set is anything older than that, than the Picture quality jump will be huge.

Yeah it's the Sony KF50we620. I was writing off the top of my head (I was not involved in the purchase of this TV) looks like it's a LCD-RPTV not a DLP.

trolls? show me links please if you are going to acuse me, i speak facts if one tv performes better then the other it then it is what it is and as far as how much that also another thing,

comparing 2 diffrent technology goes diffrently, the samsung is a lcd so its sopposed to be brigher doch*

not only is in accurate but has alot of flaws compared to plasma technology. ask away in regards to this.

once again if someone else can say that i troll threads please say so if not STFU

i want to know how im known here as a troll or whats the rep/creditablity ?

If I were you, I wouldn't take too much advice from gus738. He pretty much trolls in any comparison thread.

Both sets are comparable. With the Samsung having a slight advantage in brightness while the Panasonic may have a very small advantage in black.
HD would be better on the Samsung, while SD is probably better on the Panasonic.
Try to take a look at them in-store & see if you can tweak some of the settings with the display remotes.

As for the improvement over your set, can you be more specific on what model it is? I don't think Sony made any DLP units in the past few years.
They made SXRD LCoS & LCD-RPTV before that. If your set is anything older than that, than the Picture quality jump will be huge.


oldcband what are you trying to say? that i never seen an lcd and i'v judge them?

i'v seen lcd before i work around them all the time, i have friends/family that have lcd. i see the flaws right then and there on the spot.

motion blurr and motion resolution clouds viewing angles lack of blacks uneven uniformly etc etc oh and add this new issue > glossy screen that is sometimes worse then a plasma.

of course it varies by set and among other things.

now what is it you are trying to say in your post again?

Wouldn't this post fit the definition of "oxymoron"?

Oxymoron is a combination of contradictory words.

Like LCD's are no good but I've never seen one?

There are two specific models I'm looking at right now:

LCD - Samsung 52" LN52A750
PLS - Panasonic 50" H50PZ800

I haven't seen the Panasonic plasma in person yet but I have seen the Samsung A750 and was quite impressed. It was by far the best quality of the screens in the showroom (though the competition wasn't very good). So here's the question Plasma or LCD? Here is the situation:

-Screen will be in a dark basement room with no windows

-Usage breaks down something like this

50% TV viewing (80% STD res 20% HD channels)
30% gaming (BOTH HD signals [PS3 and Xbox360] AND old gaming rigs SNES (I collect vintage consoles :) ) etc...
20% HD movie viewing. PS3 Blu-Ray via HDMI

The gaming will mostly be RPGs, strategy games and the like not many FPSs.
I plan on that 20% movie viewing to grow so despite being the smallest percentage it's still very important.

-Viewing distance about 9-10 feet

Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks!!

.

I would recomend the LCD. Don't get me wrong the Pansonic is a great set, but it doesn't seem right for you.

Gaming aside, what it comes down to is the SD. On a plasma, you don't really need to have it on strech mode all the time with SD or zoom, but just in case to prevent uneven aging. In my case I can't stand this on my sets, just can't get use to people looking wider than they should or missing the edges. I would rather have the black bars.

With gaming there is some merit to having a plasma especially in dark RPG games. Black detail is important in those games and I miss my CRT for that, but I woudn't go back.

Try not to listen to some of the people here on this forum. Some of them will recommend one and trash the other. One of them here pushes plasma so much that you would think that he is a saleman and owns stock, but he doesn't even own one. Not a good recommendation. Really you can't get to understand the tech until you live with it for a few months. Must spend allot of time at the local store.

I would recomend the LCD. Don't get me wrong the Pansonic is a great set, but it doesn't seem right for you.

Gaming aside, what it comes down to is the SD. On a plasma, you don't really need to have it on strech mode all the time with SD or zoom, but just in case to prevent uneven aging. In my case I can't stand this on my sets, just can't get use to people looking wider than they should or missing the edges. I would rather have the black bars.

With gaming there is some merit to having a plasma especially in dark RPG games. Black detail is important in those games and I miss my CRT for that, but I woudn't go back.

Try not to listen to some of the people here on this forum. Some of them will recommend one and trash the other. One of them here pushes plasma so much that you would think that he is a saleman and owns stock, but he doesn't even own one. Not a good recommendation. Really you can't get to understand the tech until you live with it for a few months. Must spend allot of time at the local store.

Thanks for the reply. Is plasma burn in still something to really worry about with higher end models like the H50PZ800 I'm looking at? I get all kinds of conflicting advise from most definitely to almost not at all. Some say unless you watch the majority of you content in HD it's a serious issue. Others say modern higher end plasmas have largely solved the issue, that it's on par with most tube sets so long as you don't stress it too much. It's hard to tell where the truth lies.

And don't worry I take EVERYTHING people say on just about any forum with a grain of salt and further research.

Thanks for the reply. Is plasma burn in still something to really worry about with higher end models like the H50PZ800 I'm looking at? I get all kinds of conflicting advise from most definitely to almost not at all. Some say unless you watch the majority of you content in HD it's a serious issue. Others say modern higher end plasmas have largely solved the issue, that it's on par with most tube sets so long as you don't stress it too much. It's hard to tell where the truth lies.

And don't worry I take EVERYTHING people say on just about any forum with a grain of salt and further research.
It is really hard to say if burn in is still an issue or not, as you say there is allot of conflicting evidence out there.

I will say that from what I have read here, it seems that the Samsung plasmas seem more prone to burn in than the Japanese brands.

Again with any plasma it is still probably best if you didn't leave static images on the screen for hours at a time, just good sense. I try not to do this on my LCD as well, can't hurt.

The automatic recommendation for many people is LCD for gaming. I question this, because in my experience, some LCD sets just don't have the black detail needed for certain games. Can't tell you how many times I have been killed by an alien lurking in the shadows and I missed him because of the black detail on the set. On the other hand I also have an old Dreamcast where I have several flying games that are bright, these are great on the LCD.

Both sets are comparable. With the Samsung having a slight advantage in brightness while the Panasonic may have a very small advantage in black.
HD would be better on the Samsung, while SD is probably better on the Panasonic.
Try to take a look at them in-store & see if you can tweak some of the settings with the display remotes.

My take is the same as wtfers. Both TVs will be nice but also realize both will have different looks to them. You'll find fans of LCD and plasma have a hard time being open minded and sometimes they have a hard time realizing that different people have different tastes. You can learn alot around here, but the more you stick around you'll find that many around here are more concerned about pushing their own opinion rather that trying to help you out. Take comments here with a grain of salt and do your best to view the two in all the lighting conditions you possibly can in store before you make a decision.

And as far as the Sony Grand Wega goes you are bringing back old memories of microdisplay days. I chose a Samsung DLP over the GWII and in the following year I chose a Toshiba DLP over th GWIII because of black levels. IMO even my SXRD didn't look nearly as good as a Panasonic plasma I had and let's not even mention how it compares to my Pioneer Kuro ;). Having said that, I can't see one thing that Sony Grand Wega would have that would even come close to competing with the Sammy LCD or the Panny plasma.

Good luck!

I would recomend the LCD. Don't get me wrong the Pansonic is a great set, but it doesn't seem right for you.

Gaming aside, what it comes down to is the SD. On a plasma, you don't really need to have it on strech mode all the time with SD or zoom, but just in case to prevent uneven aging. In my case I can't stand this on my sets, just can't get use to people looking wider than they should or missing the edges. I would rather have the black bars.

With gaming there is some merit to having a plasma especially in dark RPG games. Black detail is important in those games and I miss my CRT for that, but I woudn't go back.

Try not to listen to some of the people here on this forum. Some of them will recommend one and trash the other. One of them here pushes plasma so much that you would think that he is a saleman and owns stock, but he doesn't even own one. Not a good recommendation. Really you can't get to understand the tech until you live with it for a few months. Must spend allot of time at the local store.

I've had a Pioneer plasma for almost 2 years now and watch a fair amount of SD material in it's native aspect ratio and don't have any burn in. ESPN2 also shows a fair amount of HD material with side bars and still no issues.

I have had a Pioneer 50" plasma for 4 years and a Samsung LCD for 1 year. The plasma outperforms in nearly all areas. Better blacks, less artifacting, better in SD, much better in movies (upscaled or otherwise) and HD. Gaming is good on the LCD, better on the plasma. I am assuming the Panny plasma will perform equal to or better than my 4 year old model so the answer is go plasma.

i'll just copy what i wrote in another thread thread link

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1067257

oh boy here we go, flat screen ok if you want fast response accurate detail excellent PQ get a plasma, They wont burn in now in day if you dont use it soely for the same exact game static image for days,they last a very very long time (about 20hrs on 8hrs a day) to reach half brightness.

As far as lighing it goes both ways as newer lcd use glossy screen therefore defeast the ONLY benefit of lcd which is a no go anymore.

lcd have way to many issues to consider it, motion blurr/motion resolution uneven uniformly clouds viewing angles issues. among other issues as well

plasma only negetive is really temporarly IR and that about it. Burn in wont happen

i game on my 2007 model panasonic PX75u 90% gaming (h3 gh3 cod4 mgs4 gta4) 5% tv and 5% movies.

since you are not going to play one game exactly then you have noting to worry about since no 2 games hud are alike so the temporarly IR gets cleard off.

best of all IR is not visable during tv watching, only when you leave it on a blank input.

for the first week (150hrs) you should game at most 6hrs then switch to another game or anything else to clear ir.

once its past the 150hrs you can game longer and tv gets more resistant towards IR.

in my life i'v only seen one plasma burn in, that was first (1 to 3 gen) in a airport.

get a plasma for flat screen and best PQ closes to CRT in PQ and response time.

lcd are bad to begin with (to many flaws) and led backlighting only makes thigns worse by adding more issues. and lcd only advantage was taken away (glossy screen replaced matte screens


also HAhaha game away bro! i have a 2007 model 720p panasonic PX75u and i game EVERY day 90% of usuage is gaming! the trick is to mix content if you feel "concern" so lets say i play GTA4 for 5hrs (killing cops causing chaos is fun) then i decide to play GH and beat xbl people for another 4+ hrs then some H3.

the other 5% is watching 4:3 / 16x9 tv and 5% is movies.

No burn in at all whatso ever, Ir ? yes but it goes away within mins of watching or playing a diffrent game, think gta4 hud 5hrs then switch to gh3 the hud on gta4 clears up.

MAKE SURE to break in the tv FIRST ~ you can use the break in disc to evenly wear all phosphors or watch a movie make sure to fill in the screen if black bars are on movie. and loop it,

once its broken in (150hrs or more better) which is about 6 days, the more it breaks in the harder it is to get temporarly IR, keep in mind the pannys are already good with IR.

oh and you can game during the first hundred hrs just limit it and mix and match.

also theirs a way to accelerate the break in process

to do this make sure it is ONLY on the break in disc and NOT on anything else, what you do is crank up the contrast / picture settings and the phosphors will get worked out faster.

remember if you accelerate make sure not to use those settings other then break in disc