I am a long time reader, first time poster. Been waiting for the "right time to buy" but just cant wait anymore. I am currently looking to buy either a 46" LCD or a 50" plasma, but cant decide which is better for me. If i go plasma, I am leaning towards the Samsung (5053), but am open to other suggestions.

The tv would be in the living room and is the main tv. The seating ranges from about 8 or 9 feet to 12 feet. I watch a lot of sports (esp hockey, baseball and football), some movies and some reg TV (wife). But mostly sports. I will be upgrading to HD though.

My question has to do with watching sports. I love the look of the lcd's but I hear all about the motion blur with LCD and have seen it at times in stores and not seen it at other times. I also like the look of the plasmas.
I would like opinions of some of you that watch sports on your plasmas. Do you get motion blur with sports or sort of a jagged motion? Does the ice have a blueish tint in hockey? Is there a difference if the game is broadcasting HD or SD?

I appreciate and thank you for any and all info you give me.
(I am also posting a similar post in the LCD section as I am still torn)

Sports are beautiful on a plasma, and I'm watching TX A&M / Memphis right now. Waiting on the Buckeyes.

Freakin' Awesome. You'll love it. Get one !!

There is a difference in SD and HD. I have only watched basketball on our plasma (can't wait for NFL!!), so I can't comment on the color of the ice. I am so glad I bought a plasma...the colors are so vivid and it is great to watch sports on a larger screen.

I will briefly post about my experience and won't go into all the details. I will give you a few examples and I feel I may be a pretty good source as I recently had BOTH technologies in the house. I was coming from a 34" Crt with a beautiful picture and we just wanted something bigger.

We (the wife and I) initially wanted a DLP (for 1080p mainly)but with all the bulb changes that would likely happen we ruled it out and when we found that our viewing distance which is about what yours is we would not see the difference in 1080p unless we went with 65" or so. So like you we were left with LCD and Plasma. My son and I regularly play Xbox 360 so plasma scared us a bit. I didn't want a tv I had to babysit. So we bought a 42" Vizio LCD at Sam's. Got it home and loved it! I mean I was pretty impressed. It was kinda late by the time it was setup and nothing was really on local HD so I put it on a Hockey game on HDNEt. WOW, it was nice and bright. The white of the ice was spectacular. My Xbox looked really nice and bright too. That's about as good as my LCD story gets unfortunatley. The next few nights and through the following week we watched various programs on local channels (Greys Anatomy, Las Vegas etc...) and they just didn't look quite as good as what they did on the CRT. Now MAYBE we didn't have the settings just right but it still wasn't what we expected. The killer for me was when championship week started and there were HD Basketball games on everyday and night. I saw lots of motion blur and what I call pixelation. Not sure what else to call it. So I decided to research Plasma a little more and when the wife saw we could get a 42" Samsung for just a little under 100 bux more she was all over it. She was skeptical of the name Vizio to begin with. So a little over 2 weeks later we exchanged the set for the plasma.

I was still very leery, especially with 2 young ones and the wife. Hell I was worried about myself having to be careful LOL. But, we decided the extra care would be worth it IF the picture quality could rival our smaller CRT plus the lady at Sams said if I did't like it I had 6 month to return it and to try something else (a nice reassuring policy). Lets just say I am loving March Madness. I turned down the contrast and brightness just for the fear of burn in and wanted to do somewhat of a break in on it and the picture was still outstanding. I am still not up to where I think I should be on but I am slowly turning the brightness and Contrast up. I am not noticing any of the issues I saw with the college basketball and in fact it even looks better. Needless to say the wife is extremely happy and so am I.

Now, to say that my problems were all related to LCD would be wrong, BUT to blame Vizio would be wrong too. I am pretty sure I can rule out my sat. provider as I have viewed the same content on both tvs. I will say this since you mentioned hockey specifically, the white of the ice is not as "white" as the LCD. Now, is that a bad thing? No, i think it looks very nice and it may look better when I turn the settings up. Switching to a cool tone helped too I don't watch much hockey, but lately I have been watching anything and everything in HD. I think it may even look more realistic. I don't think the ice is a bright in your face white in real life. Of course I could be very wrong. I can see all the little details of the ice and I think it looks nice.

So with that said you decide LOL (I hate Fox News) But seriously, I am very very happy with my new Plasma. Its not as bright and in your face as the LCD was, BUT I am liking that now. Its more realistic to me. My advice if you want the best and biggest picture for your money, go Plasma. If you have never had an HDTV then get whatever your heart desires and just enjoy it!

Thanks to all. And thanks to Wilson. I appreciate the detailed response. everything you said is kind of what i was thinking. I wasnt even thinking about an LCD until i stopped in a local store and a Sammy LCd happened to catch my attention. The pic looked great so I started looking into them. It seems the more you read the more confused you get, at least for me. I seem to like the 5053 Sammy plasma and the price is dropping. I just wanted a sports fan opinon. I'd hate to buy a set only to not like the look for what I watch the most. Thanks again.

<<It seems the more you read the more confused you get, at least for me.>>

That's the way it was for me, also. I kept going back and forth between LCD and plasma. I am extremely happy I went with the plasma.

I don't know, right now, sports look like crap on my 6070 Pio. Oh, my bad, it's just that the Buckeyes are getting creamed by Tenn. :(

I too have had both technologies in my house and happen to be a HUUGE sports nut. ( Go Lakers..Dodgers...Rams..Trojans )

I started out with a Vizio 46"LCD and it had several issues. It had a ton of video noise, motion blur and extremely weak blacks. 50% of the time it had a very good picture and the other 50 was split between mediocre to just plain bad. It went back to Sams after a 2 week tryout.

Thought ( for just a sec ) about the Sammy slim-line DLP's but after seeing the bad viewing angles, reading about the expensive bulb replacements I passed.

Next up. Plasma ! WOW ! What a beautifully natural picture. ZERO motion blur and on the Panny I chose, almost zero video noise. Source Material not withstanding. I'm watching UCLA/PITT as I speak and it is awesome. And when you want to watch a movie..FUHGETABOUTIT !! Inky blacks, great color reproduction and with the right speaker set-up your set.

Go Plasma and you will have a great TV for at the very least the next 10 yrs without any upkeep.

I don't know, right now, sports look like crap on my 6070 Pio. Oh, my bad, it's just that the Buckeyes are getting creamed by Tenn. :(


On my plasma, it's looking better. Can you spell "comeback"?

lol...it's starting to look much better on my plasma!!!

I've had my Panasonic plasma for a week now and wouldn't trade it for anything. Sports are just amazing, I still can't get over the "you are there" feeling watching the NCAA games. To my eyes, plasma displays have a more immersive 3D quality than you get on LCD.

not to jump this thread, but Ldogg, I wish I could have read about your experience before I had to live mine LOL. On a plus note, experiencing it for myself really just sets things clear for me. Very clear actually ;)

I really rambled earlier but I really can't express how happy I am. I can't list the price but anyone can see what I spent at Sams by looking online. For what I got, it makes a hell of tv now for the living room and it will some day find its way into the bedroom to make room for a larger Plasma. It is going to take one heck of a technology shift or something new and really improved for me to even think of looking elsewhere. :) :)

Oh and you really didn't mention it being an issue but I am 100% sure you are reading it in the LCD forum where you posted, GLARE. Some will argue its an issue. I too would like to comment on this especially having 3 different technologies in the same living room. The Crt was pretty bad. The LCD was damn good but the piano black bezel of the Vizio made it wierd. The plasma...when its off....glare city, but turn the beauty on and its gone. Now maybe from an extreme angle it can be seen but I havent had a problem with it. This is with 2 4x4 windows. I even re-arranged today with the tv in a corner with windows on both sides and nada. I am pretty impressed to say the least.

Oh and just to clarify I have the 4233 which does not have the anti-glare or a piano black bezel so others may have a different opinion on it

Sports on plasmas look amazing tonight!!! Buckeyes pulled out an unbelievable win.

I'm far from an expert on Plasma or LCD. But I just got a Pioneer 4270 about a week ago and have been loving every minute of it. I'm a HUGE sports fan and have been wathing lots of the NCAA tourney. basketball was incredible...no motion blur at all.

Also watched some hockey in HD the other night and that looked awesome too!!
No bluish tint to the ice at all on my set...looked great.

"Is there a difference if the game is broadcasting HD or SD? "

Definitely you'll notice a difference between SD & HD broadcasts for sports. SD still looks good, but HD is incredible. You can see every detail...there's no doubt when you are watching the HD feed of a game.

Sports on plasmas look amazing tonight!!! Buckeyes pulled out an unbelievable win.
Go bucks! Go BG women!

I am a long time reader, first time poster. Been waiting for the "right time to buy" but just cant wait anymore. I am currently looking to buy either a 46" LCD or a 50" plasma, but cant decide which is better for me. If i go plasma, I am leaning towards the Samsung (5053), but am open to other suggestions.

The tv would be in the living room and is the main tv. The seating ranges from about 8 or 9 feet to 12 feet. I watch a lot of sports (esp hockey, baseball and football), some movies and some reg TV (wife). But mostly sports. I will be upgrading to HD though.

My question has to do with watching sports. I love the look of the lcd's but I hear all about the motion blur with LCD and have seen it at times in stores and not seen it at other times. I also like the look of the plasmas.
I would like opinions of some of you that watch sports on your plasmas. Do you get motion blur with sports or sort of a jagged motion? Does the ice have a blueish tint in hockey? Is there a difference if the game is broadcasting HD or SD?

I appreciate and thank you for any and all info you give me.
(I am also posting a similar post in the LCD section as I am still torn)Sports on a PDP... look excellent. PDPs are currently the best choice overall to watch sports, DVDs and HDTV with. LCDs make great computer monitors.

Plasmas are perfect for sports. About 75% of what I watch on my Panny 58)X600U is sports. The motion blur on an LCD is the main reason I don't like them.

On an unrelated note (nothing to do specifically with plasmas), great audio is really important for sports. This NCAA tournament has been absolutely fantastic in 5.1 audio. You got the announcers in the center channel, court sounds from the left-right mains, and crowd noises from the surrounds. Couple that with a great HD picture, and it really feels like you're there on court. I must say that CBS has its act together for this event (even though my bracket is totally crapped out).

On a totally unrelated note, I'm dead tired from staying up so late to watch the Buckeyes :D. I guess that's not totally unrelated. If I didn't have a plasma, I probably would have went to bed :p.

I have the Pioneer 5070 and I watched the Phillies game on ESPN in HD and it looked great! Colorful,Bright,Sharp I can't see how anyone would not like it. Also no blurring like you may get on LCD. I always found myself saying how can it get any better then this?

I would also agree that for your main tv watching Plasma is the way to go for sure! And LCD is better for computer use and maybe small bedrooms.

Also my Plasma is in a room with a big window in front of it with blinds. Yes if its a really sunny day you can see reflections. closing the blinds helps alot. If its a cloudy day or night time I see no reflections at all. I do see less reflections on the Plasma then on my old 35" CRT. Before I got the Plasma I was really worried about reflection but I must say its really not that bad and would rather have some reflection then all the issues that LCD have! And I love how blacks look on this Plasma compared to any LCD I have seen. I really don't have one thing bad to say about my 1 month old Pioneer Plasma :)

Right now my HD viewing comes from Comcast. I can't wait to get a Blu-Ray player so my HD will look even better!

Also if you were to watch your new Plasma about 12 hours a day 365 days a year you should be able to get at least 13 good years out of it.

nah, I was stuck at work with nothing but a good old 36" CRT SD and I stayed up to watch it. Sure, I missed my plasma and the hd feed, but hey I can't complain too much. I got to watch the game and was not interrupted :)

Also my Plasma is in a room with a big window in front of it with blinds. Yes if its a really sunny day you can see reflections. closing the blinds helps alot. If its a cloudy day or night time I see no reflections at all. I do see less reflections on the Plasma then on my old 35" CRT. Before I got the Plasma I was really worried about reflection but I must say its really not that bad and would rather have some reflection then all the issues that LCD have!

I see about the same reflection as I did from my 17 year old RCA. I have two 35 inch windows on the wall that is perpendicular to the wall the plasma is on and there is reflection from those even with the blinds closed, but it's not so bad that I cannot thoroughly enjoy watching the TV. At night, the light from the kitchen (which is opposite from the plasma) bothers me, but I just nag at the men in the house to turn off the lights when they leave the kitchen. So far that's worked like a charm to keep the reflection problem at a minimum. ;)


And I love how blacks look on this Plasma compared to any LCD I have seen. I really don't have one thing bad to say about my 1 month old Pioneer Plasma :)

I couldn't agree more, even though I own a 2 week old Panasonic.

Right now my HD viewing comes from Comcast. I can't wait to get a Blu-Ray player so my HD will look even better!


Last night our digital signal was bad so we ended up watching the last 10 minutes or so on SD, but the game was still awesome in SD! :D

Does the ice have a blueish tint in hockey? Is there a difference if the game is broadcasting HD or SD?
I'll answer to the hockey question - you'd be amazed at the difference. Does it have a bluish tint? Only when that's the right color (like in fresh surface). As a former season ticket holder I can say it looks as close to live as I've ever seen. I never watched hockey in SD - too tough to follow given the crummy & small image. For me it was live or skip it - I was amazed @ HD games. Truly worth watching.

Sports, HD, and PDP's were made for each other. May be biased but I've never seen an LCD that is as good as a plasma. I'll second/agree with "plasmas are for watching TV, LCDs are for monitors".

Everything on a plasma/lcd looks good. It's the subjectiveness of each individual as to how much better either/or looks like to each person. I have no motion blur on my plasma and never had motion blur on my lcd. Motion blur is generally an issue with the source material, NOT the tv. LCD's have been using 8ms for a while so anything at or less than 8ms should show little/no motion blur. I never saw motion blur on any cable, DVD's or BD's.

On my plasma, motion blur translates to pixelization. I don't see too much of that on my plasma <10' and neither did i see that on my lcd at any distance. For me, the plasma is best at movies while the lcd is best for live games such as football, basketball, etc IMO. Looking at a plasma is like looking at a movie screen, while looking at an lcd is like looking out of a window and observing the game live. It's bright and lively while plasma is subdued, but the colors are deep/rich. Movies on a plasma are fantastic, but look best IMO when using HD-DVD's or BD's via HDMI.

It ROCKS. NCAA tourney and Lakers games never looked so good. I had friends come over for the UCLA-PITT game and they commented on how beautiful it is on my 42px500u. One of them even said, it's better than sitting at the arena. I can't watch SD sports anymore after this.

Now if I had a 58" incher, OMG. I would be in visual heaven. With PS3 and cable HD, I would just lie on my couch all day long!

I would just lie on my couch all day long!Dude... then you would be in potato heaven. :D

signed: Dan Quayle (http://www.capitalcentury.com/1992.html)

I don't know, right now, sports look like crap on my 6070 Pio. Oh, my bad, it's just that the Buckeyes are getting creamed by Tenn. :(

I assume the picture quality dramatically improved by the end of the game last night. :cool: :D

Yeah maxdog..lol it got much nicer. Sports were once again beautiful on the plasma :D

Dude... then you would be in potato heaven. :D

signed: Dan Quayle (http://www.capitalcentury.com/1992.html)

Still heaven, nonetheless :D

Be careful, or else you might end up being on a diet (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=823675) just like me. :eek:

Thanks to all for all the input. i appreciate all the info. i think I'm gonna go with the plasma. Sounds like it woul be the best choice for me. I seem to like the Sammy 5053. I like the Panny too, but the wife doesnt like the look of it. (Cant complain when she says can get as big a tv as I want.) And I have to admit it probably would look good with our furniture. Again thanks to all. Cant wait to get it now.

keep us up to date! I am sure we would all love to read about your experience with it once you get it....good or bad. I am sure you will have zero complaints though! If you get the sammy, stop in that thread, its stickied and is always near the top of the front page.

Thanks to all for all the input. i appreciate all the info. i think I'm gonna go with the plasma. Sounds like it woul be the best choice for me. I seem to like the Sammy 5053. I like the Panny too, but the wife doesnt like the look of it. (Cant complain when she says can get as big a tv as I want.) And I have to admit it probably would look good with our furniture. Again thanks to all. Cant wait to get it now.

Go with the HPT 5054 instead. You won't regret it as it appears samsung has fixed a number of reported issues they had with the 5053 including the pink tint. I was able to negotiate circuit city down $500 from list price. If you at least appear willing to go with a service plan and stand, they (B&M stores) are usually willing to work with you on the price. I couldnt do all 3 at the same time so I got the TV for the reduced rate and unfortunately for CC I found a warranty online and a stand from walmart for much cheaper and saved myself another $300.

Coming from my Hitachi 57F59 rear projection which I had thought was great for the 6 mo i owned it, the Plasma is a dream.

Thanks to all for all the input. i appreciate all the info. i think I'm gonna go with the plasma. Sounds like it woul be the best choice for me. I seem to like the Sammy 5053. I like the Panny too, but the wife doesnt like the look of it. (Cant complain when she says can get as big a tv as I want.) And I have to admit it probably would look good with our furniture. Again thanks to all. Cant wait to get it now.

Has your wife looked at the Pio PDP-5070HD? I can probably guess she would love the look of that display :)