Hi Folks,

I'm trying to deside on a new TV, in the 50-60in range. While I had thought of going with a RP, in all my looking and travels, plasma, seems to look WAY better in person at the stores than say a SXRD sony or LED samsung. Is this just the way they are set up, or does plasma just seem that much brighter and vivid? I realize there can be setup issues, but it seems that its this way in all the stores I have looked at. I sit anywhere from 9-11 ft from the screen. Depth isses are not a problem as its in a corner, but its a resonably bright room during the day.

And I also notice that even the lower res. plasmas seem to look as good close up compared to a 1080P RP???

The key advantage of plasma televisions is the screen itself is the light source. Therefore, the image looks the same from all angles. In rear projection sets, the image is formed and then projected onto the screen and so you aren't looking at the image source, only a portrayal of the source. And since you can't see the source, all sets must be engineered so that what you do see is relatively uniform from various angles. They've come a long way in trying to maintain uniformity on a horizontal axis but give up vertical axis uniformity in doing so.

I originally purchased a RP LCD about 4 years ago (when plasmas where still very expensive). I am now looking to sell my RP and purchase a plasma. To me there is too much hassle in RP, mainly due to having replace bulbs every 5K hours or so. Plus they are still on the bulky side. I also think plasmas and even flat LCDs look a lot better than any of the RP's I have seen. IMHO, RP LCD or DLP is a dead technology that just isn't worth the headache.

We have re-done our family room and my wife does not want the RP anywhere near it. She wants a nice sleak wall mountable set. So who am I to argue :)

I just ansewered a similar question. I believe the answer in the link below applies here as well.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?t=883762&p=11195191

Cheers, :)

Gary

Thanks guys!!! Do you think I would notice much difference with a 1080P plasma over 768?

Thanks guys!!! Do you think I would notice much difference with a 1080P plasma over 768?
Lots, and I do mean lots, has been written about this. Opinions are divided on both sides. I was one of the first after the release last summer of the Pioneer FDH1 to write that beyond, for my eyesight, 7 feet or so I could tell no difference. As soon as I got back far enough to not see SDE on the 768p display, they both looked the same in the store. So I thought then that there was just no advantage to purchasing a 1080p display unless you were sitting right on top of the picture.

Since then and after research and a lot of independent thought I have moderated my view somewhat. I think my initial viewpoint based on that observation, in those store conditions, was too narrow. I failed to take into account the likely difference in processing that would often take place between a 768p and 1080p display. Of course, this will be source dependent but a 1080p display offers an opportunity to minimize processing and hence signal degradation beyond what a 768p display offers. And this difference translates into basic PQ differences that can be noticeable from beyond the often talked about threshold distances. A better picture is a better picture or else we would all just be getting the cheapest display available.

Additionally, I like for at least some movies to be able to get close enough to have a very widescreen experience. This is great for some action and sci-fi movies. 1080p allows me this privilege whereas 768p limits because of SDE the distance and hence the viewing angle I can have.

With the evolution in advanced video processing chips moving into receivers over the next few years, a display that can accept and display, particularly 1:1, a 1080p signal will IMO have a tremendous advantage in potential PQ. These displays will be able to better leverage the signal that these chips can provide. Once you have a good/great glass sub-component, its all about processing. 1080p display will be in a better position to leverage processing (in part by avoiding it by often avoiding extra scaling sure to soften a picture).

Price of course is the obstacle but that too is dropping fast. 1080p also allows a larger display at a given distance and so this exacerbates the cost thing. Fortunately competition from LCD is helping to mitigate this and bringing the prices down pretty fast. By this time next year, even 60” 1080p displays will be within the reach of many for whom that was only a dream a year ago.

Of course, one strategy, particularly if you can use two displays, is to get a 768p display this year and next year with the savings get that 1080p display having then purchased the two for the price you would have paid this year for the 1080p alone. Sort of a free bedroom display for being patient. Ah virtue does have its rewards.

Cheers, :)

Gary

The latest information I saw (yesterday) according to SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) says to use 0.6 times the seating distance (8ft distance = 58" display). THX says to use 0.75 (8ft = 72" display). I assume that These are recommendations for max screen size at those distances..

Hi Folks,

I'm trying to deside on a new TV, in the 50-60in range. While I had thought of going with a RP, in all my looking and travels, plasma, seems to look WAY better in person at the stores than say a SXRD sony or LED samsung. Is this just the way they are set up, or does plasma just seem that much brighter and vivid? I realize there can be setup issues, but it seems that its this way in all the stores I have looked at. I sit anywhere from 9-11 ft from the screen. Depth isses are not a problem as its in a corner, but its a resonably bright room during the day.

And I also notice that even the lower res. plasmas seem to look as good close up compared to a 1080P RP???

The TV's are usually in vivid or "torch" mode in the stores. You wouldn't want to do that at home. Bring down the SXRD and plasma to a reasonable calibrated level and their brightness is similar. Analogy: It doesn't matter if one car can go 160mph and another can go 120mph top speed. Hopefully you don't run either above 80mph or so.


I intend to buy the new Sony KDS-60A3000 when it comes out this Fall. I want this because it's a good 60" HDTV at a reasonable price. The technology is fairly mature right now, so that's a big plus. It doesn't matter to me if Plasma or LCD is better in the future. It doesn't matter if this ends up being the last RPTV I buy in my life. What matters is, will I enjoy this TV until such a time when it needs to be replaced? The answer is yes. By then, maybe Plasma or LCD prices will fall on 60"+ TV's. Maybe they will even perfect the Plasma technology to avoid IR. Maybe a whole new technology will come out and be better than everything out there. Anything is possible.

If I were looking at a 50" TV, I would consider a Plasma because of the price. If you wanted a 60", especially at a 11' distance, I think a 50" plasma is a wrong choice vs the 60" SXRD.

Robert

I agree unless you believe the majority that says 768P and 1080P look the same at 11" Then a 60"plasma for under two bits might be a better choice.

I'm in the same position, but my budget constraints allow more screen size for the same price in a quality RP set. Since I do have a HD-DVD drive and a 360 and my viewing distance is about 8', I would like a 1080p set too. That drives the price difference between a RP set and plasma even farther away. If I had the money, I would get a 1080p plasma, but I don't and RPs still offer a high quality (at least certain sets do) at a decent price.