Hi,

I'm comparing a panasonic plasma to a sharp aquos LCD.

With both TV's side by side viewing the same content, the black levels look comparable but the whites on the plasma look gray compared to the LCD.

I can't tweak the plasma any brighter.

Is this a known compromise with plasmas?

Thanks

Joe

Thats the tradeoff. Plasmas = better blacks, LCD's = better whites. If you do any low-light viewing, you'll appreciate the deeper blacks moreso than the brighter whites.

First off, I'm sure you're viewing situation is not ideal. Big box stores crank up the brightness on LCDs very high to catch the viewers eye. When you get home, the brightness will not be nearly as high, and the whites will not be so bright and white. Regardless, LCDs still have better whites, but the black levels suffer (which matters more), and their ability to display details in dark scenes and on dark object suffers.

It's a known compromise. When you get home, you're not going to think to yourself.. wow this white is really gray. But you WILL think to your self.. wow this black is really gray :D

Yes, an LCD will always have a brighter white, but as stated above, it's the level of dark scenes that needs to be rendered in a better way when viewing DVD movies. Plasma is best for this in my opinion, but I recently saw a Samsung 71 series LCD that looked to be calibrated superbly, and its picture was the best in the house. This was at a Circuit City, and all the panels looked to be adjusted nicely, with matching colors across the display. Look at "black bars" on the various screens. Are they black matching the bezel, or are they a gray tone? That bothers me more than the white coloration.