Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV bear

This TV replaced my 35 inch 720p Toshiba LCD. My decision came down to plasma vs lcd. I have learned that the location and size of the room makes a big difference. Considering the expense, be realistic about where your TV will spend most of its time when being viewed!

Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV cartoon

Plasma vs. LCD

Plasma has better contrast than LCD. Plasma delivers truer blacks.

Plasma has a long life, with 80000+ viewing hours advertised.

Some complain about motion artifacts in the LCD, or “triple football” effect. Plasma seems to avoid this problem.

At larger sizes, like 52 inches, Plasma is cheaper than LCD. Above 60 inches, Plasma easily beats LCD on price.

Plasma is heavy. Forget about wall-mounting by yourself.

Screen reflection is an issue. The room needs little to no light to really enjoy. If you have a dedicated entertainment center without windows, that is ideal.

Plasma has an issue with burn-in. This is especially relevant for gamers.

Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV cartoon front

Choosing an LCD.

With everything considered, I decided on an LCD. It was for a family room and needed to work with xbox/playstation. Sports is important, too, since I watch football.

The 52 inch LCD maker came down to a few choices… Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, and Sharp.

Narrowing My Choice.

Toshiba and Sharp seem to be on the lower end. They offered lower contrast, fewer hdmi inputs etc…but they are cheaper! If you are shopping on price, they are worth considering. For my budget, the Samsung and Sony LCDs were worth the few hundred extra.

It came down to the Sony xbr4 and the Samsung 71 series. This was a hard choice since they are so similar in features and performance.

Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 52-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV wall mount

Sony vs. Samsung.

Both the sony xbr4 and Samsung have 3hdmi and 120hz. However, the Sony XBR4 has 1:13000 contrast compared to 1:25000 contrast for the Samsung 71. Some speculate that contrast is meaningless to compare across manufacturers. It is best if you can compare them side by side and optimized for your picture quality preferences. Since that was not possible, I had to rely on reviews.

After reading some reviews, it seems Samsung is preferred over the Sony xbr. However… and this is important… Samsung coats their LCD which gives it a moderate amount of reflection. For a room with lights (natural or otherwise), you will see the reflection in a plasma or Samsung. Personally, that drives me nuts! This is not a problem for the xbr4.

Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH - AV receiver - 7.1 channel - black

Watching the Sony XBR4.

The picture on this SONY is amazing with my hd tivo, bluray, and hd dvd. Standard definition is well… standard. In my opinion, the SONY XBR4 earns top-ratings.

Setup

Remote Media Storage: Gigabit link to 4x2TB raid5 share
PowerSupply: Thermaltake EVO Blue 550W.

Paradigm Millenia 200 Floor Standing Speakers

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Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV

Plasma vs. LCD

This is how my Panasonic TH-42PX60U looks.

I have owned a few different 1080p LCDs. These include a Sony 40W2000, Sharp 37XD1E, and a Samsung 40FQ71. With so many options, I still prefer Plasma picture quality over all the LCDs.

Keep in mind, I am only considering Panasonic and Pioneer range Plasmas. These have better color accuracy, depth of field, black levels and contrast, with a cleaner image, less noise and better SD picture, than the LCDs I have owned.

Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV sports basketball

LCD Issues.

LCDs often over-saturate colors, have too much edge enhancement, unrealistic color balance and it is not unusual for them to suffer from ghosting. Don’t get me wrong, LCDs deliver amazing picture quality. In this area, Sharp LCDs  produce some of the best blacks on the market. Yet, they do not give you the truest picture when compared to Plasmas.

Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV movie

For every LCD I have owned, they could not display every single individual color tab. This was after minor calibration. The colors to the right would merge together. However, I can see each individual tab clearly, on my Plasma. This include the black/contrast ones too.

Plasma Issues.

My only issue with Plasma is screen burn. Thankfully, I discovered newer Plasmas do not suffer from this nearly as much as older models. Maybe 2-3 (out of over 50+) owners the new Panasonic 42PX60 Plasma suffered screen burn. After hours of gaming on my Panasonic, screen burn has not been a problem.

Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV movie europa

Price.

When it comes down to it, for many the biggest consideration is price. The 40W200 was the most expensive LCD, with the Samsung 40FQ71 a few hundred dollars cheaper and the Sharp 37XD1E about another $100 cheaper still. My Panasonic Plasma was cheaper than the lowest priced LCD (37XD1E) by about 20%, while including a stand and delivery. That is a heck of a deal the LCDs cannot match. You get better picture quality, bigger size, and its much cheaper! So, it’s not 1080p. Yet, from my viewing distance, it is difficult to see the difference between 720p/1080i and 1080p.

Words of Advice.

Be very wary of the 46 and 52 inch versions of certain LCD screens. Nearly every single one of them suffers from banding! You don’t want that! If you get a plain color, such as a whole screen of red, or blue, etc., check that you don’t have lines running through them!

My advice is to use DPT (Dead Pixel Tester).

Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV xbox 360

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Samsung LN46C630 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV

My 46 inch Samsung 1080p LCD is absolutely great. However, reviewers and tech experts seem to agree that a Plasma offers a slightly better picture, even at lower resolutions. When doing research on HDTVs, like many others, I went to the nearest store. To my eyes, there really is no significant difference between LCD and Plasma. LCD actually looked better, since they were much more vibrant. Technically speaking, Plasmas produce better contrast ratios and black levels. Yet, LCD technology has almost matched it.

A practical reason to avoid Plasmas are their light reflection. They use a very reflective glass surface. This means they show better in dim rooms. LCD is best in brightly lit areas (like a store). If natural light (or any bright light) source will be competing with the screen, LCD is better than Plasma.

Unfortunately for LCDs, the price is much higher than a Plasma for similar screen sizes. A 50 inch plasma can be half the price of a comparable 52 inch LCD .

Plasmas are vulnerable to burn-in, or permanent ghosting. It is not as bad as it appears. It is just something to consider when deciding between Plasma and LCD.

Projection TVs.

To me, projection TVs look terrible compared to Plasma and LCD. Projection sets are available in large sizes at high resolutions at very competitive prices. Yet, they still produce poor picture quality, for my tastes. To compound this, their viewing angles are very limited. If you go to a store, you notice that you have to sit right in the sweet spot or else the picture dims to unacceptable levels.

Which Is It?

After much research, I chose the LCD. If you expect dedicated HDTV viewing, where external light is stricty controlled, Plasma is a good choice. If you want a budget TV and can configure the set to be in a direct line-of-sight, then projection may work. But, overall, LCD works best, in my opinion.

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LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

In my bedroom, I had a 2-year old Sony W series LCD. Between the soap opera effect and the motion blur, it drove me nuts watching a movie in bed. So, I got the 42 inch LG 42PJ350.

The design is attractive but conservative. (I do not like Samsung’s funky color look). It has a highly reflective bezel. This means this plasma is not good for a bright room. This is its biggest drawback to me.

LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

First Impressions.

There is a lightly audible buzz from the TV when it is on. You have to stand within about 12 inches of the back to hear it. Other than that, there are no other noises.

It gives off some heat. However, it does not overpower the thin profile. The vents are able to release heat from the back and top of the set, so no overheating problems.

Settings.

It is annoying that the default is set to vivid. There are cinema and ISF expert tools to let you change the settings. The ISF modes (2 memory settings) are excellent. They let you do a lot of picture tweaking.

LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

(In the photo, contrast is at 50 and brightness at 70.)

Recommendations.

For new owners, immediately reduce sharpness. Out of the box, the picture is terrible. When you turn on your TV for the first time, sharpness is set mid-level. This results in a lot of noise and aliasing. After reducing sharpness, it’s a much better picture (with an occassional jagged edge).

Avoid the wide colorspace. This increases orange so everyone gets a suntan. Picture adjustment menus are nice for a bargain TV. LG deserves credit for this. It is 1000x better than my $9,000 Kuro!

Picture Quality.

Image retention is good and not problematic. High-contrast images ghost double the time it appeared on-screen. Most retained images disappeared within 10 seconds. It’s not a problem from a viewing perspective. It is only an issue when looking closely on a blank screen.

Viewing Distance.

If you really look for it, there is line bleeding. Pixels, line blocking and stair-stepping are visible at 3-4 feet. However, no one would sit that close since you couldn’t see the whole screen anyway. Normal viewing distance (6-8 ft) shows little pixel gridding. Screen uniformity is excellent.

Colors.

Black levels are impressive for the price. They compare well to my Samsung 860. However, the LG has little shadow detail.

Other Notes.

This LG accepts 1080p 24fps sources. The paper manual is worthless.

Can I Get It?

For a bargain set, it’s an excellent bargain. Just be aware of the screen glare. While image retention is the typical complaint with LG plasmas now, it doesn’t detract from a great plasma TV.

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Samsung PN42C450 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV Black

Picture.

The picture on this Samsung PN42C450 blows away top of the line 42 inch 1080p LCDs I’ve seen. The colors are deep and rich. There is high contrast and fluid motion. For the picture, there is nothing not to like!

I streamed Spartacus from Netflix. Compared to my old 22 inch LCD, this Samsung plasma really brought the movie to life. Try connecting your PC via HDMI to the TV (resolution at 1360*768). Stream shows from hulu and youtube videos. Believe this, you won’t ever want to watch videos on a smaller monitor again!.

High-Definition.

Basic HD cable channels look awesome. Modern Warfare 2 is simply astounding. It is much better than the aforementioned 42 inch and 22 inch LCDs.

Sound.

Sound is fair. It’s no Home Theatre, but not terrible either.

Inputs.

There ae 3 HDMI, 1 PC, 1 USB, 1 Dual Component/Composite, 1 Component, Audio In 1/8″, Audio Out 1/8″, Optical out, and cable.

Settings.

Menu functions are easy to navigate and adjust.

Issues.

The audio running out isn’t controlled by television volume. Unlike most TVs where this is standard, this Samsung can’t use my cheap computer speakers.

Installing the base stand felt like I was about to destroy the thread on the screws. They do not go in easy!

There is a slight buzzing sound. It is drowned out from the TV audio, but is noticeable when the TV is on mute.

Design.

It’s very elegant and I think it looks great in my living room. It’s not super bright, which is something I love (after awhile, LCD panels hurt my eyes).

LCD vs. Plasma?

It’s a fantastic TV, this Samsung PN42C450. For quality, affordability, and style, it’s a solid choice.

Samsung PN42C450 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV Black rear panel

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Today?

My plasma looks like garbage compared to the LED. If I had the funds to sell all these and get LEDs, I’d do it. So, it’s going to take a few months of savings before I can.

My neighbor and my mother-in-law have Samsung LEDs and they look great!

I really dont care for 3D. It’s a fad to me.

Making A Choice.

Whatever you decide, whether plasma or LED (LED is my personal favorite), I would only look at Samsung or LG in a new TV. Sony used to be impressive, especially with the WEGA’s a few years ago. Today, Samsung and LG really are the best around. It’s all I have in my house.

Vizio In The Store.

vizio lcd led HDTV

It may look impressive, but don’t get it.

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Panasonic VIERA TC P42G25 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV front display

This is the second flat screen I have purchased in as many days.

Samsung LCD.

My first purchase was a Samsung LN40C650 LCD. I returned it the next day due to a few issues that were just too serious. There was very light vertical banding in some areas of the TV. Maybe it was just a bad unit, but that wasn’t the only problem. The image looked washed out from side angles and there were problems with motion, too (auto-motion didn’t seem to make a difference). The colors didn’t look very natural but it could just be an adjustment issue.

Getting the Panasonic.

I decided to give the Panasonic TC-P42G25 a try. Supposedly, it has none of the problems of the Samsung. I was able to get the TV setup and the stand attached by myself. I would NOT recommend this. If you can, get some help because the TV is not light.

The stand swivels, which is a nice feature. After turning it on and completing a short setup wizard, everything was ready. In Chicago, the TV found all digital channels from my indoor/outdoor antenna.

Settings.

At first, the TV looks dim. This is due to the default TV settings It is set to standard brightness mode, the least vibrant setting. After changing the settings, the picture is bright and accurate. But, for the first few days I decided to leave it in standard mode during the plasma “break in” period.

The default setting has C.A.T.S. turned on. This adjusts picture brightness depending on the ambient light in the room. Some may like this feature but I don’t use it.

Picture Quality.

The picture quality is “amazing” compared to the Samsung LCD. Screen uniformity is perfect. There are no light or dark spots anywhere. Colors look natural and realistic. Black levels are deep when you dim the lights or close the shades in a room. Motion looks good to me. Motion looks better with the blur reduction setting off.

Movies.

I watched Ashes of American Flags on DVD (concert film, rock band Wilco) in a bluray player. Automatically, the TV recognized the Panasonic Blu-Ray player and switched the video source to it. The film has a lot of dark areas in the concert scenes which let me see the black levels. They looked very deep and it felt like I was there!

Sound.

Sound is good for regular TV viewing. With bass boost active in the sound settings, the sound output is much better. You can adjust treble and bass.

Issues.

The TV (common for Plasma’s from what I’ve read) black levels suffer in a brightly lit room, compared to LCDs. I prefer a dimly-lit room to watch TV, but not completely dark. In that environment, black levels appear deeper than on an LCD.

Some network features may not be available yet.

Do I Like It?

If you need a flatscreen TV to just look good, this plasma delivers that.

The Panasonic VIERA TC-P42G25 is a polished HDTV. Please, Panasonic, keep making those Plasma’s!

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Mitsubishi WD 60737 60 inch HDTV plasma

Making the Comparison.

In the bright environment of a store, LCDs definitely make a better impression as far as the “wow” factor, compared to plasmas. LCDs have bright, crisp displays turned to their maximum. Many think a bright picture is a good picture… so that sells.

Is The Store Image Best?

Plasmas are more subdued. They do not look as “punchy” when compared side-by-side with LCDs. Plasmas have a deep, rich image. It isn’t matched by comparable LCDs with traditional backlighting.

Look at plasma displays in low-light environments. Then compare them to LCDs. The superiority of plasma will be apparent.

Plasma Pluses.

With plasma, each pixel can be turned “off” to essentially show no light. This produces very deep blacks. It gives you better quality color reproduction. Typical LCDs use a constant backlight that can bleed through the LCD matrix. Thus, it is difficult for LCDs to reproduce dark blacks.

Plasma is free of image lag. This is best for fast moving scenes such as sports (even the best LCDs have trouble with this).

Why Plasma?

Basically, plasma dominates the home theater world with excellent color fidelity, deep black reproduction, and fluid images. If you control the ambient light in your viewing environment (e.g. bright windows reflecting the TV screen or overhead lighting), plasma can’t be beat.

From my research and personal experience, many struggle to find that perfect LCD display. It doesn’t exist…until they try plasma and see that’s what they’ve been trying to find all along!

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Samsung PN42C450 42 inch HDTV 720p Plasma HD TV

When you decide to get a new TV, there is more to consider than size and price. First, you must pick a type of television. There is cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma display panel (PDP), and liquid crystal display (LCD).

Consider the environmental—and economical—impact of a bigger, better, energy-sucking set. Some TVs use as much energy each month as your refrigerator. There are steps for eco-friendly viewing after you bring a new big-screen beauty home. However, a key part of an earth-friendly screen is the screen you choose.

For example, CRTs, may have up to five pounds of lead. They use crazy amounts of electricity. So, for this comparison, we’ll be looking at two common television types to see which is the greener screen.

The Samsung Plasma 42 Inch TV.

Plasma TVs are known for a slightly sharper image and more detailed picture, than comparable LCDs. They have wider viewing angles, which is how far off-center you can watch the screen before its picture looks distorted.

The plasma screens have enjoyed a long period as the best big screen choice. This is due to their high contrast ratios, which hold up to even giant proportions. Add to this, plasma prices didn’t balloon the way LCD prices did as size and contrast ratio increased.

Plasmas achieve blacker blacks. This means the image won’t look washed out, faded, or gray the way LCD sometimes does. As far as power use, the Samsung 42 inch plasma has Energy Star ratings. This means it uses about 30% less energy than a non-Energy Star model.

Plasma Drawbacks.

Some plasmas use less energy than older TVs. Yet, for some big plasmas, power use can reach four times that of power-hungry CRTs! This means four times the carbon emissions.

It is so bad, some governments are working toward banning certain big-screen plasmas. They view them as one of the worst energy-draining culprits in modern homes. California has banned certain large plasma TVs and certain large LCD TVs too!

The 42 inch Samsung plasma is not an energy sink, with its Energy Star rating. Just be aware, for a very large set (in the 50-60 inch range), you could be contributing to our climate crisis. Plus, you’ll be dramatically upping your electricity bill too!

The Last Word.

If you want a literally big picture, plasma is the best. Its contrast ratio and potentially lower price are a big plus. But, the energy consumption for a large set will negate a lower purchase price. When you include electricity, price may not be an advantage at all.

For larger plasmas, look to LCDs. Think of your potentially lower electricity bill as a concession to the environment.

For smaller plasmas, remember to find out how long it will last. To make it last longer, avoiding leaving a fixed image on the screen for extended periods. You don’t want burn-in on your nice screen.

The LG 42 Inch LCD.

You can expect LCD TVs to last 60,000 hours or more, while a plasma lasts from 30,000 to 60,000 hours. In an eco-friendly world, longer is better for the environment.

LCDs tend to weigh less and are slightly thinner than plasma screens. Usually, this is part of the in-store appeal which pulls buyers away from plasmas. Even better, you can expect LCDs to use less energy than plasmas.

LCD Drawbacks.

LCD TVs are long-lasting and use less power, than plasmas. But, they’re not a perfect solution. The largest LCDs can be as bad as comparable plasmas in energy use.

The worst part of LCDs is its TV components. They contain mercury and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). It is commonly known that mercury is a toxic pollutant. But, you may be wondering, what is NF3?

NF3 was created to avoid using ozone-damaging perfluorocarbons. The problem is that NF3 is 17,200 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide. It is replacing a bad problem with a worse one!

NF3 is a key part of the LCD. In fact, the widespread use of NF3 has added 600 metric tons to the atmosphere. That is 2,064,000 car emissions for a year!

Be Realistic.

Let’s be honest, TVs aren’t good for the environment. Your best hope is to get a set with minimal impact. It is clear LCD TVs use some unfriendly components. However, their long life and lower energy use makes them a good choice for eco-aware viewing.

It is best to buy the smallest screen you can tolerate. Also, don’t get carried away. A flat screen TV is not art. You don’t need to put it on every empty wall in your home.

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Expect the best image quality from a plasma HDTV compared to a LCD. The drawback is that plasmas tend to degrade relatively quickly, compared to other display sets.

Generally, LCD could be considered the best balance between quality, longevity, and price. Even if you find a plasma that lasts say, 60,000 hours, the screen will get darker and darker the more you watch it. To some degree, this can be reversed by just increasing the brightness on a plasma.

Projection-based TVs can last longer than a LCD. The problem is you have to replace the bulb. Expect to do this at least every 6000 to 8000 hours of use.

Contrast.

It is amazing how wrong the manufacturer contrast figures are when they are actually measured. Either they come up with those numbers just to sell more TVs (ours is better than the competition) or they use some special kind of magic to divine their numbers.

The LCD manufacturers’ contrast figures vary between the set being completely off and at its highest brightness. Obviously, this does not reflect real-world use. That is why I feel it is a performance measurement that is basically useless when buying an LCD TV.

For me, LCD is the more affordable choice given my budget, while getting a full hd experience. If money were no object, I would not hesitate to get a plasma HDTV.

My recommendation is to get a Pioneer Kuro, if you can find one. Since Pioneer should have sold out of these. Get one any way you can.

pioneer kuro

Panasonic and Pioneer.

It seems a number of the engineers that were working on the Kuro have left to work for Panasonic. Panasonic is one of the few remaining big names that still makes plasma screen TVs.

The Panasonic’s are a top-notch set, too! They made the basic components for Pioneer. It seems like Panasonic should/will incorporate the technology of the Kuro into their upper end plasmas.

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