LED vs. LCD vs. Plasma - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Deviaant · 08-21-2010, 07:04 PM

Ok well im still rockin a good old crt tv and its time to upgrade. Ive done some research on them but im still somewhat lost.

Im after a HD tv best bang for buck kind of thing. I do enjoy watching the odd movie now and again and frequently play my 360.

Id like a 40"+ tv and am looking to spend around $1500 on one. I dont really care about blue ray as I have a perfectly good dvd player. Also I am a ###### when it comes to computers heck I just got a new laptop and am astounded at just what it can do. Like turn on really really fast and load porn like a mofo lol. I did see that windows 7 commercial where the guy streamed that vid wireless to his tv. I think that would be cool to do. Any idea on how that would work and what my new tv would need to have if I wanted to do that.

But the long and the short of this long winded message I guess is what is better LED or LCD?

silentsim · 08-21-2010, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deviaant

Ok well im still rockin a good old crt tv and its time to upgrade. Ive done some research on them but im still somewhat lost.

Im after a HD tv best bang for buck kind of thing. I do enjoy watching the odd movie now and again and frequently play my 360.

Id like a 40"+ tv and am looking to spend around $1500 on one. I dont really care about blue ray as I have a perfectly good dvd player. Also I am a ###### when it comes to computers heck I just got a new laptop and am astounded at just what it can do. Like turn on really really fast and load porn like a mofo lol. I did see that windows 7 commercial where the guy streamed that vid wireless to his tv. I think that would be cool to do. Any idea on how that would work and what my new tv would need to have if I wanted to do that.

But the long and the short of this long winded message I guess is what is better LED or LCD?

LED. Just make sure it is a real LED, not just a side-lit LED.
However, if you are the kind to not notice the differences you can get the same size regular LCD for 4-500 less then the LED model

HPLovecraft · 08-21-2010, 07:10 PM

I thought LED TVs WERE LCD TVs, just backlit by LEDs? Or is this old stuff, I haven't read about it in awhile.

silentsim · 08-21-2010, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

I thought LED TVs WERE LCD TVs, just backlit by LEDs? Or is this old stuff, I haven't read about it in awhile.

LED's are lcd's, just better :P

Rhettzky · 08-21-2010, 07:29 PM

I don't know much about the technology but was at the Sony store today and man, did the LED's look amazing. I have a decent LCD at home and I was blown away by the quality of some of the LED's they had on display there. They were playing 'Avatar' so maybe it's because of the quality of that film but one of those are definitely on my christmas list.

Deviaant · 08-21-2010, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhettzky

I don't know much about the technology but was at the Sony store today and man, did the LED's look amazing. I have a decent LCD at home and I was blown away by the quality of some of the LED's they had on display there. They were playing 'Avatar' so maybe it's because of the quality of that film but one of those are definitely on my christmas list.

awesome sounds like were of similar thought when it comes to t.v's. It sounds like you would pay the extra $500 or so for the LED tv if in my shoes.

Knowing my luck im gonna buy a LED tv and they are gonna have some sort of super LED coming out shortly after. Heck thats why I still have a CRT tv. I just bought this one shortly before plasma TV's came out and have been too cheap to upgrade.

Vulcan · 08-22-2010, 03:58 AM

All the LEDs out are LCDs with LED backlighting. As someone said the ones with the best picture aren't the edge lit LEDs, although they are narrower but the full array gives the best picture.

http://reviews.cnet.com/2795-6482_7-399.html

The latest gizmo is 3D, so don't get left behind

and yes like all technology they will become cheaper the longer you wait but there does come a time to bite the bullet.

silentsim · 08-22-2010, 09:36 AM

Personally I still feel 3D a huge gimmick for a home television. I would never get one.

Deviaant · 08-22-2010, 12:20 PM

yeah im not into the 3d thing at all.

I do appreciate the info I had no idea a LCD was a LED tv.

Hack&Lube · 08-22-2010, 01:40 PM

I would recommend a plasma personally.

As others have said, an LED is simply an LCD where instead of a CCFL backlight (a florescent tube like the kind that lights an old bathroom or kitchen), they use an array of LEDs behind the screen to light it up. The LCD portion is actually just the pixels in the screen which change color but you still need something to light it from behind.

There are two kinds. The first is edge lit LED which isn't any much better than the CCFL backlights as there are generally just one or more bars of LEDs that light up the screen. Because of this, you cannot get decent black levels as there is always a washed out shimmering grey appearance to blacks on the screen.

LED array backlighting however, is able to dim certain LEDs through local dimming in a general area of the screen to help improve black levels on dark areas of the screen.

I would still get a plasma if you are shopping over 40"

Plasmas have 68 billion colors versus 16.7 million colors on an LCD (interpolated).
Plasmas have generally higher contrast ratios
Plasmas have superior viewing angles
Plasmas generally have superior response time and therefore less lag and ghosting and motion blur

Deviaant · 08-22-2010, 01:58 PM

I thought plasmas were not good if you played video games as a static image could get burnt into the screen? I may be wrong as ive said I dont know much about this sorta thing.

Hack&Lube · 08-22-2010, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deviaant

I thought plasmas were not good if you played video games as a static image could get burnt into the screen? I may be wrong as ive said I dont know much about this sorta thing.

Plasma burn-in is non issue for home consumers now as the technology has improved over the years. Plasmas are actually preferable for gaming because of greater response time.

http://hdguru.com/plasma-tv-burn-in-fact-or-myth/826/

HD Guru tested leaving static images on the screen for over 10 hours straight and still could not produce burn in.

I'm not saying that burn-in doesn't exist, you still see it on plasmas in airports where screens are left running with the same bars and displays for 24/7 for months and months and never turn them off but this is not a situation you will ever run into at home.

Deviaant · 08-22-2010, 02:14 PM

Ah very good to know thank you for clearing that up for me. In my shopping I have noticed plasma tv's are a bit cheaper than others so I may just have to go that route. I had totally avoided plasmas due to my thinking image burn in was an issue with them.

Igottago · 08-22-2010, 03:17 PM

One consideration if you want plasma is that they generally have a much more reflective screen. That pretty much stopped me from buying one as my TV is in a pretty well lit room.

I bought a Samsung LCD about 4 months ago. Didn't worry about 120 hz, didn't worry about all the latest tech like 3D. I'm very happy with it, I don't feel like I missed out on anything by not getting the latest bells and whistles. Paid around $800, gaming looks unreal on it and HD channels do to. If you are looking for "bang for your buck" as you stated, I wouldnt bother chasing all the latest and greatest specs..that will run you a lot more money. Since you are doing an upgrade from a CRT TV, even a mid range LCD will be a massive upgrade for you. You shouldn't really have to break the bank to get a good HDTV that you will get a lot of enjoyment out of.

Hack&Lube · 08-22-2010, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Igottago

One consideration if you want plasma is that they generally have a much more reflective screen. That pretty much stopped me from buying one as my TV is in a pretty well lit room.

I bought a Samsung LCD about 4 months ago. Didn't worry about 120 hz, didn't worry about all the latest tech like 3D. I'm very happy with it, I don't feel like I missed out on anything by not getting the latest bells and whistles. Paid around $800, gaming looks unreal on it and HD channels do to. If you are looking for "bang for your buck" as you stated, I wouldnt bother chasing all the latest and greatest specs..that will run you a lot more money. Since you are doing an upgrade from a CRT TV, even a mid range LCD will be a massive upgrade for you. You shouldn't really have to break the bank to get a good HDTV that you will get a lot of enjoyment out of.

Yes, because plasma is made of various gases trapped behind glass, the front of the screen is a very heavy piece of glass that is reflective if your room has a lot of lights or direct sunshine coming in from a window that you can see on the screen. You also have to be careful with a plasma because they have to be kept upright. Never transport or move a plasma lying down.

LCDs can either have a similar glossy surface or a matte finish like you see on your average computer monitor.

Deviaant · 08-22-2010, 04:01 PM

im glad ya said something about transportation of a plasma screen I would have attempted to transport it in my car lol. I guess with what id be saving I can pay for delivery.

Ok so when im out at the store (any suggestions for a good place with knowlegable salesmen?) apart from 1080p what should I be looking for? Igottago made reference to 120 hz. Ive seen some ads for 600 hz.....can anyone put this in plain english for me?

Inferno · 08-22-2010, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

Personally I still feel 3D a huge gimmick for a home television. I would never get one.

I felt the same way until I saw a live demo of one of the Motorstorm games. That sold me. I wont be getting one though until I move away from here which with the luck I'm having with jobs in Calgary is God knows when.

onetwo_threefour · 08-22-2010, 06:23 PM

I bought a 50" Samsung plasma at FS about 4 months ago for my basement. In my opinion, performance for price, plasma is the best as long as you've got the right environment. I've noticed ghosting for a minute or two when something has been static on the screen for a while, but changing the channel to a 'snowy' channel will fix it in a matter of seconds or normal viewing of programming that fills the whole screen will fix it in a few minutes. According to the promotional materials, the newest plasmas are very nearly the same power efficiency as LCD's and are way better than they used to be.

Oh, and if you are going to HD, Blu-ray is totally worth it. It is better than any HD you'll get on TV...

Vulcan · 08-22-2010, 07:26 PM

Besides plasmas, it's not a good idea to transport LCDs lying flat also.

Whether a person is interested in 3D or not, I mentioned it as a possibility, so a buyer isn't walking into a situation without all the knowledge of the latest technology. I only watched it for a few minutes, golf and a movie but it was impressive and I'm interested. I've heard that some people get headaches from it and there really isn't much content out there yet but it is something to consider.

The best thing to do to decide if you want 120hz, 240hz etc. is to watch different TVs. Check out your friends TVs, go to a dealer, although with their bright lighting it's hard to make a decision. Watch them playing sports or movies or whatever you're interested in and than read reviews.

Also bargain, don't accept the list price as the final price. I wouldn't bother with any extended warranties as they are mostly a rip off, but YMMV. Also don't buy your HDMI or other cables from Future Shop etc. order them from MonoPrice.com.

Deviaant · 08-22-2010, 09:04 PM

Honestly the only reason im not looking at the 3d tv's is that I have no depth perception so its usless to me anyhow. Heck I bought my current tv based on how cool the remote was.

Thanks for the cable advice too ill definatly check out MonoPrice.com. While were on the topic is the quality of cable that big a difference? Assuming I purchase a good middle of the road plasma. Should I be looking at those super expensive ones I see laying around my local eletronics store?

I went into Best Buy today and I checked out this beauty:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...460582bdaben02

so far I think its my front runner but I am still going to look around.