50inch + hdtv's

[nianfong]

remember, technology-wise, OLED is still young. however, plasma is about at its limit. plasma burns way too much energy, and the bulb burns out over time. it's unavoidable, but of course has been improved a lot. plasma has perfect black, and so does OLED. let me say that again for emphasis. OLED HAS PERFECT BLACK. Also, it's much more efficient energywise, so you're not increasing your carbon footprint. Check out power wattage ratings before you buy. my 52" LCD TV burns about 500W. And that's REALLY LOW compared to plasma TV's of the same size. OLED should be comparable or even less than the LCD.

technologywise:
plasma: electricity ionizes gas (creating plasma) that forms color on your screen. plasma traditionally has had less crispness for static images (ie: gaming, computer apps, etc) because of the gaseous nature of the pixels. however this has of course improved in recent times. it takes a lot of energy to ionize gas to the point that it lights up. this is also why they burn out. the blacks are true black because the electricity directly creates colored light. also, this requires some hefty glass to contain all that gas. plasma screens are REALLY HEAVY. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_display

LCD: electricity alters the polarization of a liquid crystal layer behind a polarized screen. The screen is backlit by a bank of white LED's (usually). so black is not true black because you polarize the liquid crystal until it only mostly filters out all the white light from the backlight. however LED's are way more efficient than plasma. LCD TV's are not very heavy. just unwieldy at large sizes. more reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_cry ... television http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lcd


OLED ("LED"--not really an LED display): organic LED cells directly light up a pixel in the desired color. no backlight, no gases. electricity directly creates colored light in an efficient manner. the technology is relatively young, but this is really the best way to do this. I would wait a year or two and get an OLED TV, but my LCD TV is doing great, so I don't need another for a while. OLED TV's should not be very heavy either. more reading for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oled

Also, do a google search. Samsung is releasing a 6.9mm thick 50+" LCD TV later this year. that is so insanely cool.... plasma technology is spent. LCD is still improving. OLED is the way of the future.

note: a true LED TV is the type of thing you see on the side of a building in times square, tokyo, piccadilly, etc. 3 led's in a cluster per pixel. not really something someone mounts on their wall at home. it needs to be far enough away for your eyes to change the pixels into an image.


-Fong

[gosao]

^That's nice and all but for the price you can't find a 50" led tv for even close to 1000 bucks.

Using up more electricity? I doubt the difference in electricity usage is going to amount to 1000 bucks difference over the lifespan of the set. Energy efficiency isn't as big a difference as you might think.

Here's the specs of my 50" plasma. Pretty close I'd say.. over the lifespan about 5 yrs I doubt the difference you save will come close to the difference in price you paid. Rated at 589w but average tv on mode consumption is 269 watts.
GENERAL .
Power Supply AC 120 V, 60Hz
Rated Power Consumption 589 W
Standby Power Consumption 0.2 W
On Mode Average Power Consumption 269 W
Energy Star Yes

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-elec ... tabsection

For lifespan of the screen today's plasma's are rated at 60,0000 hrs which is pretty long. I don't think anyone nowadays keep their set half as long anyway.

Weight wise my 50" is 75lbs.. kinda heavy if you're wall mounting I guess but if you use a stand it's no biggie.. much better than my outgoing Sony 40" tube that weight 400lbs that's for sure! lol

Future potential? LED might be the future but for someone who buy's a set today what's the future got to do about it? Once you buy a set you're locked into the technology of today. You can't buy a LED set today then suddenly the set in your living room gets improved 3 yrs down the road. When I get another set in a few years I'm pretty confident it will be an LED but for today if you're going larger it's hard to justify the difference in cost. True that Plasma is an outgoing technology and not as hip and sexy as the latest LED sets but if you do go LED you're going to pay the premium for the latest cutting edge technology that isn't all that much better than the previous technology for the end result.

[Bill]

[quote="gosao
For lifespan of the screen today's plasma's are rated at 60,0000 hrs which is pretty long.[/quote]

If you watched tv 8 hours a day it would take you over 20 years to reach that number.
The research I've done says that LEDs do not have a better picture than plasmas, so I think plasma is the way to go.

[Leimeng]

~ Wow, I still have a 15 inch sanyo from 1990. Works fine for me. Someday I will upgrade. Probably after I get a cell phone. Which will be after I get rid of dialup. Which will be in a few years... (Neo-ludite that I am...)
~ Continue to discuss amongst yourselves....

Peace,

Leimeng

Flatulo Ergo Sum ~~~

~ Q: To what use is cowhide most ideally suited? A: Holding a cow together.

(***Insert Personal One Liner Here***)