Plasma TV looks dim in store

[gh4chiefs]

Long story short, I'm considering buy a new HDTV and after a lot of research, and with cost considerations in mind, I finally talked myself into a plasma. This TV will primarily be used for viewing sports and playing games and I'm told plasma is best for both of those (when talking about a 50" screen size).

So I go to the store, in this case Best Buy, and look at several models and brands and the one thing I'm noticing (and it's VERY noticeable) is that they all look dim, like there's a window tint covering the screen. And I'm really kind of blown away by this as I was led to believe plasma was brighter and had more vibrant colors.

I'm wondering if anyone had any thoughts about this? Is it just the way they're setup in the store, or is this something that's inherent to plasma vs LCD?

 

[Alpha_Geek]

It wouldn't suprise me if they weren't properly set up, or deliberately set to a lower brightness to help avoid burn-in.

It's alsp possible that the display sets have already suffered from some burn-in.

Ask the sales droid to adjust the brightness.

 

[Mr. B]

A retail store is often the worst place to demo a TV, unfortunately. The lighting is often bad, the TV's setting are almost never right and of course their sets are always on which "ages" them differently than normal use would.

In many retail stores, all the TV's have the brightness maxed out to attract attention of otherwise uninformed consumers who are drawn to the brighter sets... generally consumers have no real appreciation for color rendering, contrast and deep blacks.

You are probably aware how plasma sets work and running a plasma set at it's highest brightness ("torch mode") all the time diminishes the useful life of the panel.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Yeah well the sales droids are about next to useless, they just aren't specialists in HDTV. At least most of them aren't. And for those you working at BB, I'm not trying to be insulting. You can't be experts in everything and I get that.

As for the burn-in thing, I'm hearing more and more that the modern day plasmas have so much newer (and better) technololgy that burn-in isn't really an issue for them as much anymore. Of course I guess these TVs on display are turned on for hours at a time, 7 days a week and maybe that could be it.

Another thing I read was that during the first 100-200 hours of operation, you should run the plasma at lower brightness and contrast setting to help the break-in period. If this is the case, I'm wondering if they come preset that way out of the factory, because I'm guessing the BB people just hang them on the wall and don't really adjust them.

I had really decided to go with a plasma, but man after seeing all these in the stores, (and it's just not one store) I'm just really not turned on about them at all. (Yeah I like my TV to be bright).

 

[gh4chiefs]

You are probably aware how plasma sets work and running a plasma set at it's highest brightness ("torch mode") all the time diminishes the useful life of the panel.

Well that probably supports my theory that they're preset to "dim" levels at the factory.

I think BB has a 30 day return policy but what a hassle to return a TV.

 

[Mr. B]

What the TV looks like in the store shouldn't be high on your list of concerns. What matters is where it will be in your residence. Plasma's look awesome and I love my 50'' Panny, but the glossy screen might be an issue if the wall opposite where the panel will be has windows.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Yeah I know what you're saying, but it's psychologically hard to pay the money for a TV when I'm not too thrilled about the way it looks in the store.

I think my room will work, it's downstairs with windows to back that have blinds and I can actually put another curtain to block even more light in the summer time.

Has anyone heard anything about Panasonic intentially "dimming down" their plasma this year out of energy consumption concerns? Apparently a sales associate told a co-worker that but I can't seem to confirm that.

 

[Mr. B]

Panasonic might have the good sense to ship sets with the brightness turned down, but they all have high settings. The "Vivid" preset on mine is rather imposing.

Perhaps the third-hand discussion you heard was concerning California's proposed regulations on big screen TVs.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Well it was a local sales associate here in MO, but I suppose he could have been confused on what he heard. Shipping them preset to a lower setting does make sense I suppose. If I just KNEW for sure that was the case, it would probably ease my mind a little.

 

[Mr. B]

Do you know the model number of the set you have in mind? You might read some reviews online and check out the chatter about your model at avsforum.com. A lot of individual sets have their own "owner's thread."

 

[gh4chiefs]

Well you know, that's the thing, I guess I need to believe the reviews, because on both BB's site and Amazon the reviews are very glowing. I've been looking at both the Panasonic Vierra (sp?) P50S1 and a Samsung model (don't know the model number at the moment) and they've both been reviewed very well.

Again, it's hard for me to accept that when I look at and am just not wowed by it. You know, if it was a $50 DVD player or something it would be one thing, but when you're talking a minimum of a grand for a 50" TV, it makes you very cautious before you buy.

 

[Mr. B]

I understand, most people are wary of buying something they haven't been wowed by in person. Personally, I buy almost everything online so I'm kinda used to it. My last TV purchase was a 32'' Samsung LCD that I bought on Amazon but got to view in-store. It looked decent... and bright... at Best Buy but it didn't really shine until I got one home and calibrated it.

 

[Trekker4747]

More than a few times when looking at TVs in stores I check the connections. 9 times out of 10 they're hooked via the composite/RCA connectors which isn't the best way to display a TV's video prowess.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

...As for the burn-in thing, I'm hearing more and more that the modern day plasmas have so much newer (and better) technololgy that burn-in isn't really an issue for them as much anymore. Of course I guess these TVs on display are turned on for hours at a time, 7 days a week and maybe that could be it....

The two 1 year old Sony flat panels in my stations Master Control Center (Twin 50's and I'm not talking Ma-Duce machine guns!) would disagree about burn-in being less of an issue. To be fair they are on 24x7.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Well burn-in is what made me leary of plasma for years. But I'm reading more and more about the differnet things they done to avoid it. So I'm aware of it, but not terribly concerned. If I bought this TV, it certainly wouldn't be on 24/7, but I do game for hours at time some days and I have some concerns about HUDs and whatnot showing up on the display.

Actually truth be told, I'd prefer a new LED, but good God those things are expensive and I'm still not convinced they're truly going to handle the fast motions scenes like in a football game.

 

[Marc]

Long story short, I'm considering buy a new HDTV and after a lot of research, and with cost considerations in mind, I finally talked myself into a plasma. This TV will primarily be used for viewing sports and playing games and I'm told plasma is best for both of those (when talking about a 50" screen size).

So I go to the store, in this case Best Buy, and look at several models and brands and the one thing I'm noticing (and it's VERY noticeable) is that they all look dim, like there's a window tint covering the screen. And I'm really kind of blown away by this as I was led to believe plasma was brighter and had more vibrant colors.

I'm wondering if anyone had any thoughts about this? Is it just the way they're setup in the store, or is this something that's inherent to plasma vs LCD?

You sometimes pay a bit more from there but what if you went to a specialist tv/video/stereo store at least to look? Their livelyhood is selling the equipment as opposed to Best Buy where it's one of 1000 product lines so they would in theory have them setup properly.

After all if some-one's going to come in an plonk down a few grand on a home theatre setup it's in their best interest to make sure things look the best especially as their clientele will be a bit more picky then you average retail store shopper.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Conversations like these make me glad I live in Crutchfield land.

 

[sojourner]

Stores will in a lot of cases purposely de-tune the cheaper priced TV's. They draw you in with the lower price in the ad, then when you are disappointed with the image, they steer you to "a much better TV" for "only a few dollars more".

 

[Bisz]

Hi.

Last Christmas I bought a 50" Plasma because I got a great deal during Boxing Day, I was originally going to get an LCD but I couldn't pass this sale up. In any case, I did a whole bunch of research on which technology is 'better', what are the good brands, what to look for, etc.

You are right, burn in is no longer a big issue with plasmas.

Panasonic and Samsung are at the top of the scale, sadly now that Pioneer has left the field.

The way a TV looks in a store has nothing, 0, zip to do with how good of a TV it is.

A bright picture is NOT what you want in a TV, what you want is an accurate picture, one that accurately represents colours and blacks. More often than not this means you actually want a darker looking picture, not a brighter looking one.

I recommend you check out cnet.com if you haven't already. Read and watch the reviews, both for the sets you are looking at but also for their top rated stuff. This will give you a lot of info on what to actually look for in a TV.

 

[gh4chiefs]

A bright picture is NOT what you want in a TV, what you want is an accurate picture, one that accurately represents colours and blacks. More often than not this means you actually want a darker looking picture, not a brighter looking one..

Well I won't dispute what you say, but the fact remains that I enjoy a brighter picture. Everyone of these plasmas I've looked at looked like you were watching the picture through a smoke screen, or like through window tinting that you put on your windows to keep the sun out. And if that's what I'm gonna get with a plasma, then I might as well keep my old LCD rear projection.

That's why I'm trying to figure out if that's normal for plasma, or if it's possibly just the factory presets that can be adjusted after the break in period.

If it's what I can expect, then I'll pass.

EDIT TO ADD: Oops, my response sounded a little terse. Didn't mean it that way. I appreciate everyone's input here.