Plasma TV looks dim in store

[Klaitu]

To be honest, if I were buying a TV, Plasma is the last technology I would choose. All the plasmas I have seen run quite hot, and they are very prone to burn-in. I don't know exactly why the new plasmas are dimmer, but it probably has something to do with the burn-in situation.

LCD, especially SXRD is a superior technology to plasma. I'd say save your money for OLED.

 

[Bisz]

To be honest, if I were buying a TV, Plasma is the last technology I would choose. All the plasmas I have seen run quite hot, and they are very prone to burn-in. I don't know exactly why the new plasmas are dimmer, but it probably has something to do with the burn-in situation.

LCD, especially SXRD is a superior technology to plasma. I'd say save your money for OLED.

I would disagree with just about every statement you just made.

Though I agree that plasmas run hot.

Then again, I could bake a cake on both my BD player and AV Receiver, so 'running hot' is nothing out of the ordinary for modern electronics, nor does it affect the picture quality of a television so when picking a TV its number 375 or so on the list of things to consider.



gh, if you like brighter screens then go with an LCD.

 

[Trekker4747]

LCD certainly is the better choice.

On the previous post on things running hot, if it's a small area (like, say, a small livingroom in a house or apartment) an electronic device that "runs hot" could pose a problem to the enviromental comfort of the living space. Also, theoreticaly, one could extrude that if the device is running hot its using more energy, thus it costs more to run and leads to higher electrical bill.

But, IMHO, right now LCD TVs are the best choice if you're buying a new one and make sure to hook it up to devices (cable box, DVD/BD players) with HDMI cables.

 

[Saturn0660]

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?

Brightness doesn't mean quality.
Maybe the TV was Calibrated? That could be why it looked so "dim".. Read the reviews on the BB.com website. Or like has been said goto Cnet of you need to.

Another question is, will you be watching any SDTV? If so are you going to run it in 4:3 or 16:9?
I run mine however it's broadcast. So if a show is in 4:3 i'll have "pillers" down the side.. (you don't get that stretched look)

 

[Saturn0660]

To be honest, if I were buying a TV, Plasma is the last technology I would choose. All the plasmas I have seen run quite hot, and they are very prone to burn-in. I don't know exactly why the new plasmas are dimmer, but it probably has something to do with the burn-in situation.

LCD, especially SXRD is a superior technology to plasma. I'd say save your money for OLED.

SXRD?? What is this 2005? Sony doesn't even make ProJos anymore.
Sony's OLED is nothing more then a "Jones's" TV it's 11" for like $1800+ Wasn't even HD

 

[Ziz]

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".

Amen to that.

First thing I did with any set I was interested in was try to get to the setup controls and adjust everything to neutral/50% so that whatever sets I was comparing were on an even keel relative to each other. I hated trying to compare sets in Best Buy because they're all mounted high up on the wall where you can't reach them.

I ended up buying a Westinghouse LCD at BJ's Wholesale Club specfically because I could adjust the controls in there and it looked fine, which confused me because I remembered the same set in BB looking horrible. Then I went back to BB and after staring at the wall of sets I realized that ALL the Westinghouse ones - and ONLY the Westinghouse ones - were the ones that looked washed out and colorless.

BB isn't interested in selling you something good, they want to sell you what makes the store the most profit. If you insist on buying something cheaper, they throw a guilt trip on you like they're doing something wrong selling you what you want.

 

[Saturn0660]

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".

Amen to that.

First thing I did with any set I was interested in was try to get to the setup controls and adjust everything to neutral/50% so that whatever sets I was comparing were on an even keel relative to each other. I hated trying to compare sets in Best Buy because they're all mounted high up on the wall where you can't reach them.

I ended up buying a Westinghouse LCD at BJ's Wholesale Club specfically because I could adjust the controls in there and it looked fine, which confused me because I remembered the same set in BB looking horrible. Then I went back to BB and after staring at the wall of sets I realized that ALL the Westinghouse ones - and ONLY the Westinghouse ones - were the ones that looked washed out and colorless.

BB isn't interested in selling you something good, they want to sell you what makes the store the most profit. If you insist on buying something cheaper, they throw a guilt trip on you like they're doing something wrong selling you what you want.

Really, i mean really.. The fact that you even own a Westinghouse tells all i need to know.. If what you are saying is really the case they would have pushed you into the WH as the markup is higher on those.
The more likely story is that maybe the WH's were made to look crappy so you wouldn't buy one. Hell, i get kickass deal on Tv's and all i can say is "not in my house".

Shit, i'd take a Dynex over a WH. I just hope you had the good sense to buy a service plan. It's not a matter of "if" you need one it's a matter of "when" you'll need it.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Calibrated sets in a big box store? Ha! Mention "superblack" to a sales droid and they'd scurry off to the DVD section looking for a nonexistant movie title.



What's the geek going on about now? Google for SMPTE and superblack and hit number 1 will tell you.

 

[Klaitu]

To be honest, if I were buying a TV, Plasma is the last technology I would choose. All the plasmas I have seen run quite hot, and they are very prone to burn-in. I don't know exactly why the new plasmas are dimmer, but it probably has something to do with the burn-in situation.

LCD, especially SXRD is a superior technology to plasma. I'd say save your money for OLED.

SXRD?? What is this 2005? Sony doesn't even make ProJos anymore.
Sony's OLED is nothing more then a "Jones's" TV it's 11" for like $1800+ Wasn't even HD

That's my point. An old technology is still better than plasma. I'd take a HD CRT TV over a plasma.. good luck finding one.

You're right about OLED, it's not in TV's yet, which is why I said "save your money" because whenever they do some out, they're gonna be hella expensive.. but they will look quite good.

 

[Bisz]

That's my point. An old technology is still better than plasma. I'd take a HD CRT TV over a plasma.. good luck finding one.

Yah... and lets not forget to mention that CRT is also better than LCD. Deeper blacks, more accurate colours, etc, etc.

The point being is that though CRT is able to produce more accurate pictures than both Plasma and LCD, Plasma is able to produce more accurate pictures than LCD.

 

[Saturn0660]

Calibrated sets in a big box store? Ha! Mention "superblack" to a sales droid and they'd scurry off to the DVD section looking for a nonexistant movie title.



What's the geek going on about now? Google for SMPTE and superblack and hit number 1 will tell you.

I have TWO Calibrated sets on my sales floor.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Thanks to all who replied in this thread. I've looked and looked at these plasmas along with a co-worker who's also in the market for a new TV right now and just can't pull the trigger on one.

Guess it's either stick with what I got, or roll a dice on the Samsung 52" LCD 240 Hz refresh rate and hope that overcome the motion blur.

 

[Saturn0660]

Next year LG is gonna have 480Hz LCD's

 

[Ziz]

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".

Amen to that.

First thing I did with any set I was interested in was try to get to the setup controls and adjust everything to neutral/50% so that whatever sets I was comparing were on an even keel relative to each other. I hated trying to compare sets in Best Buy because they're all mounted high up on the wall where you can't reach them.

I ended up buying a Westinghouse LCD at BJ's Wholesale Club specfically because I could adjust the controls in there and it looked fine, which confused me because I remembered the same set in BB looking horrible. Then I went back to BB and after staring at the wall of sets I realized that ALL the Westinghouse ones - and ONLY the Westinghouse ones - were the ones that looked washed out and colorless.

BB isn't interested in selling you something good, they want to sell you what makes the store the most profit. If you insist on buying something cheaper, they throw a guilt trip on you like they're doing something wrong selling you what you want.

Really, i mean really.. The fact that you even own a Westinghouse tells all i need to know.. If what you are saying is really the case they would have pushed you into the WH as the markup is higher on those.
The more likely story is that maybe the WH's were made to look crappy so you wouldn't buy one. Hell, i get kickass deal on Tv's and all i can say is "not in my house".

Shit, i'd take a Dynex over a WH. I just hope you had the good sense to buy a service plan. It's not a matter of "if" you need one it's a matter of "when" you'll need it.

Do the letters "F O" mean anything to you?

I found a way to compare sets on an even keel, regardless of brand or price, and bought one that looked good to me. Why overspend for a name?

 

[Mr. B]

Guess it's either stick with what I got, or roll a dice on the Samsung 52" LCD 240 Hz refresh rate and hope that overcome the motion blur.

If only there was content in existence beyond 60hz.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

If only there was content in existence beyond 60hz.

QFT!

 

[Saturn0660]

Do the letters "F O" mean anything to you?

I found a way to compare sets on an even keel, regardless of brand or price, and bought one that looked good to me. Why overspend for a name?

I'm just trying to help. But the problem is all tv's are not the same.

 

[Ziz]

A TV is one of the few electronic devices with truly NO moving parts*, which means there's less chance that something can go wrong. I put more faith in that concept than in the track record of a specific company.




*Unless you want to get nitpicky and count function buttons and access hatches as moving parts, which I don't. The buttons hardly get used because everything is on the remote and hatches exist purely for cosmetic purposes.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

A TV is one of the few electronic devices with truly NO moving parts*,

Some have cooling fans. Our old monitors in Production Control had fan problems, which caused overheating, and one day a monitor went "kablooey" during our noon news. Hilarity ensued.

 

[Bisz]

Guess it's either stick with what I got, or roll a dice on the Samsung 52" LCD 240 Hz refresh rate and hope that overcome the motion blur.

If only there was content in existence beyond 60hz.

I think there is more to it that that. As with almost all things, the refresh rate manufacturers claim for their TVs are not an accurate measure of actual refresh rates, hence the motion blur that is present on some TVs. The details are starting to escape me, but the refresh rate quoted for most TVs is a 'static' refresh rate, if such a thing makes any sense.