Advantages and Disadvantages of Plasma TV vs. Projection TV vs LCD TV?

Question

We're buying our first home and my husband wants a new tv for the basement family room which I'm going to "pimp out" for him. lol (I have to so I can get the clawfoot bathtub I want...hehe) Anyway, we're trying to get more information on which of the three options are better: plasma, projection, or lcd. We watch a lot of movies, but tv as well. He was really set on a projection until he read that they suck if you have any light at all, and you have to replace bulbs, and you need separate equipment for certain things. So now he's not so sure, either way. What do you think, based on your experience? Thanks

Answer 1

They all have thier advantages and disadvantages.......

DLP (PROJECTION):

          The bulbs have to be replaced after a certain number of hours, Samsung has an LED DLP that is supposed to go much longer than the others. The veiwing angle of the projections arent that great. (Youll want to have furniture situated farther away so everyone gets a good picture) And most manufacturers are giving up making DLPs altogether.

   But the picture on the better DLPs is really good for both standard and HD tv. (Id suggest the Samsung LED DLP) And the prices on them cant be beat for a HD television that is HUGE

PLASMA

      More vibrant colors, and deeper blacks than that of LCDs or DLPs. Cheaper than most LCDs if you compare the same sizes.

   But it seems to easy to s***w one of these up. Too easy to burn in a picture or ghost as the previous post stated. And you cant play video games on plasmas either cause it will be ruined. And after a while, they have to be recharged (or whatever its called)

LCD

       Great picture, no glare off the screen from lamps, sunlight etc....

The richness of the blacks is nowhere near a plasma, and theyre a bit more expensive,But you get great picture and if you fall asleep with a dvd on, the dvd menu wont burn into your screen. AND you can play games on it.

I prefer the LCD

The one thing I learned though, you DEFINITELY get what you pay for dont scrimp on cost too much, or youll surely regret it.

Answer 2

Projection is old school and if you truly want to "pimp it out" its a no go

Plasma has glass in front of the screen so if there is direct light on it you can get annoying glares and such.  It does offer the best overall quality picture (pending who you ask)

LCD has no glass infront of it, so can be put in brightly lit room, slim, good quality for movies and tv (esp HD)

LCD is my favorite and there are good deals

Answer 3

I work for Walmart in the Electronics department. As others have said, forget the DLP. Heavy, takes too much space, and obsolete technology. They too, are going the way of the dinosaur.

Plasmas, in my opinion, have better pictures. The reason is mainly because the screen is glass. It is more transparent, BUT presents a glare issue. If it is going into a basement with few windows, it will be great. If you have gamers in the house, you just have to make sure you turn the game OFF, or you can get burn in. That also happens with channels like CNN that has the 'ticker tape' running at the bottom, or a logo plastered somewhere on the picture. As long as you don't keep the same frame of picture on the screen, it won't burn in.

I don't know about the recharging in the newer models of plasma. I have heard that they are better than they were, but am not 100% on that.

LCD tv's have a more matte finish to the screen because the screen is made of plastic. It has no glare issues, so it can be put in a room with lots of windows. It doesn't have problems with burn in.

I have owned both a 50" Plasma, AND I now have a 52" LCD.

I bought the plasma 4 years ago. At the time, we wanted an LCD, but the largest screen size in LCD was 37". The plasma was 50". I really loved the picture on the plasma. But about 9 months into ownership, it started crackling and popping in the electrics. We took it back and by then, the LCD's had gotten bigger in size. We were able to get a 52" for $1300 less than the plasma a year before. Have had it for 3 years now and no problems with it.

Both plasmas and LCD's can be hung on the wall.

DLP cannot.

As of right now, Sharp and Sony are the best out there. The next ones down are Samsung and Sanyo. Those all have nice pictures. Stay away from Vizio. I have more of those returned than any of the others. Vizio is made in the US I believe, but there are only like 3 manufacturers of LCD and Plasma tv's in the world right now.

Vizio buys the overstock, DISCONTINUED parts from all 3 manufacturers and builds a tv from those parts. So if anything goes wrong with the tv and needs repair, it's a nightmare because the parts are discontinued and cannot be gotten easily, if at all.

I personally own a Sharp Aquos. I love it. It gives the feel of the theater in my home.

I hope this was not too much information.  

Answer 4

Panel displays represent an expensive purchase, so it's important to understand what you're paying for. Viewing angle, screen size, colour consistency, glare, weight, resolutions and energy costs all need to be considered.

Plasma has dominated the market, until such time that its price tag has been bloom up,  which is considered now mainly for commercial purposes.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) If you are an TV addict, I guess you should have this one. Compared to Plasma, LCD is much cheaper. LCD is now widely used in TFT monitors.

Projectors requires a large area which has minimal lights. Lights/ brightness affects the the image or videos that a projector projects.

Well in choosing among the three. It would likely depend on your budget.    

Answer 5

LCD advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: Bad shading quality

Plasma Advantages: Big and Very good quality

Disadvantages: Expensive

Projection advantages: ??

Disadvantages: As you said "they suck if you have any light at all." "Rainbow effect"   Gigantic and not in a good way.

Answer 6

I have all Plasma and LCD TVs in my house, and I haven't had any problems as of yet.  I have had most of them for over a year now, and they have caused no problems.  If the power goes out at your house a lot, and you have a plasma TV, it may start ghosting (the image on the TV doubles).  LCD TVs don't do that. though.

Answer 7

OK, to the guy who said that you can't play games on a plasma TV cuz it will "ruin" it, you are an F'in idiot.  

Also, SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?  You say they need to "be recharged"  that is the OLDEST MYTH IN THE BOOK.  Plasma TV's have never needed to be "recharged" and never will need to be "recharged"

Go ahead and claim the gas will leak out.  To that, I will answer with this.  Why doesn't the liquid leak out of an LCD?  Hmmmm?  Answer that one for me.  

See?  It sounds pretty stupid doesn't it??   Seriously dude, do some fricken research before you come on here and say that plasma TV's need to be "recharged'.

And to the OP, plasma is your best bet for best overall picture quality, and great value for the price.  You can snag a 50" panasonic plasma these days for about 1,200 if you shop around.