Opinion between a Samsung plasma and LCD of same size ?

[Steve(MS)]

I noticed you mention TV brands in your post. (http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/show...59.html?t=2359)
From looking around on internet, I see a lot of sites and folks
touting Samsung (I don't own Samsung).
I have failed to find a good source that compares TVs without
personal or commercial bias.
What is your opinion between a plasma and LCD of the same size
given that they are comparable in price range?
BTW, thanks for the informative post, not only does it help me but others will benefit also.

[admin]

Although this was intended to be part of the newly-launched main site in a few weeks, I'll leak it now:

Quote:

Overview

The 50-inch Samsung PN50C7000 has high-end features for a medium-range budget. Many of the same features and controls found on the popular 7000-series 3D LED HDTVs can be found on this 7000-series 3D plasma set – and for about $1,000 less.

It can display a new Blu-ray movie in full detail, take advantage of the newest in 3D video technology, as well as improve the quality of your old VHS tape collection. It’s also great for video games or used as a large computer monitor. Aside from some limited input issues, it’s a well-rounded unit that should appeal to TV watchers of all kinds.

Pros

• Priced at only $1,999 – it’s often found for substantially less at online retailers.
• New 3D HDTV technology.
• Dozens of various preset modes and filters to tweak color, brightness and contrast.
• Two types of noise filters to clean up both analog and digital sources.
• Very low reflection off screen, and non-reflective gun-metal black bezel border around screen, so you don’t have to watch yourself watch TV.
• Relatively lightweight with a thin screen.

Cons

• Limited non-HDMI input options. No s-video input.
• The back of the unit gets extremely hot after several hours of use, so think carefully about mounting it on the wall.
• There are menus inside of menus inside of menus. Even experienced users can get lost.
• Depending on which mode the TV is in, and what source the video is coming from, some features and options are unavailable. The manual doesn’t always explain what can and cannot be done with a given mode or source.

Manufacturer’s Description

• 50 inch plasma screen
• 1080p high definition full resolution
• 600Hz with .001ms response time
• 3D ready HDTV, requires 3D Blu-ray player and glasses (not included)
• two 10W stereo speakers with SRS TruSurround HD
• four HDMI, one USB, one composite and one component input
• ATSC off-air digital tuner, plus clear QAM digital cable tuner
• Anynet, Anynet+ and Internet@TV features
• 1.4-inch screen thickness

Detailed Review

While Samsung spends most of its marketing efforts touting jargon-filled (and sometimes meaningless) numbers like 600Hz, 1080p and 1920x1080, the true benefits are as plain as English. A degree in TVology is not required.

• The image is sharp and detailed with smooth motion.
• You can make the picture look as real or as surreal as you want, thanks to many custom color adjustments. These filters include white balance, flesh tone, gamma adjust, color saturation, color temperature, and black level – just to name a few.
• There’s a content-aware feature called “BD Wise” that detects the optimum color settings when using certain Samsung-branded DVD or Blu-ray players.
• You can make your old VHS tapes and DVDs look better, using the noise reduction filters to reduce grain or MPEG block noise.
• The TV protects itself from screen burn, and comes with presets and tweaks that a user can change to his or her preference.
• For Divx lovers, there’s a screen adjustment feature that lets you display videos at a custom size – useful for properly viewing incorrect-sized homemade videos. Stretch or squish videos to fill (or not fill) the screen properly.

On the downside, you might have to invest in some s-video/composite-to-HDMI adapters, to access older devices. Samsung has ignored classic gamers and long-time video collectors.

With only four HDMI ports, one component and one composite input, it won’t be easy to keep a Playstation 2, classic Nintendo, XBOX, VCR, DVD player and DVD recorder all plugged in at the same time. Only three years ago, HDTVs included multiple analog inputs, as well as multiple HDMI inputs. Why change now?

Then again, 10 years ago this would have been a dream TV to many couch potatoes, so it’s hard to complain too much.

So not a bad TV to be watching with.

It's currently $1,600 from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0036WT3YS
Not bad at all -- $400 off street price, which is below MSRP already.

As far as LCD vs plasma, that really varies model to model. In general, I think you'll find some of the very best TVs are LCDs. But cheaply made LCDs stand no chance against a decent plasma set.

More new guides will thoroughly cover plasma vs LCD (vs others), and by using plain English and not the BS you find on the stickers in stores, from salesmen, or from other sites that parrot and repeat the same jargon.

I don't want to leak those just yet.