Beach Hut
Brighton Bhuna Boy
TV talk - widescreen or plasma
Who's got what and some recommendations please.
Who's got what and some recommendations please.
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Wide Screen or Plasma
- Thread starter Beach Hut
- Start date
seagull over sevenoaks
Active member
- Jul 14, 2003
- 398
Plasma tvs are widescreen... and you can change the format!
The choice is between Plasma or LCD.. The picture is better on a Plasma but LCDs are catching up. Only get one if you can sit far enough away from it though or it ends up with a very blocky picture
The choice is between Plasma or LCD.. The picture is better on a Plasma but LCDs are catching up. Only get one if you can sit far enough away from it though or it ends up with a very blocky picture
Rangdo
Registered Cider Drinker
You need to get a good plasma to get a good quality picture. I've got two mates who bought them, got them home and returned them because the picture quality was poor even though they cost 2 grand. You should be able to get a decent size widescreen for a fraction of the price. Also, I've been told that the plasmas have a limited life so you might want to check that out.
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Bwian
Kiss my (_!_)
- Jul 14, 2003
- 15,898
Panasonic's latest HDTV Plasma is awesome-with a price to match (when available). New Samsung Plasma Panels claim to have a life of 60,000 hours which is a lot of TV watching. Earlier plasma panels had a life expectancy of 12,000 hours. Moral here is "Don't buy a used plasma tv".
Buy yourself a cheap CRT widescreen-you can get a decent one now for less than 300 quid and wait for the Plasma/LCD technology to settle down. I'd like a new screen but don't want to pay £1300 minimum for something that is obsolete in a few weeks.
Buy yourself a cheap CRT widescreen-you can get a decent one now for less than 300 quid and wait for the Plasma/LCD technology to settle down. I'd like a new screen but don't want to pay £1300 minimum for something that is obsolete in a few weeks.
Gully
Monkey in a seagull suit.
Depends what you want from it, I have seen some amazing quality pictures on plasma screens, almost like being there if you get my drift. The other thing you need to consider is where you intend to use the TV, will a widescreen be too big, I live in an average sized house and find that my Sony 21" is more than up to the job, picture quality not as good as plasma but pretty damn good nonetheless.
saafend_seagull
Well-known member
well be seeing a huge screen down WHL in jan 
Deano's Right Foot
Well-known member
seagull over sevenoaks said:
Apparently though old fashioned tubes still produce better quality TVs. Spend £1,000 on a Toshiba 100 Mhz TV and it's much better quality than either plasma or lcd (said the Independent a few weeks ago.)
I've still got a squarish Sony triniton TV - I shall drag myself into this century soon maybe with a widescreen jobby...
Rangdo
Registered Cider Drinker
Me too and I love it. I'm sticking with it until it dies.Deano's Right Foot said:
clapham_gull
Legacy Fan
- Aug 20, 2003
- 25,721
I bought a very cheap CRT widescreen BEKO in a supermarket in Liverpool.
Still going strong...
Problem is that until the quality of the transmission gets better (including SKY which some channels are very "compressed") - the higher definition equipment shows up the flaws in the picture.
Have you ever sat right up to the screen on a SKY game and seen how pixellated the picture is ?
My advice is WAIT until the price comes down. I bought a multi-region DVD player a few years back for £300 - look at the prices now !
Still going strong...
Problem is that until the quality of the transmission gets better (including SKY which some channels are very "compressed") - the higher definition equipment shows up the flaws in the picture.
Have you ever sat right up to the screen on a SKY game and seen how pixellated the picture is ?
My advice is WAIT until the price comes down. I bought a multi-region DVD player a few years back for £300 - look at the prices now !
clapham_gull
Legacy Fan
- Aug 20, 2003
- 25,721
Deano's Right Foot said:
I'd have to ask my brother (who actually watches television for a living) but I think that the old cathode ray tube produces a far more watchable picture than those LCD or Plasma things at the moment.
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BRIGHT ON Q
Well-known member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 9,204
Ive got a sony 32" 100 htz widescreen and its well good enough for the average size lounge.You can pick one up for about 700 now.
Uncle C
Well-known member
Here is a word of caution to anyone who likes to watch football on their TV (Everyone here )
I have been looking at LCD TVs and have given up on the idea for now.
The pixell refresh speeds are so slow that when a football is kicked at speed it 'disappears' on screen. So a shot at goal sees the ball on the shooters foot and then in the net - very little in between.
Why do you think all those demo DVDs attracting you in the shops are of fluffy animals sitting nice and still or use static pictures that are photographic in quality. Because LCD can't cope with rapid movements
)I have been looking at LCD TVs and have given up on the idea for now.
The pixell refresh speeds are so slow that when a football is kicked at speed it 'disappears' on screen. So a shot at goal sees the ball on the shooters foot and then in the net - very little in between.
Why do you think all those demo DVDs attracting you in the shops are of fluffy animals sitting nice and still or use static pictures that are photographic in quality. Because LCD can't cope with rapid movements
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Had an 'old' Sony 32" widescreen CRT that was bought about 6 or 7 yeara go when such things cost about £1500.
The quality of the picture is far, far superior to the Sony 26" LCD my wife has just replaced it with, which cost more than £1500.
The quality of the picture is far, far superior to the Sony 26" LCD my wife has just replaced it with, which cost more than £1500.
southstandandy
WEST STAND ANDY
- Jul 9, 2003
- 5,964
I've had a 42" plasma for over a year now and it's great for movies and especially the footy. Over heating can be an issue as can screen burn when images stay on screen for long periods like the Sky logo's. Many of the newer models have built in 'counter' measures that prevent this being a problem.
If you do get one and want to put it on a wall - get it professionally done (it might cost another £200 but if you're spending £3000-£4000 it's worth it). Plus the screens are pretty heavy.
If you can afford one I would recommend having a less expensive Widescreen CRT regular TV for every day use, and use the Plasma for big films and sport which is what I've done. It's also true about the life of the screens. As the pixels making up the image are gas driven the life of the 'unit' is limited to anything between 30,000 and 50,000 hours viewing - which should be enough for most people.
LCD TV's are becoming more competitive against the Plasmas but can be more expensive for the same size and do not deal with fast moving images so well (which is a problem on sports, like a fast moving cricket ball). One advantage LCD's do have is that they don't need their own Tuners, unlike Plasmas which do !
If you've got the cash and the space Plasma's are great, but if you are on a tight budget I would just get a 100hz 32" or 36" Widescreen CRT TV.
Hope this helps.
If you do get one and want to put it on a wall - get it professionally done (it might cost another £200 but if you're spending £3000-£4000 it's worth it). Plus the screens are pretty heavy.
If you can afford one I would recommend having a less expensive Widescreen CRT regular TV for every day use, and use the Plasma for big films and sport which is what I've done. It's also true about the life of the screens. As the pixels making up the image are gas driven the life of the 'unit' is limited to anything between 30,000 and 50,000 hours viewing - which should be enough for most people.
LCD TV's are becoming more competitive against the Plasmas but can be more expensive for the same size and do not deal with fast moving images so well (which is a problem on sports, like a fast moving cricket ball). One advantage LCD's do have is that they don't need their own Tuners, unlike Plasmas which do !
If you've got the cash and the space Plasma's are great, but if you are on a tight budget I would just get a 100hz 32" or 36" Widescreen CRT TV.
Hope this helps.
clapham_gull
Legacy Fan
- Aug 20, 2003
- 25,721
Uncle C said:Here is a word of caution to anyone who likes to watch football on their TV (Everyone here
I have been looking at LCD TVs and have given up on the idea for now.
The pixell refresh speeds are so slow that when a football is kicked at speed it 'disappears' on screen. So a shot at goal sees the ball on the shooters foot and then in the net - very little in between.
Why do you think all those demo DVDs attracting you in the shops are of fluffy animals sitting nice and still or use static pictures that are photographic in quality. Because LCD can't cope with rapid movements
Very good point, which incidently is also a problem with a highly compressed digital transmission. Put that together with an LCD television and you'll sit there thinking what the hell have I spent my money on.
The cathode ray tube is one of those inventions like the internal combustion engine. Everyone wants to replace it, but can't come with anything as effective at a reasonable price.
Get a cheap CRT, for under £500 (that's what I'd do)
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Uncle C
Well-known member
Heres another reason I have a bit of a downer on LCD and even plasma. - Dead or stuck pixels.
Each dot on the screen is made up of a combination of 3 coloured pixels that switch rapidly on and off. There are about 1 million of these per screen. It is almost impossible to avoid one or two being faulty at manufacture or going wrong later.
When this happens they get stuck on one colour and you get a sharp bright pin prick of colour on the screen in say blue or red. Not funny when it's there all the time and your eyes get drawn to it. Kind of spoils the enjoyment.
Can you get it replaced?
Well every manufacturer tolerates a certain number of stuck pixels and therefore will claim the TVs are 'in spec'. So you have one almighty battle if you want it fixed.
The moral of all this is stick with the good old CRT till other technology improves.
Just my 2 pence worth.
Chris
Each dot on the screen is made up of a combination of 3 coloured pixels that switch rapidly on and off. There are about 1 million of these per screen. It is almost impossible to avoid one or two being faulty at manufacture or going wrong later.
When this happens they get stuck on one colour and you get a sharp bright pin prick of colour on the screen in say blue or red. Not funny when it's there all the time and your eyes get drawn to it. Kind of spoils the enjoyment.
Can you get it replaced?
Well every manufacturer tolerates a certain number of stuck pixels and therefore will claim the TVs are 'in spec'. So you have one almighty battle if you want it fixed.
The moral of all this is stick with the good old CRT till other technology improves.
Just my 2 pence worth.
Chris