Pros&Cons of Plasma, LCD, Direct and Projection (CRT and LCD/DLP) TVs.

[Smokey]

From ConsumerReport's March '04 issue.

Direct view (CRT):13 to 36 in., Less than $100 to $3,000

Still the standard for top picture quality.
Pluses:Mature, proven technology. Least expensive type of TV, with best video quality.
Minuses:Maximum screen size limited. Larger sets are big, bulky, and heavy (more than 200 pounds)

LCD:14 to 46 in., $500 to $11,000

A bright, smooth image is created by a white backlight and thousands of pixels that open and close like shutters.

Pluses:Thin and light. Can be wall-mounted. Sleek look. No risk of burn-in of static images. Some can double as a computer display.
Minuses:Maximum screen size limited--for now, at least. Larger models can be costly. Image may dim as you angle away from center of screen. Have less contrast than direct-view sets. Slow pixel response may make fast-moving images appear fuzzy.

Plasma:32 to 63 in., $3,000 to $25,000

With plasma technology, an image is created by a huge array of tiny fluorescent lights.

Pluses:Screens can be very large. Thin and wall-mountable. Sleek look. High brightness and contrast.
Minuses:Power-hungry. Generate lots of heat. Some lack speakers and tuner. Burn-in of static images a concern. Fairly heavy. Wall-mounting can be costly.

Rear projection (CRT-based):38 to 61 in, $1,000 to $6,000

Three CRT tubes (red, green, blue) with three lenses project the images. The lenses are aligned so that a single color image appears on the screen

Pluses:Lowest price for big-screen TV, with wide selection and plentiful features.
Minuses:Big, bulky, and heavy. CRTs need periodic realignment. Image may dim as you angle away from center of screen.

Rear projection (LCD- & DLP-based):40 to 70 in, $2,800 to $7,000

LCD works by transmitting light through three-chip color, much like a photographic slide.
DLP works by using fast color wheels, which are used to separate the internal lamp's light into color.

Pluses:Thinner and lighter than CRT-based siblings. No risk of burn-in. Higher resolution than CRT-based units.
Minuses:Pricey, especially for bigger screens. LCD-based: black parts of image not truly black. Image may dim as you angle away from center of screen. Backlight bulb may need periodic replacement.

[skeptic]

One disadvantage of plasma screens is that their average lifespan is about 10,000 hours or at least that's how it was when I worked for an AV contractor. If you are a TV freak and watch TV 10 hours a day, that's only about three years. Considering the cost of these units I don't think that is sufficiently long. I also didn't see that the images are any sharper for HDTV than ordinary high quality direct view CRTs on NTSC are at a fracion of the price and far greater longevity.

[Smokey]

One disadvantage of plasma screens is that their average lifespan is about 10,000 hours or at least that's how it was when I worked for an AV contractor. If you are a TV freak and watch TV 10 hours a day, that's only about three years.

Thanks Skeptic for the info.

Given that CRT based RPTV life span (around 10,000 hours) can be expanded by lowering the contrasts and brightness, can we do the same with Plasma TVs and expect it to last longer than 10,000 hrs?

[bacchanal]

One disadvantage of plasma screens is that their average lifespan is about 10,000 hours or at least that's how it was when I worked for an AV contractor. If you are a TV freak and watch TV 10 hours a day, that's only about three years. Considering the cost of these units I don't think that is sufficiently long. I also didn't see that the images are any sharper for HDTV than ordinary high quality direct view CRTs on NTSC are at a fracion of the price and far greater longevity.

I've read that that is somewhat of a myth. Plasmas really haven't been around long enough to see much proof of it. It may be true for the older plasma sets too. I remember reading a discussion of this saying that the newer ones were probably more like 25,000 hours conservatively. I think they were saying like a 10 yr life expectancy...not entirely sure on that though. I'd post the article, but I can't find it. I think it was on anandtech.com or hardocp.com. It's what the warranty says that really matters I suppose.

[skeptic]

The warranty only tells you who will pay to replace it if it fails. Even the proven technology of a CRT will not get you replacement after a year. It wasn't a myth. The people I worked for told me this much to my surprise. They were not amateurs or hobbyists.

[Chas Underhay]

One disadvantage of plasma screens is that their average lifespan is about 10,000 hours or at least that's how it was when I worked for an AV contractor. If you are a TV freak and watch TV 10 hours a day, that's only about three years. Considering the cost of these units I don't think that is sufficiently long. I also didn't see that the images are any sharper for HDTV than ordinary high quality direct view CRTs on NTSC are at a fracion of the price and far greater longevity.

I'm inclined to agree with Mr Skeptic on this one. We had to buy a new TV about a year ago and looked at a 37" plasma as we wanted it to be as small and neat as possible. We eventually bought a Toshiba "picture frame" CRT type TV, it was less than half the price of the plasma, better performance (picture quality) and as far as longevity is concerned; if you are daft enough to buy the 5 year extended warranty, it would have cost about £300.00 for the CRT TV but it was about £1500.00 for the plasma. That shows just how much faith the dealers have in them.

[topspeed]

Funny, I spent a couple hours talking about this same thing at an A/V dealer this past weekend. He actually likes plasmas and says the longevity thing is a myth....HOWEVER...he still like crt rptv's best. They offer the best picture/dollar ratio, bottom line. He was actually down on LCD's because of the blurring problem which I experienced first hand watching the Rose Bowl on my friend'd new Sony LCD set. He says there's nothing you can do about it as it's inherent in the design. He also mentioned he sells probably 50-60% of the Sony XBR lcd's on looks alone, not picture quality. I do admit they are a sick looking monitor! The other problem with plasmas is that when they break, manufacturers don't like techs to screw around with them and instead send a whole new board. So instead of a $100-200 repair that you might absorb on a crt rptv, it's more like $1000+ for plasmas. Ouch.

BTW, he also agreed with what the CEA reported that prices are expected to drop 30+% this year. Woodman concurred.

[Smokey]

Thanks everybody for info. It come in handy for those who looking to buy a new TV.

He was actually down on LCD's because of the blurring problem which I experienced first hand watching the Rose Bowl on my friend'd new Sony LCD set. He says there's nothing you can do about it as it's inherent in the design.

I have looked at larger LCD models in Bestbuy, and picture still seem to be somewhat "artificial" to me. I don't know how to describe it, but fuzzy or pixeled might describe it for lack of better term

[skeptic]

I'd call it fuzzy. The borders between different colors and different shapes are not tack sharp. That loses the small details. This defeats the entire concept of HDTV. The only remaining advantage is therefore the aspect ratio. Personally, I'd wait for better technology to come along and at a much better price. I think that the solid state displays look much better although the do have some light falloff as you move off axis. Not nearly as bad as a projection tv though. I'd wait for them to get bigger and cheaper. Probably about 5 years. At that time, my newest TVs will be 9 years old so that may be just about the right time for me to switch over.

[vivisimonvi]

I like my Sony 15' LCD computer screen a WHOLE lot better than my 24' flatscreen Toshiba CRT. I watch movies and play games on here instead of using the flatscreen. There doesn't seem to be flickering at all (since this discovery I dislike the CRT's now because of this). The images are crystal clear even in high resolution mode (although DVD resolution is lower, this brings out artifacts on the actual screen).

Aren't computer monitors meant to be progressive scan compatible? I tried to play a PS2 game in progressive mode through my computer but the signal didn't register (this was at 1024 X 768... I tried lower resolutions and that didn't work either... Am I doing something wrong here? Tried on my other computer using a CRT monitor, didn't work on there either.

I used the PS' RCA cable through the RCA inputs of two ATI capture cards installed on each machine (the AIW Rage 128 Pro and the 8500DV Radeon).

[Smokey]

I used the PS' RCA cable through the RCA inputs of two ATI capture cards installed on each machine (the AIW Rage 128 Pro and the 8500DV Radeon).

I believe for progressive mode, you have to use component connection, or I am guessing-SVGA connection.

[omikey]

Here's an artical from http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com
Lots of good info on this site about Plasma, CRT and LCD

Plasma TV Monitor Articles Series

Plasma Monitor/TV Longevity
By Robert Wiley
Copyright © 2001 PlasmaTVBuyingGuide.com
All Rights Reserved.
01-30-2002
Updated 07-23-2002

There has been much discussion recently about the life expectancy of plasma monitor/TVs. It is an interesting topic with many misconceptions and story variations. The following is what I can advise on the topic:

Misconception #1: Many retailers seem to be telling consumers that plasma monitors will only last a couple of years which is false as you will see below.

Misconception #2: The gas plasma inside the plasma TV can be refilled or replaced when it burns out. This is false.

So how long will a plasma last? The long and short of it is that it depends upon your daily hourly usage as well as how you use the monitor. 12 to 17 years is my short answer.

One practical example I will cite here is the Panasonic Tau units being used by In Motion Pictures at major airports around the country. These plasma monitors have been in use now for 3 -1/2 years. In Motion Pictures displays images on them from 6AM until 10PM daily (16 hours). These plasma TVs still look great. They never fail to catch my eye as I pass by in one airport or another. If they have lost some of their brightness level I can hardly tell. The naked eye test is always best. These plasma displays have been used already for almost 20,000 hours and have plenty of life left. Already this use equates to 18 years for an owner that watches 3 hours of video or computer content per day.

Manufacturers figures for longevity are closely guarded but I have added some here for your review:

Panasonic: States (not publicly) that the monitor is good for 20,000 to 30,000 hours. They also state that these plasma displays measure 50% brightness (phosphor ignition may be a better term) at 50,000 hours.

Fujitsu: States that the panel lasts 20,000 to 25,000 hours

Pioneer: States that the 50" PDP 502MX (or 505HD) measures half brightness (phosphor ignition) at 30,000 hours of use. They also state the newer model 503CMX (or Pro 1000HD) with a deeper pixel structure will last even longer though they do not have numbers.

Sharp: States that plasma panels only last 10,000 to 20,000 hours and that LCD monitors last longer. Figures they would say that.

For consumer use these numbers should be comforting. Plasma Displays are now about equivalent in longevity to CRTs, which typically state 25,000 hours or so life. Let's put these hours in perspective. The average U.S. household watches 4 to 6 hours of television per day. Staggering. Taking a mean time manufacturer stated longevity of 22,500 hours of usage, times our average 5 hours per day we come up with over 12 years of usage. And that is on the low side of estimates. At 4 hours per day and 25,000 hours we are looking at 17 years.

Now, there are varying degrees of phosphor ignition along the way (the same way a CRT fades). Dissipation begins the moment you turn the set on. After 1000 hours of usage a plasma monitor should measure around 94% brightness, which is barely noticeable to the naked eye. At 15,000 to 20,000 hours the monitor should measure around 68% brightness or to say it differently, 68% of the phosphors are being ignited.

There are steps you can take to ensure longer and better life from your plasma display panel.

1) Never leave static images on the unit. Do not pause a picture on the plasma for more than a minute. This will cause phosphor burn in. Watch the unit in full widescreen format as much as possible to avoid differentiation between the side bands of the unit. While this does not actually decrease the longevity of the phosphors it does cause an annoyance to have to play a gray static image to "erase" the burn in.

2) Use Brightness and Contrast levels that are necessary for viewing - not excessive. In a brightly lit room you may need to use more contrast and brightness, which will decrease the life of the unit. However, there are memory setting adjustments available on most recent plasma monitors that allow the user to choose a memory setting to suit viewing needs. At night, or in a lower light room use lower contrast and brightness levels and extend the life.

3) Keep the monitor/TV in a well-ventilated area. The unit will not have to work as hard to cool itself.

4) Turn the unit off when not in use.

5) Keep the unit out of reach of small children.

6) Do not mount the unit face down from the ceiling. (Philips are you listening?)

How do the manufacturers know how to calculate the figures since plasma monitors have not been out long? The manufacturer facilities in Japan test plasma panels at 100% white image light and measure down from that point with meter readings. It takes hours to find that 50% mark - between 30,000 and 50,000 hours. What a job that would be… - to watch the white light.

Copyright © 2002 PlasmaTVBuyingGuide.com All Rights Reserved.

NEW: How To Buy A Plasma Screen Television in 10 easy steps

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This column is distributed by the PlasmaTVBuyingGuide Company, 5590 SW Cherry Ave, Beaverton, OR 97005. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from PlasmaTVBuyingGuide.com or it's affiliated editors. For more information please read our full copyright disclosure.

[woodman]

As usual, C-R makes tons of mistakes when it comes to consumer electronics products. Why, oh why Smokester do you keep posting what C-R says as though it was THE final word? On toothpaste, automobile tires, laundry detergents, canned peas, etc. they might be right on target with the best info. With consumer electronics though, they usually miss the boat by several miles. Here are some examples from this current "scoop" of info:

From ConsumerReport's March '04 issue.

LCD: 14 to 46 in., $500 to $11,000
Pluses:Thin and light. Can be wall-mounted. Sleek look. No risk of burn-in of static images.

Izzat so? AFAIK, the LCD panels are indeed vulnerable to "burn-in", although not to the degree of CRTs.

Minuses:Maximum screen size limited--for now, at least. Larger models can be costly. Image may dim as you angle away from center of screen. Have less contrast than direct-view sets. Slow pixel response may make fast-moving images appear fuzzy.

Here's a poor choice of words ... "can be costly" should read: "are costly" and,
"may dim as you angle away from center of screen" should read: "willdim as you angle away from center of screen"

Plasma: 32 to 63 in., $3,000 to $25,000

With plasma technology, an image is created by a huge array of tiny fluorescent lights.

Not quite fellas ... the image is created by an array of gas-filled chambers that in turn ignite PHOSPHORs - which is what we see, not "fluorescent lights" per se.

Rear projection (CRT-based): 38 to 61 in, $1,000 to $6,000

Minuses:Big, bulky, and heavy. CRTs need periodic realignment. Image may dim as you angle away from center of screen.

Two things here: the need for "realignment" of the CRTs is not a given ... some will need it, and some won't. And again the incorrect use of words: may dim instead of will dim.

Rear projection (LCD- & DLP-based): 40 to 70 in, $2,800 to $7,000

DLP works by using fast color wheels, which are used to separate the internal lamp's light into color.

Wrongo! DLP works by angling nearly a million(!) tiny mirrors to either reflect light or not, and there is typically only one "color wheel" which then separates the reflected light off of the mirrors in precise fashion to produce the desired color(s).

Pluses:Thinner and lighter than CRT-based siblings. No risk of burn-in. Higher resolution than CRT-based units.

Say what? DLP has higher resolution than a CRT-based display? This is the biggest bonehead statement in the entire piece. DLP displays have a maximum number of pixels to make the image of around 920,000 (each mirror = a pixel). CRTs on the other hand can display more than 2,073,000 pixels, making this a no-brainer if there ever was one.

Minuses:Pricey, especially for bigger screens. LCD-based: black parts of image not truly black. Image may dim as you angle away from center of screen. Backlight bulb may need periodic replacement.

Here once again, the incorrect usage of the word MAY instead of WILL. The bulbs used to illuminate both LCD and DLP-based displays generally have a life expectancy of 2,000 to 3,000 hours - that's it. Then the bulb needs replacement.

If C-R really wanted to be helpful to consumers, they should hire someone with actual knowledge about what they're reporting on. Sheeeeesh!

[Smokey]

Say what? DLP-base RPTV has higher resolution than a CRT-based display? This is the biggest bonehead statement in the entire piece. DLP displays have a maximum number of pixels to make the image of around 920,000 (each mirror = a pixel). CRTs on the other hand can display more than 2,073,000 pixels, making this a no-brainer if there ever was one.

Damn it Woodman, why do you always have be right. I checked on that and you are sure right. CR did definitely made a mistake on that subject. I probably will send them an e-mail and let them know about it. Please also see my post concerning this issue in Home theater forum.

Thanks

[DV8mad]

I just wanted to add my .02 to the plasma discussion. I've worked at Best Buy for over 7 years so I was there when we got our first plasma in store. (ohhh... ahhhh....)

Anyways, what I tell customers is that, like anything PLasmas are hit or miss. We carry 11 different plasma models in store as of today. In the time I have worked there we have sent 2 in for repair and junked out 1 because it was completely dead. Personally I tell people that they say life expectancy on these units is between 10-15 years. Luckily we at BBY are not on comission and there are a few of us good guys out there that give the info I do instead of stopping there. After that I tell the customer that were I going to spend that kind of money on a TV it had better be guaranteed, seeing as it is not, I would NEVER buy a plasma myself. I figure, even if you go with the biggest DLP or LCD projo we have you spend almost 1/3 of the price so even if you have to replace it 3 times in 15 years (No way) you'll still break even.

BTW, of course BBY runs these TVs into the ground, they are usually on 12-16 hours a day. As for the numbers, I can tell you the one we junked out was the very first one we ever got, a Phillips POS. That one lasted very nearly 3 years running the hours it did. As for the 2 with repairs, they were both heat related issues of some type (I just saw the paperwork, not the repair process! ) and the service center dumped about $1200 into each of them for repairs.

[Smokey]

Thanks DV8mad fir that info. It seem that two thing re working against Plasma so far (at least for consumers). One is that it does gets hot, and second it is heavy. I also have heard that Plasma don't work too well in high altitude locations (like Colorado).

Hopefully they will work out those kinks before flat displays such as LCD or DPL take over

[IsmaVA]

A couple of cotrrections to the corrections:

LCD and the burn-in issue is an incredibly broad use of the "burn-in" term. CRT exhibit bur-in, LCD exhibit decay and DLP exhibit fatigue . . .son in a borad sense they ALL are subject to "burn in".

A fluorescent lamp is a gas-filled chamber that in turn ignite phosphors. The plasma gas emits uv light which than excites diferents phosphors to produce white light. So, a plasma display is exactly a matrix of fluorescent lights.

DLP work by first separating the light into colors and THEN reflecting it of the DMD chip, not the other way around

[E-Stat]

As usual, C-R makes tons of mistakes when it comes to consumer electronics products. Why, oh why Smokester do you keep posting what C-R says as though it was THE final word? On toothpaste, automobile tires, laundry detergents, canned peas, etc. they might be right on target with the best info. With consumer electronics though, they usually miss the boat by several miles.

Heh, heh. They also make tons of mistakes when it comes to automotive reviews. They make tons of mistakes when it comes to tires. Are you listening Mtry?

rw