Plasma Defense Coalition Calls For End To Misinformation

[damonous]

Your feeling isn't enough to make it so. Have you not taken into account any of the shootouts where Plasma excels in all areas of PQ that matter most (contrast ratio, correct grayscale and color accuracy)? ...

This "search for anti-matter black levels" is a bit dubious, if the goal is to achieve a "theater" experience. A front-projected cinema screen really doesn't get ultra-black, and I would consider LCD to actually be more film-like. (Yes, subjective opinion; but one I feel is worth sharing.)

In recent "shootouts" Plasma is no longer the 'gimme' winner (see the one in the recent issue of Home Theater magazine, where nearly all of the judges in a 'blind' comparison test thought a 40" Sony LCD was the lone Panasonic Plasma set in the mix.)

I'll again point to "glare" as a major factor. Given a good name-brand later-model CRT, NOTHING could touch CRT for black levels (not even precious Plasma). However, factor in the relative reduction in fidelity of the surrounding picture due to glare, ...and just how impressive was all that "soot black"?

The glare problem to which you allude is greatly exaggerated. Most serious viewing occurs in the evening hours (you know, most work during the day ), and most rooms possess at least some degree of control of the ambient lighting thanks to blinds.

No, it's not exaggerated. I used to own a 36" flat-screen CRT. I lived like Dracula, with the blinds always closed due to how the glare annoyed me. LCD freed me from that, and I now live like the rest of mankind. I am now a DayWalker! (Or is it "DaySitter"?) I keep my entire 12' sliding-glass window completely open 24x7, and rarely have to worry that I can't see a fantastic picture.

(Oh, and there are lunch-hours & weekends, you know. Nice insinuation, though.)

....You cannot with a straight face claim the viewing angle benefit is the same for both technologies.

No doubt that a Plasma holds color & depth of contrast off-angle much better than LCD. But, I'll repeat that my point is that if I have the window completely open & I'm sitting on the wrong off-angle to the Plasma, I'll never see anything but the retina-searing shine of the sun off of that reflective glass; whereas with LCD's matte glass I might actually be able to watch a picture.

The bottom line is this: LCD has been trying to catch up ever since its inception and even with all the gimmicks, it still hasn't arrived.

Bottom line: If the LCD vs Plasma "battle" is to be 'fixed' so that the voting may only be made on the single aspect of "black level", then yes LCD is still (outside a handful of well-made sets) trying to achieve parity.

But, when you take ALL aspects of what makes a good high-resolution picture, and an easy-to-use product: the "battle" is not so clearly drawn.

As someone who regularly lambasted HD DVD about its technical inferiority, I am somewhat surprised that you would take this stance. ...

I stand behind all of my previous "lambasting" of HD-DVD, thank you!

[tibbydriver]

Im all for Plasmas. I wont bash any other tech in anyway because at some point or another they have all impressed me. I just prefer Plasmas. I currently own a 50" Panny 800u and whenever I do upgrade itll be for another panny Plasma thats most likely bigger.

[vinnie97]

Didn't mean to insinuate you were a night owl, Dam. I'm probably way worse in that regard. Plasma's strength is not only in the black levels, though. I didn't even mention motion resolution, where Plasmas also tend to shine. I will certainly keep enjoying my inferior HD DVD product (actually, I'm scaling my collection down, only because I'm not interested in nesting obsolescence in perpetuity) on my "inferior" Pioneer Plasma, however.

[krammer]

I wonder how my LCD (65") flat pannel will look if I move over to the chair next to mine. Probably the same.

I did own a 46" LCD at one time & yes it was noticeable when I got up out of me seat & walked 5 paces to the left.

As for LCD RPTV's (people have already forgotten, say it ain't so) there is no poor off axis viewing. If you are more than 180 degrees away from a NORMAL viewing angle & expect to see a perfect image, you are just (Insert name here)

My SXRD has great blacks, I admit not as great as Plasma or CRT but close.

Glare & Burn-in are real with any Plasma. Pixel-shift, right.. I'd buy that for a dollar. lol

[CaptKain]

Like everything, LCD and Plasma have their pros and cons. Plasma is superior in properly dimmed rooms for movies with the blacks and contrast. LCD is superior for brightness in lit areas as well as alot less pixelation for videogames and quick motion changes(compared to plasma).

Half empty or half full is a pers pref.

Keep the war going here. lol

[vinnie97]

Burn-in are real with any Plasma. Pixel-shift, right.. I'd buy that for a dollar. lol

Still waiting for some Kuro 9th gen owner to complain about burn-in...I haven't seen it reported yet (unless my memory is failing) and the models are over a year old. Fact of the matter is there are pixel orbiting features that render this concern moot. Yes, it is recommended to view content with varying contrast ratios but, again, I've yet to hear any real world complaint.

as well as alot less pixelation for videogames and quick motion changes(compared to plasma)

^That smells like BS and would suggest that LCDs are better with motion resolution than Plasma...which isn't the case, unless you're describing some other type of phenomenon and I'm misinterpreting.

[Rich86]

Plasmas are nice.
LCDs are nice.
I've viewed them side by side numerous times, and good quality models do a great job using both types of panels.
I'm sticking with our LCD panel for now - maybe migrate to LED someday.
But I do not see a plasma set in our future.
To each his own . . . .

California lawmakers are enough to make anyone crazy, however. Especially if you live here.

[vinnie97]

Plasmas are nice.
LCDs are nice.

Around here it's never that simple.

And yea, CA lawmakers are frightening creatures...every time I see Pelousy I quake and tremble.

[singhcr]

Hey, you gotta love CA.

First they take away our guns, then the gas guzzlers, now plasmas? Jeez. Government knows no bounds, apparantly.

Space issues aside, the CRT HDTV is still king in terms of color, contrast, most notably black levels. They are inky black, even more so than a 2k DLP projector at my local cinema. You don't get 1080p but 1080i looks pretty damn good and I don't see any combing or any other interlacing artifacts in motion that you'd notice with 480i video.

I have a 65" RP CRT HDTV, I would like to upgrade to a CIH 2.40:1 projection system but am finding it difficult to get the same performance.

I would not be surprised to find that CRT's are also banned in CA.

[hatih]

If you are more than 180 degrees away from a NORMAL viewing angle & expect to see a perfect image, you are just (Insert name here)

When you move 180 degrees from your normal viewing place you are behind the TV so, yes, you can't expect to see (any kind of) image.