I'm currently interested in purchasing a 50-inch plasma and am confused by
what is available in these markets. I have looked at the Panasonic th50 pz
700,
Hitachi 50-inch 601, and Samsung 5084. Do you have any recommendations on
these TVs? Thanks.
-- John
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Hello John,
Thanks for your e-mail. I just answered an email question from an old friend in Toronto who asked me
the same questions. Here's my response, with some edits that address
your specific questions:
The latest issue (March '08) of Consumer Reports magazine has elaborate
tests of plasma
and LCD sets. You should pick up a copy on the newsstand.
While on some products, I find CR's testing inept, I do find their tests of
all types of video displays correlate very closely with my own judgments. Of
the five top-rated 50-inch plasma displays tested by CR, three are
Panasonics,
all beginning with "TH-50" in the model numbers. The Samsung HP-T5064 is
just behind the Panasonics. The Samsung HP-T5084 is not as highly rated.
I've generally
found the Hitachi plasmas, while good, are not the equal of the Panasonics
or Samsungs. LG is also quite good, but a bit behind the Panasonic and
Samsung.
By the way, many of these sets--LCD and plasma-- are available in "1080p" or
"720p". You don't need 1080p; they're much more expensive and the human eye
can't resolve the differences in detail unless you sit 5 feet from a 50-inch
screen. 720p sets are full high definition and cost much less.
There are two kinds of flat panel TVs--LCD and plasma. Plasma displays have
the best picture quality viewed even from extreme angles at the sides, and
the "blacks" are blacker--less grayish than LCD--and they don't have any
blurring with fast horizontal motion.
LCD can be brighter than plasmas but some suffer from fast lateral motion
blurring. With all LCDs, the picture deteriorates (contrast lessens, colors
aren't as saturated) if you view them from angles to either side. That may
not matter to you, and they are very much better in this regard than in past
years.
Plasmas tend to use more electricity than LCD sets and are very expensive in
big screens, more than LCD. The Panasonic plasmas are excellent and much
less expensive than Pioneer, which are mucho dollars, and, in my judgment,
no better.
The Sony Bravia and Samsung LCDs are very very close in quality, and look
better than the Sharp displays in stores and demos. Sony tends to be
expensive, Samsung somewhat less.
Toshiba, often overlooked, also has some excellent LCD sets and they are
often a lot less than Sony or Samsung in the USA. Brands that are
inferior to the above include LG, Hitachi, JVC, RCA, Viewsonic, Vizio,
Polaroid, and Olevia.
Kind regards,
Alan
