Chosing a display for HTPC (2 Viewers)

[AllenConquest]

I'm looking at getting a new flat screen for my living room and linking it to my HTPC. I reckon a 42" display would be best for the viewing distance. This makes me tend towards a plasma. I'd be interested to hear what plasmas people are using in combination with their HTPCs, what resoultions they are using and any other useful information.

Cheers,

Allen

 

[knutinh]

I would have chosen LCD because:
1) Plasmas are generally lower resolution and non-square pixels unless they are very expensive

2) Plasmas dont handle static images (such as the MediaPortal Menu) very well - burn-in


On the other side, Plasmas are said to generally have somewhat better picture quality than lcds, especially dynamic range and temporal characteristics. The use more power however.

Check out www.avsforum.com

-k

 

[AllenConquest]

knutinh,

Thanks for your input.

I've been reading the AVForum and they like the Pioneer 42MXE10 panel as this allows 1:1 pixel mapping at 50Hz (something other plasmas can't do).

I've seen LCD and plasma side-by-side and the plasma look so much better (especially at 42").

I'd be interested in hearing from people actually using a plasma. Do you have burn-in issues? I know that some of the older panels suffered from this, but what about the newer ones? Are the non-square pixels a real problem?

Cheers,

Allen

 

[Marcusb]

An LCD of the size you want would be very expensive, whereas you are looking at the smallest Plasma size.

I have a plasma and it is great. It has a DVI input and burn in only really affects them if the screen is static for days, if not weeks and only really of the screen is showing a very white background.
Early plasmas had this problem most, newer plasmas have intelligence to try and prevent this.

To make totally sure that none of the flatmates leave the screen on overnight or anything, I have turned on the MP screen saver. The screen goes black when on any screen for more than ten seconds.

The picture is excellent and the screen cost less than AU$2000.

 

[AllenConquest]

Marcusb,

Good to hear a positive story from a plasma user. What panel are you using? Do you have a problem with non-square pixels ? What resolution are you running at ?

Sorry for all the questions.

Allen

 

[Marcusb]

we got a TEAC panel. I know they are not exactly the best, but on paper the specifications were actually better than the LG one we were originally looking at.
I can't remember the resolution and I'm away from home for a couple of months so I can't check, sorry. This one handles most resolutions and even different refresh rates. I think it downmixes internally. A friend has a JVC model and it only accepts one res and if you accidentally change it you get the "out of range" message and have to plug in a monitor in order to change it back.

I figure a cheap plasma now and in five years time when whatever new tech takes off an makes plasmas obsolete then you buy the new system and the plasma becomes a bedroom tv.

It seems silly to buy anything that is too expensive now when OLED, SED and who knows what else are just around the corner.

 

[James]

At the moment my vote goes to LCD, because of HDTV. True HDTV plasmas are very expensive. By true HDTV I'm talking 1920x1080 res 1080p (Thats "p" not "i").

Where as, there are some new LCDs coming on the market that can do this. They still may not be quite as large as the plasmas and the contrast is still a little down, but these are improving all the time.

For my example I would take the new BenQ 3750 (37" 1920x1080 real res 800:1 contrast). All this for only CHF 2000.-. Sorry Aussies I saw it there for AU $4000.- and the AU is almost 1:1 with the CHF !!!

They are going to do a 46" version, but there is no price on that yet. We have a 46" Samsung LCD 1920x1080 at work and its great (cost too much), but is fantastic.

So to sum up: LCD now

For those that want to wait I hear SED is the future

/James

 

[Marcusb]

My vote goes to SED as well. The first models are meant to be coming out this year, too.
Then we'll really start seeing wall sized TV's and everything else will become obsolete (maybe not for a few years yet). This is why I don't think it's wise to spend any more than a couple of thousand now.

It sucks that the LCD's are so much more expensive here. It shouldn't even be the shipping that's doing it, as most are made in Asia and that's right next door...

Oh well, at least we get lots of sunshine (usually).

 

[Tech Geek]

LCDs last longer than Plasma and are lighter for the same size but true HDTV resolution LCD TVs of 42" or larger are rare or non-existant at the moment. LCD also has a narrower viewing angle compared to Plasma on most screens.

SED may be the future but good luck finding one on the market any time in the next few months.

If you can wait until fall you'll have a few more options. There should be a price drop, more/larger LCDs and possibly a few SED sets.

 

[Marcusb]

SED may be the future but good luck finding one on the market any time in the next few months.

If you can wait until fall you'll have a few more options. There should be a price drop, more/larger LCDs and possibly a few SED sets.

That's why I wouldn't want to buy anything more expensive that a cheap Plasma at this stage. Whatever you buy now will likely be obsolete in a few years time. This is also why the "limited" (60,000 hr) life of a cheap plasma isn't really an issue.

I'm really looking forward to SED, but won't buy one until they are pretty mainstream otherwise there will be the usual stupidly high price tags.