hmm..panasonic plasma or sony lcd?

adomakin · adomakin's Garage

Just about to get my first flat screen. im after some un biased advice on two options- the first is a Sony KDL-40W2000
and the second is the Panasonic TH42 PX 60

I love sonys products and have always bought their stuff. I also have a friend that works for Sony and can get me a 30% discount which makes Sony an even more attractive option but I saw a Panasonic TH42 on display and was impressed by the pic quality.

are there any people out there who can advise me without being biased to one brand? even with the discount the sony is £1300 which makes it £300 dearer than the panasonic but it seem like that sony may be the better performer on paper. this tv will be used mainly for non hd tv with a DVD or two in the evening (if im lucky!)

Jim Richards · 12-19-2006, 08:50 AM

Andy, we have a smaller Sony LCD (XBR product line) and it's quite good. The picture is very crisp and vibrant. We also have a Panasonic plasma. It has a crisp picture, though not quite as vibrant as the Sony LCD. Both are used as you intend (non-hdtv, lots of DVDs). The close captioning (English is second language to my wife so it helps) on the Pansonic is not great. Both have good controls, though the Pansonic seems easier to change from one input source to another. I hope that helps.

Regards,

chuckw951 · 12-19-2006, 09:12 AM

I bought a Panasonic 42" Plasma EDTV a year ago for $1300 (open box). I think they are selling for $999 new in a box today.
I've been impressed so far. Regular TV and DVDs look great. This TV has the ATSC/NTSC/QAM Tuner...so while it is not HDTV is does tune in "HD" channels on cable and downconverts them to 480.

m21sniper · 12-19-2006, 09:27 AM

LCD lasts on average as much as 400% longer than plasma.

Plasma TV's can lose as much as 50% of their brightness in the first five years!(whereas a typical LCD will not be reduced to 50% of it's original brightness for on avg 20 years of use).

For this reason, and after comparing to the new DLP technology(which gives a great pic but still comes in a big-ole' cabinet) i just bought a 37" LCD, and am extremely pleased with it.

Dottore · 12-19-2006, 09:51 AM

LCD all the way!

stevepaa · 12-19-2006, 09:57 AM

SONY LCD 46XBR2 is very nice

MotoSook · 12-19-2006, 10:03 AM

Just bought an LCD Toshiba. Did the research...and choose LCD over Plasma. LCD will last longer, but that may not matter since the TV will be out dated before the LCD burns out.

Here is one of the sources I used when researching.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/static/html/display-lcd-or-plasma.html

Halm · 12-19-2006, 11:55 AM

IMO, there are color difference between plasma and LCD technologies. View for yourself and see what you like best. Just be sure to comapre the room lighting to your home. That will make a difference. For example, most big box stores have florescent lighting while most homes don't.

The rule of thumb I followed was a bright room requires a LCD and a normal or dark room gets best results with plasma. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=40 is the daddy of forums on this stuff.

rammstein · 12-19-2006, 02:05 PM

Souk- EXCELLENT article. Thank you.

Venetian · 12-19-2006, 02:30 PM

I"ve been told that the current Plasma screens last as long as LCD's. Also that Plasma is the way to go with larger(42+) screens.

But than again maybe it was salesman hype...

adomakin · adomakin's Garage

cheers blokes. so much info! Souk, great stuff. Hal, great forum. Im starting to think that the cheaper panasonic Plasma may be the way forward as Ill probably have it for no more than 3 yrs and by then Im sure the tech would have moved on again. also, the money saved would buy me a little 15 inch lcd for the kitchen too!