Televisions

[crazy88]

LCD, LED, PLASMA. Best type and best brands for each? Longevity and reliability/picture quality most important.

Crazy 88

[chopsticks]

Somewhat subjective but my ranking :

LED
PLASMA
LCD
CRT

Japanese
Korean
European
Taiwanese
Chinese

[BaaBaa.]

Somewhat subjective but my ranking :
AMOLED
LED
PLASMA
LCD
CRT

Edited.

[chopsticks]

Agreed, I always try to shop organic in my local shop

[BaaBaa.]

Agreed, I always try to shop organic in my local shop

I can't afford an AMOLED TV but my phone is!

[stgrhe]

LCD, LED, PLASMA. Best type and best brands for each? Longevity and reliability/picture quality most important.

Crazy 88

For picture quality the plasmas are still superior and especially so the Panasonic's V-series that uses Pioneer's patented technology. The new plasmas also draws less power than the earlier versions.

Here is some information about the various versions:

Plasma Televisions

Plasma television technology is based loosely on the fluorescent light bulb. The display itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green, and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel (picture element).

Although Plasma television technology eliminate the need for the bulky picture tube and electron beam scanning of traditional televisions, because it still employs the burning of phosphors to generate an image, Plasma televisions still suffer from some of the drawbacks of traditional televisions, such as heat generation and screen-burn of static images.

Someone mentioned above that plasma is an old technique but that is not true, it is in fact also a technique of tomorrow. Having said that, plasma technique used in television sets has it limits and draw-backs like any technique.

The advantages of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability at affordable prices.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better colour accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The disadvantages of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TV's are more susceptible to burn-in of static images. However, this problem has diminished greatly in recent years as a result of the incorporation "pixel orbiting" and related technologies.

2. Plasma TV's generate more heat, and thus use more electricity, than LCD's, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Potentially shorter display life span although the gap has been reduced due to technology improvements.

LCD TV Overview

LCD televisions, on the other hand, use a different technology.

Basically, LCD panels are made of two layers of transparent material, which are polarised, and are "glued" together. One of the layers is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Current is then passed through individual crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block light to create images. LCD crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light source, such as florescent bulb is needed for the image created by the LCD to become visible to the viewer.

Unlike standard CRT and Plasma televisions, since there are no phosphors that light up, less power is needed for operation and the light source in an LCD television generates less heat than a Plasma or traditional television. Also, because of the nature of LCD technology, there is no radiation emitted from the screen itself.

The LCD television advantages over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images, although this is not the case with the new plasma types.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma, which makes LCD TVs better for viewing in brightly lit rooms.

5. Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.

6. Longer display life used to be a factor, but now LCD and Plasma sets both have at least 60,000 hour or higher lifespans.

The disadvantages of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks, although the increasing incorporation of LED back-lighting has narrowed this gap.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts). However, this is improving with the recent implementation of 120Hz screen refresh rates and 240 Hz processing in high-end LCD sets.

3. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

4. LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions for larger screens such as 60" and above.

LED Back-lighting

There has been a lot of hype and confusion surrounding the introduction of "LED" Televisions. Even many marketing representatives and sales professionals that should know better are falsely explaining what an LED Television is to their prospective customers. To set the record straight, it is important to note that the LED designation refers to the back-light system used in some newer LCD Televisions, not the chips that produce the image content.

LCD chips and pixels do not produce their own light. In order for an LCD television to produce a visible image the LCD's pixels have to be "back-lit". For more specifics on the back-lighting process needed for LCD Televisions. LED TV's are still LCD TV's. It is just that these new sets use LED back-lights rather than the fluorescent-type back-lights used in most other LCD TV's.

How LED Technology is Used In LCD TV's

The are currently two main ways that LED back-lighting is applied in LCD flat panel televisions.

One type of LED back-lighting is referred to as Edge Lighting. In this method, a series LED back-lights are placed along the outside edges of the screen. The light is then dispersed across the screen. The advantage of this method is that the LED/LCD TV can be made very thin. On the other hand, the disadvantage of Edge Lighting is that black levels are not as deep and the edge area of the screen has a tendency to be brighter than the center area of the screen.

The other type of LED back-lighting is referred to as Full-Array. In this method, several rows of LED's are placed behind the entire surface of the screen. The advantage is that these sets can employ "local dimming". Local dimming means that each LED or a specific group of LED's can be turned on and off independently within certain areas of the screen, thus providing more control of the brightness and darkness for each those areas, depending on the source material being displayed. On the other hand, LCD TVs that employ full array back-lighting are thicker than LCD TV's that employ an Edge-lit LED light source.

If you are considering the purchase of an LED/LCD Television, find out which brands and models are currently using the Edge or Full Array method and take of a look at each type when you go shopping to see which type of LED back-lighting looks best to you.

LED/LCD Televisions vs Standard LCD Televisions

Since LED's are designed differently than standard fluorescent back-light systems, this means that the new LED back-lit LCD sets offer the following differences with standard LCD sets:

1. Lower power consumption.

2. No Mercury used as in some other LCD back-light systems.

3. More balanced colour saturation.

4. In LED/LCD TV's using the Full Array black-light method, there is little or no light leakage in dark scenes. This contributes to even better black levels than traditional or LED Edge-lit LCD televisions.

5. LED/LCD TV's that use the Edge back-light method can be made much thinner than both standard LCD and Full Array LED/LCD televisions.

LED back-light does represent an advance in technology, mostly in bringing LCD TV's up to the performance levels of Plasma Televisions in terms of black level performance, and, at the same time, making even thinner LCD TV designs possible.

On the other hand, because LED back-lighting is new for LCD TV's, these sets are more expensive that non-LED back-lit sets.

Now you know the reason for why there are such a difference in price between different LCD TV's, basically you get what you pay for.

[PeteC]

Concerning the plasmas, I'd like to stress that weight is a big disadvantage. For a 40" you need two strong men to move it, and a table top that is well reinforced. The Panasonic we have came with wall mounts, I'd never trust the strength of the wall to hold the thing. Pete

[expat71NL]

Sky now provides a 3D channel for certain pubs in England (I get a message that I will have to subscribe to it now). It seems that it will be made available free for all HD subscribers before the end of the year. Only problem is that a 3D capable TV is needed. Even more investment. If your thinking of buying a new television now then make sure that it is 3D compatible, that's the future!

[fft100]

3D in thailand ? i dont think so !

At the moment there is only 1 HD channel and that is reputedly not showing real HD TV, but stretched normal stuff.

If UBC cant be bothered with HD, then there will be no need for a 3D ready TV until the price has come down to peanuts.

UBC max definition is 576 * 448 (or something like that). True HD is 1920 * 1080.

Dont waste money. Unless you are buying HD or 3D movies from overseas that is... A non HD TV works very well with the movies shown both on TV and available in the shops. Has anyone ever managed to buy a real HD movie in thailand (1920 * 1080) ?

downloading, the best you get is 1280 * 720, and normally its 640 * 480 (or less), but still better than UBC.

[hhfarang]

I know it's unbelievable and probably not genuine, but I saw an ad on TrueVisions in the last few days about 3D TV coming soon (soon in Thailand may mean ten years).

[cookmanchef]

One thing I don't think has been mentioned, buy 100hz, far superior to 50 hz, 200hz sets are now available but the improvement is much less than 50-100.

I am looking for a new set and as I like to watch a lot of sport I will buy plasma due to the better response times, unfortunately the Panasonic model I want doesn't seem to be on sale in Hua Hin yet.

[stgrhe]

One thing I don't think has been mentioned, buy 100hz, far superior to 50 hz, 200hz sets are now available but the improvement is much less than 50-100.

I am looking for a new set and as I like to watch a lot of sport I will buy plasma due to the better response times, unfortunately the Panasonic model I want doesn't seem to be on sale in Hua Hin yet.

Go to Big Kiang. They would not have the latest models but they would get it for you and probably with a little discount too like they normally offer. Talk to the senior lady who normally sits on the first desk to the left.

[stgrhe]

3D in thailand ? i dont think so !

At the moment there is only 1 HD channel and that is reputedly not showing real HD TV, but stretched normal stuff.

If UBC cant be bothered with HD, then there will be no need for a 3D ready TV until the price has come down to peanuts.

UBC max definition is 576 * 448 (or something like that). True HD is 1920 * 1080.

Dont waste money. Unless you are buying HD or 3D movies from overseas that is... A non HD TV works very well with the movies shown both on TV and available in the shops. Has anyone ever managed to buy a real HD movie in thailand (1920 * 1080) ?

downloading, the best you get is 1280 * 720, and normally its 640 * 480 (or less), but still better than UBC.

Most DVDs are made 720, not 1080. As for HD channels I believe Astro broadcast eight such channels now through its network but I haven't heard of anyone using 3D.

[STEVE G]

I've still got three CRT TVs in Thailand and they've never given me any bother and cost almost nothing.
Just one thing I've noticed on the LG flat-screen TV in my hotel room here is that it takes too long to change from one channel to another, a couple of seconds, so that channel hopping becomes very tedious.
I don't know if that is just the particular model of TV or the type, but it would stop me buying one.