GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum

When I decided to get my first flat screen TV six months ago I didn't go to the store and look at them and talk to the salesman. Instead I did A LOT of research on the net. You cannot do a side by side comparison in the store because you have no idea what each TV's current setting are. Some customer could come in and turn the brightness up to 100% on the LCD and then turn the brightness down to 30% on the plasma next to it and then walk off. You come along and look at them and think WOW, LCDs are much brighter than Plasmas. These TVs need to be broken in and then set for their optimum performance.

I had no preference between LCD or Plasma and didn't know anything about them until I did my research. Viewing habits will make a difference in your choice. My TV would go in a room that I would watch at night when it was dark. I would be watching Blu-Ray, HD broadcast and playing xbox 360.

The plasma TVs do have a reflective screen and don't work well in a well lit room. LCDs are much better in that respect however since I would only be watching at night it didn't matter and I could go with either one.

I had found out that at the time LCDs were having trouble with motion blur especially in sports or fast action movies. At the time Samsung had the new 120Hz that was supposed to solve that problem but many actual owners reported that it didn't. Motion blur was not a problem with Plasmas. +1 Plasma

When it came to picture quality it seemed that they were equal except for Plasmas had deeper blacks + 1 Plasmas

LCDs are lighter weight than Plasmas but this is a non issue since it isn't a portable item.
A 50" plasm weighs about 80lbs so one person can still get it out of the box and onto a stand. It will take two to wall mount.

The Plasma does put out a little more heat and use more power than an LCD but it's really insignificant and not enough to influence your choice.

The LCD is said to have a longer life than a Plasma. I'm not sure on the numbers but it went something like LCD 15,000 hours and Plasma 10,000 hours ( just guessing but close on the difference ) Even if you get less with the Plasma you would have to watch it 24 hours a day for X years ( to tired to do the math ) before it died and that should be long enough to get your money's worth and you should be ready to get the next TV. So in that respect the longer life of the LCD becomes insignificant as well.

Burn in is a thing of the past and as long as you don't abuse the TV like leave a DVD menu on while you go on vacation it's no longer a problem and shouldn't influence your choice.

After researching the pros and cons and hearing from actual owners I settled on a 50" Panasonic PZ85U Plasma and I couldn't be happier. XBOX on it is stunning. I don't have Blu-Ray yet.

If the OP is going to watch during the day I would recommend getting an LCD. If you're going to watch in a room that you can darken, and won't be watching anything in HD, I would recommend getting a Panasonic 50" plasma 720p which can be had for under $1,000.

I had looked at DLPs but their bulbs can burn out and need to be replaced or serviced after a few years of use.

Projectors can give a killer picture but really need a dedicated home theater type room where you have the size and can darken the room.