Well, here's how I see it...


Plasma screens have deep blacks and create a great picture, but every plasma TV I've seen has burn-in problems, even some very expensive ones that I've seen. Rule of thumb with plasmas? You get what you pay for.


LCD's are cheap, and most of them can display a beautiful picture. Most people associate a good picture with higher contrast rather than the number of pixels, so LCD's are, for the most part, the best choice. With that said, keep in mind that LCD's have the WORST blacks, due to the fluorescent light bulbs inside of them. If you go too cheap with an LCD, it's going to be painfully noticeable.


LED's are essentially LCD TV's without the fluorescent light bulbs, instead they use LED's. The product? LED TV's can selectively darken parts of the TV if a particular picture calls for it, creating deeper blacks than LCD TV's. LED's are probably the future of TV, but right now it's too expensive to be an option (for most people). If money wasn't an object though, I'd choose an LED without hesitation, since they have a longer lifespan than Plasmas and LCD's (in order: LED > LCD >  Plasma in terms of lifespan).

I don't think you get it.

Plasma burn in retention is still a very real issue, if you want a worthwhile plasma, you're going to pay more. I've seen it happen in models released this year.

Also, LCD's will NEVER have true blacks, and that's my point. No matter how much they improve, they'll never be the best. That's partly why they're making LED TV's, to achieve those deeper blacks. Stop trying to argue something that will never be true. LCD TV's with the best black levels cost a fortune, and they still can't match LED TV's and similarly priced plasma TV's, they'll ALWAYS be a step behind, no matter how much they improve.

I agree that plasmas have a much more colorful picture and a lot of faults that the have been said to have a few years ago are now not so much of an issue.

lol, I don't get it? You are funny...

Plasma burn in is not really an issue with newer models. Yes it happens, but it is not very common.

When did I ever say LCDs have "true blacks"? Black levels are VERY comparable between LCDs and Plasmas now. The difference between the two is so minimal that most people won't notice enough of a difference to change their mind. 

Plasma is technically better, but theres something about those new LEDs...that just makes them so much more attractive to me. Maybe it's the 1.2'' deep profile

+1 for this.

Philips are also better than Samsung at the moment. They use Samsung screens but the electronics behind them do a better job.

I'll agree that Samsung >=Sony, but Philips? No.

I wouldn't buy a Plasma. They use way too much electricity, and I'd always be worrying about burn-in.

When I buy something expensive, I don't want to be worrying about it all the time. If you (or perhaps a clumsier member of your family) forget to turn off your LCD, it's not a problem unlike with a Plasma.

I guess this is about what it comes to.

With a plasma TV, you are going to get a better picture.  No two ways around that.  However there is always going to be the risk of burn-in.  It's just a part of the way plasmas are made. 

There are people running around with horror stories from plasmas bought back in 2005/2006 that are going to fear burn-in almost no matter what others say.  For them, an LCD is a much better choice because they're not just buying a TV, they're buying piece of mind.  However, if you learn about plasma ownership (turn off factory max settings after purchase, <50 contrast during the first couple months, etc) then you'll be fine.