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Has LED caught up to Plasma?

I know that the plasma tv's in the past were always considered to be better than the LED or LCD formats. I'm wondering if this is still the case. With improvements in technology, has the gap narrowed? I bought a 42" Panasonic Plasma over 8 years ago (and yes, it's still working...wished it would have died by now! lol) and am looking to upgrade to a new 55" tv. In all honestly, when I chose plasma back then, I thought the picture quality of both the plasmas and the LED/LCD models were both very good. Even though my plasmas has lasted all these past 8 years, my big concern is that they do heat up quite a bit....where LED's run much cooler. I'm thinking this might translate into a longer life with and LED tv instead of a plasma. What would you buy today if you were buying??? Plasma or LED?
calgarian5355
theo's avatar
theo
2,700 posts
 
In a word, no. Plasma is still the closest display to the standards set by direct view CRT. I too have high hopes on the OLED technology and hope that my current tv holds out till the OLED tv's are priced low enough for me to afford.
I have looked at the different LED, LCD and DLP displays and always migrate back to the plasma. The sad news is that (rumor only at this point) Panasonic and possibly Sony have plans to stop making TV's. I have only heard that from one source, a dealer, and haven't researched it. Maybe some else here can chime in with more valid evidence of this actually happening. In advance I appologize to anyone offended by my plasma preference, I mean no discredit to your buying decision. All is my opinion based upon what I see. YMMV
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learsfool
1,215 posts
 
I concur that plasma is still quite a bit better. The color seems better than LED because the plasma actually does blacks quite a bit better. It also still looks better for motion, especially sports. Since I watch mostly sports or classic films, plasma is the clear choice for me.

About the rumors that plasma will not be made by Panasonic and Sony, I believe that that is only for models smaller than 50".
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loomisjohnson
1,967 posts
 
i actually spent (too much of) the weekend looking at tvs with a friend and conclude thusly:
1. the overall quality and technological sophistication of flat panels, esp. at the near-giveaway prices, is really incredible
2. to my eyes, the top leds (samsung, sony) have the most vivid, detailed pictures--surprising, since i thought plasma was still the superior technology. the leds do run a lot cooler, too.
3. motion blur on lcd/led seem to be a thing of the past--it doesn't seem to be much more of a factor than on plasma. viewing angles are still much better on plasma.
4. traditional (non-led) lcd tvs are significantly less sharp than the good leds and plasmas; it looks like manufacturers are phasing out the larger size lcds. there are also fewer 720p models out, probably because manufacturing costs of 1080 have gotten so cheap.
5. wearing glasses to watch 3D is really annoying.
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