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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
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
1,973 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.
unsound
7,341 posts
 
The new Sharp Elite might be a game changer, an LED that outperforms plasmas, albeit at a pretty hefty price. Plasma still offers the best value, IMHO.
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
Sadly every time you're at BB or a similar store;you don't get to see tv as you see it at home.--They stay away from movies with dark scenes that expose the weakness of milky blacks/and no detail within the blacks you do see.
I guess your average viewer doesn't mind that the colors they see on these demo tvs clips don't look anything like the actual colors. My example: NEVER saw grass the color of grass on most every display at the big box stores. Even the color of the uniforms in these showrooms clips isn't the actual color /if you were at the game.
I guess "DA-glow" color renditions sell more tvs and that's how it has been for years.----And if you like colors more real-life,like and proper grey scale plasma still has the "edge"--pun intended.
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