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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
calgarian5355 OP
131 posts
 
Thanks for everyone's responses. I went to a few retailers the past couple days and did some preliminary shopping. From what I saw, the plasma screens are indeed better than the LED's. I had my heart set on the very thin bezel on the Samsung LED 7000/8000 series tv's (very sexy!) but in the end, I think I'm going to have to go with the latest VT series of the Panny plasma. The last installment of the Star Wars saga playing on the 65" VT Panasonic plasma was stunning! So now my question is this (and this goes back to my fear of the heat generated by plasmas), would you buy the extended warranty?
soix
8,926 posts
 
I've had a 50" Panny plasma for almost 6 years. For various reasons it's on I'd say almost 18 hours a day and I've never had a problem. I have it hooked up to an APC power conditioner with power regulation (we have frequent power outages/brown outs here) so not sure how much that may be helping, but I think the extended warranty is not necessary. If anything's going to go wrong it usually happens within the first year (or first few months), and the factory warranty would cover that. Love my TV by the way, and I'd buy another Panny plasma in a heartbeat.
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Extended warranty is in almost all cases simply to remove more money from a customers wallet. My Panasonic plas has a in home 12 month warranty parts and service. Studies show this type gear if its going to fail it will right away, well within provided warranty or its most likely to work just fine, problems crop up quickly with few exceptions and extended service plans are almost pure profit as retailers know these facts.
ptmconsulting
1,000 posts
 
Yes, definitely put a power conditioner on whatever TV you buy. The difference and improvement is immediate and obvious. Plug yout TV converter box and DVD player in also while you're at it.
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
Calgarian5355 - Samsung's are very sexy looking, but I do not think think they have the best picture. I think the current Sony line-up is better than Samsung. To me, Samsung is the brightest of the LCD/LEDs but not as crisp. When you turn the brightness down to normal levels, they just do not have the cripsness. But, if you room light levels allow and you do not mind the power drain the V series Panasonic plasma's are very, very good.
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