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Flat Panel TVs and You - A Buyer's Guide
Flat Panel Televisions:
So you’ve done some research, maybe perused a Best Buy or two, but you’re still not ready to drop the necessary bones to get a flat panel TV. Well, that’s understandable. The technology is constantly evolving, the prices are constantly fluctuating, and it’s hard to get good honest information out of a store employee looking to land a good commission. Here are some tips that might help you cross the void from flat panel envy to flat panel owner.
You’re looking at two major types of flat panel TVs competing in the market today: LCDs and Plasmas. There are pros and cons about each and for the most part it’s going to come down to a matter of personal preference.
LCDs:
LCD TVs are brighter, but don’t have the contrast ratios and color reproduction of a top tier plasma. The latest LCD televisions use an array of LED lights to back-light the panel (as opposed to a single lamp in older models) allowing regions of the screen to dim while others stay bright. This increases contrast ratios and provides a wider color gradient meaning your black levels will be nice and dark and colors will have more depth and detail. Listen to a true AV expert babble on about image quality and you’ll soon realize that good black levels are essential when deciding which TV to buy.
Sure, you can save a big buck going with an older, non-LED back-lit LCD, but watch Aliens in a dark room on your new living room showpiece and those milky blacks are going to stir your stomach.
You’ll also hear people bark on about 120hz refresh rates, or maybe 240hz refresh rates. What the hell does it all mean?! It means the LCD panel can double, or triple its typical refresh rate of 60hz giving live footage like sports events and the Academy Awards a smoother, sharper image quality. You might also notice that when this feature is used while watching 24 frames per second material (movies, a lot of TV shows), it makes things look like a soap opera filmed for the BBC. Thankfully you can toggle this option off on these panels so don’t worry, you can watch Urban Cowboy on DVD and it will still look as beautiful and gritty as it did in the movie theater.
Another boon to having a 120hz TV is that you can watch Blu-ray movies filmed at 24 fps in their original frame rate. You need a Blu-ray player that will support 24fps output, but the change in clarity is worth the effort. See, in order to watch a movie at 24 fps, your television needs to refresh at a rate that is a multiple of 24. So you’ll be seeing each frame 5 times, but with no 2:3 pull-down. Translated: smoother picture.
I guess I should also mention 3D support, but honestly if you’re upgrading your TV so you can jump on the hype train I would advise you to sit on it for awhile. The technology is still very new and buggy, and if you’re planning on hosting a 3D Super Bowl party next year you better be ready to shell out a ton of money on those expensive active-shutter 3D glasses. Even if you don’t have a lot of friends, at nearly 150 bucks a pop for the Sonys you can make do admiring Tom Brady’s dimples in 2D. 3D...it’s just not worth it...yet.
The LCD Verdict: Buy LED backlit, buy Samsung or Sony. 120hz is great for watching the big game, but turn it off during Urban Cowboy. Don’t base a decision off of 3D support. See below for my my top LCD picks:
LCDs:
LCD TVs are brighter, but don’t have the contrast ratios and color reproduction of a top tier plasma. The latest LCD televisions use an array of LED lights to back-light the panel (as opposed to a single lamp in older models) allowing regions of the screen to dim while others stay bright. This increases contrast ratios and provides a wider color gradient meaning your black levels will be nice and dark and colors will have more depth and detail. Listen to a true AV expert babble on about image quality and you’ll soon realize that good black levels are essential when deciding which TV to buy.
Sure, you can save a big buck going with an older, non-LED back-lit LCD, but watch Aliens in a dark room on your new living room showpiece and those milky blacks are going to stir your stomach.
You’ll also hear people bark on about 120hz refresh rates, or maybe 240hz refresh rates. What the hell does it all mean?! It means the LCD panel can double, or triple its typical refresh rate of 60hz giving live footage like sports events and the Academy Awards a smoother, sharper image quality. You might also notice that when this feature is used while watching 24 frames per second material (movies, a lot of TV shows), it makes things look like a soap opera filmed for the BBC. Thankfully you can toggle this option off on these panels so don’t worry, you can watch Urban Cowboy on DVD and it will still look as beautiful and gritty as it did in the movie theater.
Another boon to having a 120hz TV is that you can watch Blu-ray movies filmed at 24 fps in their original frame rate. You need a Blu-ray player that will support 24fps output, but the change in clarity is worth the effort. See, in order to watch a movie at 24 fps, your television needs to refresh at a rate that is a multiple of 24. So you’ll be seeing each frame 5 times, but with no 2:3 pull-down. Translated: smoother picture.
I guess I should also mention 3D support, but honestly if you’re upgrading your TV so you can jump on the hype train I would advise you to sit on it for awhile. The technology is still very new and buggy, and if you’re planning on hosting a 3D Super Bowl party next year you better be ready to shell out a ton of money on those expensive active-shutter 3D glasses. Even if you don’t have a lot of friends, at nearly 150 bucks a pop for the Sonys you can make do admiring Tom Brady’s dimples in 2D. 3D...it’s just not worth it...yet.
The LCD Verdict: Buy LED backlit, buy Samsung or Sony. 120hz is great for watching the big game, but turn it off during Urban Cowboy. Don’t base a decision off of 3D support. See below for my my top LCD picks:
The Best LCDs
Sony BRAVIA XBR-52HX909 52" HDTV-Ready LCD TV
from
$2,498.00
Sony BRAVIA XBR46HX909 46" 3D HDTV LCD TV
from
$2,199.99
Plasma:
I consider myself a home theater aficionado. Don’t believe me? Ask my wife about how often I dust my plasma with a microfiber cloth, or how I complain about film grain being scrubbed away from my favorite movies upon transfer to Blu-ray. I know what you’re thinking and no, I’m not lying about being married, and no, we didn’t meet on eHarmony.
The point is I own a plasma TV and I can say with very little hesitation that I think Plasma TVs deliver the best HD picture money can buy. Why? The answer is simple. It’s all about how plasmas handle light.
As I mentioned before, LCD TVs have to be back-lit. LED or not, you’re getting white light passed through colored sub-pixels to produce the image you’re seeing on screen. Plasmas generate color and light at the pixel level, meaning more color accuracy and better black levels. Slice it any way you’d like, it’s just a fact.
Most plasmas also support 24 frame playback with Blu-ray movies. Keep in mind plasma and LCD refresh rates aren’t comparable because the technologies are inherently different. All that you need to know is plasmas don’t suffer from the same ghosting and motion blur issues you hear LCD users complaining about.
Even better is the fact that plasmas are built on older technology than LED back-lit LCDs meaning you can get a top-of-the-line plasma for much less than a top tier LCD. So what’s the catch? Well, there isn’t one really, but you’ve probably heard a plasma horror story or two at this point, so let’s go ahead and address those fears:
Q: Can a plasma kill me if the glass breaks and the gas escapes?
A: No.
Q: Can a still image burn-in permanently if left on too long on my plasma TV?
A: It’s possible, but with current plasma technology you’d have to leave something static on screen for days at a time. Even then most plasmas have safeguards to combat image retention in the form of pixel orbiters and screen savers. These days it’s really a non-issue.
Q: Don’t plasma TVs burn out pretty quickly? I don’t want to have to buy a new TV in two years!!
A: Once again, it’s a non-issue. A lot of modern plasmas claim a life span of 100,000 hours to half life. That means you could leave your TV on for 10 years straight and it would only lose about half its brightness. By then we’ll be beaming hulu directly into our brains through our iPhone 15s, so like I said, non-issue.
Q: Plasmas are stupid! Like your face!
A: That’s not even a question, and I’m above your petty insults, LCD-fanboy!
The Plasma Verdict: Since the death of the Pioneer plasma brand (sniff, sniff), the clear front runner in this category is Panasonic. See below for my top picks.
The Best Plasmas
Conclusion:
You and I want the same thing, the best picture money can buy. I might have selfishly steered you towards buying a plasma, but the truth is LED LCDs perform very competitively. I’m going to stick to my guns and remain pro-plasma until something better comes along (OLED, google it), but hopefully this guide has given you enough information to make a decision on your own. Go with your instincts, avoid the Best Buy Geek Squad at all costs, never pay for expensive HDMI cables, and don’t pay extra for picture calibration. Buy DVE (Digital Video Essentials) on Blu-ray for 20 bucks and you’ll be a professional calibrator in no time.
Until next time, noble shoppers.
You and I want the same thing, the best picture money can buy. I might have selfishly steered you towards buying a plasma, but the truth is LED LCDs perform very competitively. I’m going to stick to my guns and remain pro-plasma until something better comes along (OLED, google it), but hopefully this guide has given you enough information to make a decision on your own. Go with your instincts, avoid the Best Buy Geek Squad at all costs, never pay for expensive HDMI cables, and don’t pay extra for picture calibration. Buy DVE (Digital Video Essentials) on Blu-ray for 20 bucks and you’ll be a professional calibrator in no time.
Until next time, noble shoppers.
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