11-04-2012, 08:54 AM
Just to clear up a few things here..
The smallest commercially available plasma is 42", so these have to be ruled out immediately due to the size restriction of 40". They generally have thicker bezels as well so the sizes are often even larger.
Although manufacturers of plasma TV's state a 600hz refresh rate, this in fact is referring to the sub-field drive which is the processing unit which drives the picture. In reality, this is split into 12 lots of 50hz. Now, new technology mostly pioneered by Panasonic is bringing this figure up, however you will not see much more than a 150hz panel refresh rate with even the best plasmas.
Compare this to LED/LCD TV's however, and it is better. The reason for this is that although Samsung (for example) may advertise an 800hz refresh rate with their 8000 series, it is in fact more like 100hz. They get around this by inserting black slides between picture frames, giving the appearance of a smooth picture. If you read the small print, you will find that they never specifically say that the panel has 800hz, they say that it has an 800hz CMR (clear motion rate). Very different things.
The other important factor is response time, which a lot of people ignore when shopping for a tv.
It is also worth mentioning that modern plasma TV's are very resilient to screen burn, technology like orbital pixel shifting has almost nullified this effect.
I will also say that the top end Samsungs are blighted with clouding around the edges of the screen, particularly on the 7000 and 8000 series. I know this because I sell TV's, and have had a lot of these exchanged/refunded. If you decide to purchase one of these please make sure you test it thoroughly in a dark room.
Umm I think that's all.
Edit: Oh yeah, ultimately it comes down to cost. Midnightclub is right in saying that some plasma's are quality bits of kit, for example the Panasonic VT30's are some of the best TV's I have ever seen. However they are generally a fair bit more expensive.
The smallest commercially available plasma is 42", so these have to be ruled out immediately due to the size restriction of 40". They generally have thicker bezels as well so the sizes are often even larger.
Although manufacturers of plasma TV's state a 600hz refresh rate, this in fact is referring to the sub-field drive which is the processing unit which drives the picture. In reality, this is split into 12 lots of 50hz. Now, new technology mostly pioneered by Panasonic is bringing this figure up, however you will not see much more than a 150hz panel refresh rate with even the best plasmas.
Compare this to LED/LCD TV's however, and it is better. The reason for this is that although Samsung (for example) may advertise an 800hz refresh rate with their 8000 series, it is in fact more like 100hz. They get around this by inserting black slides between picture frames, giving the appearance of a smooth picture. If you read the small print, you will find that they never specifically say that the panel has 800hz, they say that it has an 800hz CMR (clear motion rate). Very different things.
The other important factor is response time, which a lot of people ignore when shopping for a tv.
It is also worth mentioning that modern plasma TV's are very resilient to screen burn, technology like orbital pixel shifting has almost nullified this effect.
I will also say that the top end Samsungs are blighted with clouding around the edges of the screen, particularly on the 7000 and 8000 series. I know this because I sell TV's, and have had a lot of these exchanged/refunded. If you decide to purchase one of these please make sure you test it thoroughly in a dark room.
Umm I think that's all.
Edit: Oh yeah, ultimately it comes down to cost. Midnightclub is right in saying that some plasma's are quality bits of kit, for example the Panasonic VT30's are some of the best TV's I have ever seen. However they are generally a fair bit more expensive.
Captain Standard