DEBATE: Plasma or LCD?

[Shane@DBPerformance]

HDMI is digital. It's just like a USB cable. The 1s and 0s either gets there or they don't, there isn't a better 1 or better 0, so any cable that works will give the same data. Analog cables like component video, composite video, speaker wires, etc are effected by material quality and interference. So just buy some on ebay for $5 instead of $100 at Best Buy.

[JustROLLIN]

Werd. I thought that was the case. I usually buy mine on NewEgg.com. Pretty nice cables with gold ends for like $10.

[asshanson]

I have a 47" Toshiba REGZA LCD 1080p that I bought August of 07, and I love it. +1 for the longevity of LCDs

Also some people go out and buy a fancy TV and cheap out on the HDMI cables, make sure to get good cables with a TV if you are spending decent money on it, you will notice a difference. To me thats like putting no name tires on a Ferrari.

^^^ Owned, on both statements. lol

I still don't understand how best buy can get away with selling a "GOLD" usb cable for $30 or whatever other digital cables they have, I guess people don't realize the advantage of a digital signal.

[Halon]

We got our HDMI cable off ebay for something like $8 shipped.

[goodhart]

Have any of you actually seen the difference in cheap and expensive cables? I sure noticed a difference, especially while watching a blu-ray. Now, if all you're going to be doing is watching the HD channels on direct TV or something, then you don't notice the difference, but with blu-ray you notice the difference between the cables

[JET]

Have any of you actually seen the difference in cheap and expensive cables? I sure noticed a difference, especially while watching a blu-ray. Now, if all you're going to be doing is watching the HD channels on direct TV or something, then you don't notice the difference, but with blu-ray you notice the difference between the cables

It's just a psychological difference. Ecoli is 100% right in his post.

[Halon]

As Shane said, HDMI is digital. It's 1's and 0's. As long as the 1 or 0 makes it to the other end, then that's all that matters. A $5 HDMI 6' cable will work just as well as a $70 HDMI 6' cable as long as it can pass 1's and 0's. You spend you're extra money on the expensive cables. I'd rather have that extra money in my savings.

[twack]

well i got the same insignia but one size larger. I like it the picture is really clear and i dont like the picture on most flat screens. Id say keep it its a nice tv.

[desolate]

Plasma tv's are quite a bit different; but are commonly confused with LCD's, plasma's use electronically charged gas to display the image, the technology is very cool but there is a major draw back. From the time you power on a plasma it is not 100% anymore; slowly over time the gas will break down and the picture will not be as vibrant. Sure it might take a year or so of use to see a difference but it is definetly there. I think the image quality initially will be better with a plasma but it will slowly get worse. And if the screen is damaged at all you risk the chance of the gases leaking out and basically making the tv junk. To the best of my knowledge you cannot repair a plasma when it dies.


Plasmas do lose their brightness from initial start up. However they have a lifespan of 60,000 hours. That's at least 12 years at moderately high usage. The TV probably would be replaced by then.

I vote plasma. Primarily for the no loss in brightness when viewed from the sides.

[hellomynameis]

Plasma screens are best for more dedicated home theater arrangements. Their black levels and high contrast ratios are great for lower levels of ambient light and having no direct light sources such as sun coming in a window. Issues with burning images into the screen are possible but are less likely after a few hundred hours use.

LCD screens are a better all purpose choice for viewing in rooms where overhead lights will be on, windows open, et cetera. This is because LCD's tend to be brighter overall. Their picture quality is not as good as plasma but the gap is quickly narrowing.

Pick whichever best suits you and your watching environment.tastes.

Also, as far as HDMI cables go, here's the best test I've seen. They used signal generators and test equipment to determine that, so long as the cable is capable of getting the signal from the source to the TV, there is no difference between cables.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/121777/the_cable_game.html