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Projector or plasma

mlowe

mlowe

Mar 12, 2005
2,558
52
Melbourne, Australia.
#1
I'm tossing up getting a new TV, the one I'm replacing is a 51" projection TV that's done a great job and it's time to give it away.

I'm considering either a panasonic native 1080p res projector or a 50" plasma with the same native res.

You guys that have used projectors and 40-50+" TV's, what's your thoughts?

I mostly watch movies, documentaries and stuff like that. I have another TV which is a 42" which gets used all the time so the projector would be used mainly for movies etc.
 
#4
Tough call. I have a projector (540P) and an LCD (1080P) both for watching movies. I would say the LCD (or in your case plasma) is more versatile: I wouldn't bother with the projector just to watch the news or a dvd on my own. However when friends come over they love the projector.
 
#7
Yes. My roomate got a projector from his work (It didn't work= 3 wires needed to be soldered, but hey, who says buracracy isn't a good thing) so long story short, he got to bring it home.

It's really nice high def. (1080p) and it's amazing to watch anything on a 100" screen, but one caveat; bulbs are EXPENSIVE to replace. You get a lotta hours out of one, but expect to pay 500$ for a new bulb.

~K
 
#9
At the TV station where I work, we've had the opportunity to see a lot of the HD sets available now. I personally would not buy a plasma. Plasma was all the buzz a few years ago, but most of the professional video people I know aren't terribly impressed with them. They are still a high-energy discharge device like a CRT, so they are still susceptible to ghosting (image burn-in) and don't have the image quality of most of the LCDs available now. They seem to have a lot of dithering in the shaded areas. My personal preference right now is the Sony SXRD. See if you can find one in your area to check out. It'll knock your eyes out.

Just my 2cts. :)
 
#10
Our neigbors have a front projection system that is absolutely stunning. It blows away any regular HD TV I've ever seen. It has a special screen that's about 70". He's had about 3 of them over the past few years and I believe the latest one is a Sony. I don't know what he paid for it but I know they're expensive. Between the TV and his sound system it's damn incredible :eek:
 
#13
It seems you guys say the same things I was thinking, I was waiting for a project that did native hd and now they are out here and down from 15K to under 5K it's a worthy prop.

I don't mean to knock anyone but I can't honestly say many hd tvs have impressed me that much. Ghosting and compression shows up really bad and i understand the source could be to blame but given what i'm already used to there hasn't been enough difference to justify the change.

Althought the paper specs may not show it, in real life I've been more impressed by the projectors. Even the less expensive lower res ones have really done well. The one I'm looking at is panasonic PT-AE1000E. The room lighting is no problems as I can make it reasonable dark even in daytime.

BTW, a lot of people told me rear projection was crap at the start and the TV I have now which is samsung has never had the brightness set above 50%. It's been a great unit but now its 6+ it's days are numbered.

Thanks for the feedback, it's good to understand how others see this too.


On the LCD thing, I can't say I've really ever disliked LCD. I use a number of 2ms displays for the PC's and watching almost anything looks too good to be true. Using a good source as in non compressed HD is totally beyond the eyes unless you looking from 1/2" away. Who does?
 
#14
I would also say get LCD, not plasma or projection. I just picked up a 42" 1080 Magnavox (for under a grand!), and it's very nice. You must look for true 1080 (1920x1080 resolution). Many "HDTV" sets are not true 1080, and actually scale to just 720.

As for HDTV, all HDTV programming is not created equal. Stuff transferred from 35mm is just OK. Stuff shot directly onto HD is amazing, and stuff transferred from IMAX is very nice.

Also, where you get your signal has a lot to do with it. Satellite is the worst - the most compression is used. Next is cable; much better (depending on provider) than satellite...but the very best HD? Direct, OTA broadcast. Yes- believe it or not.

If you live close enough to local stations, and there is a nice selection of broadcast HD channels, NOTHING beats an over-the-air picture. It has the least compression of all.

Also, all channels are not "created equal":

NBC: 1080i
CBS: 1080i
ABC:720P
Fox: 720P (originally wanted to do only 480, but they changed)
 
#15
I'm not sure what all the digital stations here transmit in yet but I figured as the tv's and projectors are now starting to deliver the real deal 1080p, I may as well make sure it is. At least when the source is up to spec it's already there.

At the moment I'm using Onkyo gear but moving to a theatre PC setup using an onkyo receiver with hdmi switching and upscaling for the imputs that don't use hdmi so I don't have numerous video cables to the tv. This will eventually run a BR disc so maybe then it will show its best.

What amazed me is all the toss factor with hdmi cables. mmm There digital, the signal either gets there or it doesn't. Errors yes, but it looks funny seeing these cables suffering all the "audiophile" bs that most other cables do.
 
#16
Just to be the odd man out, I would stick with the Plasma, I watch motor racing on mine and it kicks the others, and I also reckon HD is the go, although here it's not really popular, where it is you can really notice the difference on the Plasma, not so much on lcd.
 
#17
Bluesdog said:
Just to be the odd man out, I would stick with the Plasma, I watch motor racing on mine and it kicks the others, and I also reckon HD is the go, although here it's not really popular, where it is you can really notice the difference on the Plasma, not so much on lcd.
Click to expand...

Just recent, I've seen about 3 plasmas that have really stood out. I mean standing in front of about 20 screens, the pioneer and panasonics kicked booty.

I'm thinking a 42" plasma for normal TV viewing in the family room and the projector away from the kids time.
 
#18
DigMe said:
That's a matter of opinion and I disagree. I feel that HD is a much more immersive TV experience...especially if you're set up for surround sound.

bc
Click to expand...

Well put it this way when you have the annoying neighbor kid always bulls***ing about the miracle of HD you'd think it's overrated too, he's always bugging me that my picture signal isn't good enough and how a projector is crap unless it's on HD. Also because of what he hears on those nerd tech shows, he doesn't use his eyes he uses those specs. Now in all honesty I could find a improvement in HD but not the godlike picture he's talking about. I've been to stores that run HD on LCD (he says this is great) and I wasn't impressed at all there was always some kind of blur or something and it wasn't the signal BTW. Put it this way, before we spend 550$ for a new HD receiver than I'll need to know it's that much better, our projector (Panasonic) seems special, it was extremely clear when we went shopping for it, heheheh I remember it made the Sony's look like crap. Heck I remember when the luxury was the Big Screen TV.
 
#19
Basshole said:
...As for HDTV, all HDTV programming is not created equal. Stuff transferred from 35mm is just OK. Stuff shot directly onto HD is amazing, and stuff transferred from IMAX is very nice....
Click to expand...

What? I disagree with the statement concerning 35mm. I don't want to go into technical details, but I think that a proper 35mm transfer to HD looks just as good as images shot directly on HD.
 
#20
mlowe said:
Just recent, I've seen about 3 plasmas that have really stood out. I mean standing in front of about 20 screens, the pioneer and panasonics kicked booty.

I'm thinking a 42" plasma for normal TV viewing in the family room and the projector away from the kids time.
Click to expand...

I was looking on Friday at the same thing and the Plasmas looked far nicer than the LCD screens. Artifacting and pixelation was really obvious on all the LCDs, the plasmas looked much clearer and video playback was smoother.
 

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