Plasma TV's(How do they rank?)

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water1

Gawd
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Where in the pecking order does a plasma Tv used as a computer monitor rank?
Is it better than a Tn panel LCD monitor but not as good as an IPS or S-IPS panel monitor or are plasma TV's just not as good for PC computing and gaming as a LCD computer monitor would be ?
 
Plasmas are better as TVs than LCD. Better native contrast, Better blacks, less motion artifacts, better viewing angles.

But they still have burn in issues. I wouldn't use one as a monitor.
 
A plasma is like a CRT. The better plasmas exceed IPS probably as they can be calibrated extremely well and have crazy good contrast and color reproduction.

The problem is burn in. They are extremely resistant to it and even for gaming you should not have any issues. But to have a taskbar on them 24/7 and the same windows open constantly would really push towards getting some burn in eventually.
 
water1 said:
Where in the pecking order does a plasma Tv used as a computer monitor rank?
Is it better than a Tn panel LCD monitor but not as good as an IPS or S-IPS panel monitor or are plasma TV's just not as good for PC computing and gaming as a LCD computer monitor would be ?
Click to expand...

I would argue that Plasma is one of the best display technologies, even for PC usage. My reasons for stating this is the ability to display more vibrant colors ie: good saturation (on good panels with good electronics, a significant amount calibration can be done, even before additional software is introduced). Additionally Plasma has some of the darkest blacks out of any currently available display technology.
There is absolutely no worries about backlighting (as it has none) and as a result has excellent real word contrast ratios.
Finally Plasma doesn't suffer from response time issues in the sense that it doesn't have pixels that need to be turned on and off to achieve grey to grey times.

As far as cons: Plasma has been known to have input lag. Good panels have little to none of this, but it can be a concern. In the past burn in was a problem, it isn't any longer. However usually within the first 100 hours of life there is an 'image retention' issue. On avsforums they have break in guides for plasmas to combat this issue, which considering the time most will have the display isn't a real problem.
Plasmas aren't available at 1080p by most manufactures under 50'. This is some-what significant as pixel pitch will be a concern if being viewed closely. And getting a 720p panel quite frankly isn't worth it (at least not to me for the purpose of being a computer display.)

That's about all I can think of, I'm sure someone will tack on some other stuff (or disagree with my opinion and say it's hog-wash etc...)
 
Ive been using a 50" Kuro plasma for 2 years for console & PC gaming and haven't had any issues, I don't use it for everyday web browsing so not sure if a 24/7 taskbar would be an issue, but i know today's plasmas are very resistant to burn in.

You'll definitely appreciate the crazy good contrast ratio & black levels, this is the first non-CRT ive seen that actually looks better than my previous Sony 34XBR960 CRT.
 
mathesar said:
Ive been using a 50" Kuro plasma for 2 years for console & PC gaming and haven't had any issues, I don't use it for everyday web browsing so not sure if a 24/7 taskbar would be an issue, but i know today's plasmas are very resistant to burn in.

You'll definitely appreciate the crazy good contrast ratio & black levels, this is the first non-CRT ive seen that actually looks better than my previous Sony 34XBR960 CRT.
Click to expand...
If it's ok for me to jump in...

Mathesar, how do PC fonts look on your plasma? And more generally, how does the windows environment look? Is slightly sharper & similar to an LCD, or is it slightly softer comparable to older CRT monitors? (or somewhere in between perhaps?)

I ask because i was always curious about how a 42" 1080P plasma would fare as a PC monitor. I know burn-in shouldn't be a problem on newer units especially with screensavers and some common sense.

Sorry for the threadjack, but i was interested and figured it was related to the OP's inquiry.
 
I'd give up my FW900 for something like a 28" 1080p plasma...doesn't exist, though. Don't have room for a 37" (which is pretty much the smallest you can get).
 
SJetski71 said:
If it's ok for me to jump in...

Mathesar, how do PC fonts look on your plasma? And more generally, how does the windows environment look? Is slightly sharper & similar to an LCD, or is it slightly softer comparable to older CRT monitors? (or somewhere in between perhaps?)

I ask because i was always curious about how a 42" 1080P plasma would fare as a PC monitor. I know burn-in shouldn't be a problem on newer units especially with screensavers and some common sense.

Sorry for the threadjack, but i was interested and figured it was related to the OP's inquiry.
Click to expand...

Font's are sharper than CRT monitors but the overall image isnt quite as "clean" as an LCD, Plasma's have an inherent trait known as PWM noise which is mainly only visible the closer you sit, it looks like very faint snow or noise. its hardly noticeable but worth mentioning. I cant see it from my normal seating distance. (google pwm noise for more info)

The overall windows environment looks superb on the Kuro, its noticeable brighter, sharper and more colorful than my previous CRTs, and at the same time has CRT like black levels.

I was able to output a 1:1 PC image without any troubles with my GTX 260 (using a DVI to HDMI cable) so there's no overscan issues either, Of course your mileage may vary depending on plasma model but from what ive heard most have no issues with PC & 1:1 output.
 
Thanks for all the good input.
I had asked because I did some TV shopping and when I was looking at the plasmas TV's I thought the (H)Crew must be using these for PC monitors for shure.
The picture looked like a CRT but the plasmas were much bigger, thinner and lighter than a CRT (well I don't know how heavy a 50" or 60" CRT would be but I would think it would be a lot more than a plasma) so it seemed like they would make a great PC display. I just had to hear what you (H)people thought of plasmas....:cool:
 
..input lag is a non issue for Plasmas.
On the contrary, they have immediate response times like CRT.
Only issue is image retention for static images, which is worse than CRT's especially in the first 500hours of use, where phosphors are sensitive.
Blacks, viewing angles and motion handling is superb, and LCD's have yet to catch up.
..that is in DARK environment! In brightly lit rooms, CR is diminished due to lack of backlighting which LCD panels use and make them more suitable for daytime use.
 
I have a 42" panasonic hooked up to my HTPC and my cable box. Image retention is really not that much of an issue on today's "good" plasma displays. Personally I will only buy from Pioneer or Panasonic just because I have had good results with those two brands.

I will never use an LCD as my main home theater display. I have a 42" LCD for the upstairs TV and the HD is great, but the colors are not even close to the plasma downstairs.

Plus plasma technology has plenty of life left in it. The only real big drawback I see is the fact that plasma TV's are so thick and heavy. However, there was one Panasonic plasma at best buy I saw that was like 2" thick!!! At first I thought it was an LED-LCD, but I asked the sales guy and he confirmed it was a plasma.

I wish they made high resolution plasma's, but they probably won't do that until ultra HD becomes standard, or that other resolution nVidia is trying to push the 2560x1440 one.
 
runnin17 said:
Plus plasma technology has plenty of life left in it. The only real big drawback I see is the fact that plasma TV's are so thick and heavy. However, there was one Panasonic plasma at best buy I saw that was like 2" thick!!! At first I thought it was an LED-LCD, but I asked the sales guy and he confirmed it was a plasma.
Click to expand...
Isn't there a Panasonic plasma that is only one inch thick? LG make some slim plasmas as well.

As far as picture quality goes, I'd say good plasmas beat any LCD tech out there, be it S-PVA, S-IPS or whatever. They produce that natural, CRT-like image with no color shift at any angle and have excellent black levels and motion handling. For PC gaming it is absolutely fine and I'd be confident in leaving a static image on my plasma for a few days but I do believe that using it consistently as a computer monitor would result in a burn in of the taskbar etc unfortunetaly.
 
runnin17 said:
I have a 42" panasonic hooked up to my HTPC and my cable box. Image retention is really not that much of an issue on today's "good" plasma displays. Personally I will only buy from Pioneer or Panasonic just because I have had good results with those two brands.

I will never use an LCD as my main home theater display. I have a 42" LCD for the upstairs TV and the HD is great, but the colors are not even close to the plasma downstairs.

Plus plasma technology has plenty of life left in it. The only real big drawback I see is the fact that plasma TV's are so thick and heavy. However, there was one Panasonic plasma at best buy I saw that was like 2" thick!!! At first I thought it was an LED-LCD, but I asked the sales guy and he confirmed it was a plasma.

I wish they made high resolution plasma's, but they probably won't do that until ultra HD becomes standard, or that other resolution nVidia is trying to push the 2560x1440 one.
Click to expand...

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/.../PN58B860Y2FXZA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail

1.2" thick.

I have the 50" 5 series at 3" thick, but doesn't really matter to me, I don't move my tv all the time anyways. It is one heavy mofo though at 90lbs..
 
I have a Pansonic G10 plasma and it's a million times better than any LCD I've seen with one exception: It gets image persistence VERY quickly. It also goes away pretty quickly (though not as quickly as it gets it). It is not permanent but in some cases it is noticeable and annoying. Example: It seems that even if I'm quick to browse through the menus on my PS3, I will still see the image persist for a little bit on a black screen afterwards. It might be noticible after only, say, 10 seconds of viewing the menu, but it might take 30 to go away. I've only seen it in very dark (e.g. black) screens. I do find it distracting when it happens, and sometimes it makes me regret buying a plasma, but then all the good points of the TV come and make it worthwhile again.
 
drtc said:
..input lag is a non issue for Plasmas.
On the contrary, they have immediate response times like CRT.
Click to expand...

That is absolutely, positively, not true. I have done very extensive testing on this subject using scientific methods,and while Plasmas are generally better than LCDs, (generally!) they ALL (that I have tested) have lag. Every. Single. One. Here's an example of some results:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=16288325&postcount=634

PM me if you want pictures and the full testing methodology.

Moral of the story: Every set is different, every set/monitor has lag. CRTs stand as the only "living" exception. If you're worried about lag, test the set you want to buy before you do it. (most electronics stores will allow it)
 
I have my 50" PDP hooked up via HDMI<>DVI to my PC, and +1 to Plasma's having input lag. I have to enable "Game Mode" on my PN50B650 to lower the input lag to levels that feel like my 24" LCD (Soyo VA panel)

If I run the screen in Movie Mode, it feels like my mouse cursor is delayed, giving that "Moving through mud" feeling, though the image quality in movie mode is better than my LCD
 
My Pioneer 5080HD plasma seems to average around 28 - 30ms lag from my testing, I used Clone mode with my FW900 CRT, The best result was 12ms and worst 49ms. It certainly hasnt been an issue with gaming!

Best:
5080_Lagtest_GameModeOFF_02.jpg


Worst:
5080_Lagtest_GameModeOFF.jpg


Edit: Ive been asked before why the CRT looks "faded" in the shots above, its due to my camera's flash, unfortunately CRT's were never good at absorbing bright lights. The plasma has much better anti-glare properties.
 
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