Home audio & video: Plasma vs. LCD or is it Myths vs Lies

Size does matter

Have bought 7 plasmas & LCD’s over the last 4 years. Panasonic plasmas & Sharp LCD’s.

For the record, plasma wins hands down on the large screens, LCD on the small (you can’t buy plasma’s that I know of under 32” anyways). And until Sharp solves the “banding” issue on their largest screens, wouldn’t risk the money on LCD's when you can get Panasonic’s 52” 1080p. And have not been disappointed in any of my seven. All still working flawlessly. And with DirecTV, can’t tell the difference in picture quality between the sets. I could with cable.

Biggest myth: listening to CNET & other “experts” as to proper television size in relation to seating distance, based on outdated guidelines originated for CRT tv’s. ALWAYS buy the next size up from the one you think you need if only for one reason: until all programming is shot AND broadcast in HDTV, there are so many local stations & movies broadcast with black bars on the top and/or sides. So more often than not, the picture fills only 80% of your new large screen.

Biggest mistake: letting my cleaning lady clean a TV screen. And NEVER clean a plasma when it’s warm. Even the mildest cloth & just water can scratch the screen if the TV is on. If you see a smudge while watching a game, wait ‘til it’s over & the TV is cool to clean it. And your cleaning lady is dumb enough, just one cleaning with Windex can ruin a TV screen permanently.