Comments on: Some salespeople still think flat-panel LCDs beat plasmas?

We have to wonder why a salesperson would recommend flat-screen LCD HDTVs at the rate that J.D. Power and Associates claims in a recent report.

[jonderda]

I work for a specialty retailer and have experience with all of the brands mentioned, as well as some that aren't. Not everyone wants the TV with the best specifications, the brightest picture, the fastest refresh rate, etc. If they did then high performance car buyers would only want the car with the best 0-100, the best 60-0, the best whatever spec you can think of. The best car is subjective! The best TV is subjective! If everyone had a dark room, sat X number of feet away, was only watching Blu-Ray movies, then you could say that a certain make and model TV is the best. But different people have different priorities and it is up to a knowledgeable salesperson to explain differences and find the right model for their clients. Different horses for different courses. It is good to have choices, right?

[1fastz28]

I sell t.v's and i always tell people that they are better but 90% of people think i'm lying. Most consumers have false ideas that they will not last as long, cost more, leak radon into their newborns or whatever.

[rockarruda]

Burn-in is not an issue on my plasma.. I do get image retention but they goes away after a few min of normal viewing. Nothing to worry about even after gaming for hours..

[mentok]

I can say from a retail sales perspective that this article is pretty true to life. I made it a point once I was in the position to sell these televisions to become informed because it seems to me, at least at my store, that most sales people aren't. And to that end some retailers such as Target and Wal-mart don't even give you a choice between the two in a number of their stores. When I started my current job we only offered one 40" Magnavox plasma and it was soon discontinued and I haven't seen another plasma set in since.

[ssean227]

If lcd's are so good than why do most 720p plamsa's look better than most 1080p lcd's for about half the price? Ive had a philips plasma for about 5 years still no burn in.

[Seffner01]

Samsung already has a LCD HDTV on the market using LED backlighting. The dynamic contrast ratio is rated 500,000 to 1. So one, what plasma can equal that and second, Cnet is a day late and a dollor short with their comment that Sony is coming out with an LED back lit LCD model. Samsung is already there.

[rolexosborne]

to Seffner01, Panasonic already has several Plasmas with dynamic constrast ratios of 1,000,000:1

[notanexpert]

to Seffner01, The Sony Bravia XBR series has a backlight.

[mattymac03]

i can address a few statements here that might clear the air..
1. yes,plasma tv can burn in.....BUT it isn't permanent 99.99 percent of the time. Take some time to scroll through panasonic, pioneer, samsung, and even lg's main menus and you will find a white wash option/scroll bar or possibly both.. they stimulate the stagnant pixels and thus eliminate the issue.. look at it like stagnant pond water..leave it alone it becomes gross and disgusting, but throw a rock into it and the grossness goes away..same basic principal..
2. the number one reason sales people sell more/pitch more lcd's is like many of you have said.. people come in thinking lcd's are a goodsend and plasma is the devil. and when we ask y they say that a friend told them not to buy one, even though when i ask if it was from his/her personal experience they say no. plasma isn't for everyone, but it's for alot more people than the amount buying them
3. a previous poster stated that the new lcd's are gonna have a contrast of 500,000:1 in dynamic mode, so the static for the sake of arguement will prob be around 30,000:1...off the top of my head, all panasonics starting definately with the 46 and 50 pz85u series have dynamic contrast of 1,000,000:1...the 50pz80u might as well, but i havent looked lately so i'll get back to everyone on that.
4. in my store, circuit city * but ive worked for best buy and have friends still there, as well as sears and hhgregg so i know its not just my store*, on average the best plasma and best lcd in the store in competitive sizes are similar in price. this past week for example...pan th50pz800u was 2399.99...samsung ln52a750 was 2619.99...the 2 highest priced tv's in our store and plasma still cheaper..
5..and this may just be personal opinion, but as ive seen other posters mention it, that makes it fair game to me...120hz is the fastest and lcd can do at present time, and judging by what im reading about the xbr8 and a few other tvs that will come out in april of next year, thats as fast as it will be then as well..did you know plasma CAN do 480hz as a sub rate? if my 4th grade math still serves me right that is 4x faster!!!
6. i have 2 tvs in my house, both hooked up 2 directTv hd dvr boxes and blu ray players on both tvs* pan dmpbd30 on both* i have placed them next to each other with the same blu ray movie, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, playing in sync...the tvs are pan th46pz85u and the son kdl46xbr4..got the sony from my uncle who blows through electronics like toilet paper and purchased the pan...they both are GREAT pictures and am pleased with both, but my critisism of the sony, like all lcd's, is that they look TOO cartoonish and the motion blur in scene 19, the fight in the ministry of magic, is WAY to juddering...the panasonic is much clearer and smoother and it feels like im on the set of the movie, not in an imax watching it.
if anyone wants to share there opinion on the topics above, post away and i will answer a question/have a friendly debate with you..after all, everyone is entitled to their own opinion...
thanks for listening
matt

[iamchrisnyc]

"In our experience, the best plasma sets just look better than the best LCD screen in a demanding home theater environment."

This is the problem. 9/10 people are not setting up home theater environments. They just want a set to casually watch TV on. Kind hard to sell the average Joe on paying nearly double for a Pioneer KURO when the benefit of picture quality is wasted on him.

LCDs sell well because they are relatively cheap, low power, and need less baby sitting than plasmas.