Had a friend in town this past weekend that was commenting how great the picture is on my 4 year old plasma. He just got a fairly highend LCD last year and noticed the difference at my house. It is timely to see this article because so much focus has been on LCD and LED
Plasmas are super for sports, even the older models. I find them easier to watch. I thought LCD would catch plasma by now but they have’nt to my eye. I’m glad plasma is still in the game. I thought the tech might die when the Kuro went under.
I've got a 60" Pioneer Kuro and I've yet been able to find an LCD equal to it........
Plasmas were the rage due to their size and quality but price was a negative factor. As LCD's increased in size, their low price enticed the "big tv" hunters to buy them up. But now that the plasmas have dropped drastically in price, the "big TV" hunters are opting for the quality that goes along with the plasmas.......
Have your friend run through the settings. I missed something when I first got my LCD. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why it looked so much better in the store. Then a friend got a Vizio that was about 2/3 the cost of mine and the picture was amazing, and again making me wonder why mine looked so lousy in comparison.
I flipped to the menu on mine and changed a single setting and the change was dramatic. Sharp Aquos 52" (almost 2 years old). I think the setting was changing the picture to cinema from where I had it set. In the past, I had tinkered with all the obvious settings (color, contrast, etc...), but they just didn't work.
I have a 3 year old, 50 inch Panasonic plasma. I have no complaints.