I got my latest copy of IEEE Spectrum and there was an in depth review of what's hot and what's not.
Plasma - top end screens are better at burn in and fading. Manufacturers claim they loose 50% brightness at 60,000 hours (5 years) use based on a few hundred hours of testing. But loss oc contract (white to black) is much faster with one measured at 13%some dropped 14% in just 4 weeks. Cheaper models which are the most sold are still bad. They are energy pigs running hotest of all types. Another note. If you live in mountain cities (Colorado springs, Denver, Mexico City) the plasma sets don't work as well due to the low ambient air pressure. Flat panels are limited to ~ 50 inches due to yield issues.
LCD - still limited viewing angles, though better. Flourescent backlights burn out in ~ 7years and have to be replaced (not a do it yourself job). Also as they age the color spectrum shifts from white and needs to be adjusted. There is an LED backlight available now with much longer life but it is big $$$$$ compared to regular LCD. Lowest power usage. Flat panels are limited to ~ 50 inches due to yield issues.
Projection (DLP, microLCD and LCOS) - Cabinet depth has dropped to 15-18 inches for big screen sets. Brightness quality in bright rooms is much better than it was. The special projection lamps metal halide age well but only last 1000-2000 hours! That is 1, maybe 2 years of use at best. Replacement cost can be $300-400. A new UHP lamp from Phillips is in better sets and lasts longer (3000-10000 hrs) using less electicity (it's mecury vapor type). Note the LCD lamps are being developed for projection sets in the next 3-4 years but will not be cheap. The high heat from the high intensity lamps degrades the color quality over time. Power usage is between Plasma and LCD. DLP and LCOS can create rainbow effects on high contrast images (bright object, dark background). Only game in town for 50 inch or bigger.
SED - 2 years away. Low power compared to Plasma, flat screen, close to CRT in picture quality. Won't be cheap at first (50% more than Plasma) and technology is owned by a Canon Toshiba partnership.
Sorry no details on issues that would apply to use with a computers like latency and available resolution interpolations.
Someone might want to sticky this.
Plasma - top end screens are better at burn in and fading. Manufacturers claim they loose 50% brightness at 60,000 hours (5 years) use based on a few hundred hours of testing. But loss oc contract (white to black) is much faster with one measured at 13%some dropped 14% in just 4 weeks. Cheaper models which are the most sold are still bad. They are energy pigs running hotest of all types. Another note. If you live in mountain cities (Colorado springs, Denver, Mexico City) the plasma sets don't work as well due to the low ambient air pressure. Flat panels are limited to ~ 50 inches due to yield issues.
LCD - still limited viewing angles, though better. Flourescent backlights burn out in ~ 7years and have to be replaced (not a do it yourself job). Also as they age the color spectrum shifts from white and needs to be adjusted. There is an LED backlight available now with much longer life but it is big $$$$$ compared to regular LCD. Lowest power usage. Flat panels are limited to ~ 50 inches due to yield issues.
Projection (DLP, microLCD and LCOS) - Cabinet depth has dropped to 15-18 inches for big screen sets. Brightness quality in bright rooms is much better than it was. The special projection lamps metal halide age well but only last 1000-2000 hours! That is 1, maybe 2 years of use at best. Replacement cost can be $300-400. A new UHP lamp from Phillips is in better sets and lasts longer (3000-10000 hrs) using less electicity (it's mecury vapor type). Note the LCD lamps are being developed for projection sets in the next 3-4 years but will not be cheap. The high heat from the high intensity lamps degrades the color quality over time. Power usage is between Plasma and LCD. DLP and LCOS can create rainbow effects on high contrast images (bright object, dark background). Only game in town for 50 inch or bigger.
SED - 2 years away. Low power compared to Plasma, flat screen, close to CRT in picture quality. Won't be cheap at first (50% more than Plasma) and technology is owned by a Canon Toshiba partnership.
Sorry no details on issues that would apply to use with a computers like latency and available resolution interpolations.
Someone might want to sticky this.