Simon Scotland
Q. I’m debating my next HDTV purchase. Should I go with a better quality brand (Samsung) 720p plasma with 2,000,000:1 dynamic range or decent brand (Insignia) 1080p LCD with 10,000 dynamic/native range? The price difference is about 50 dollars. - Mike, Phoenix
A. Mike, the short answer is, for $50, go with the better brand every time. It’s a no brainer!
There are only a few manufacturers of the panels themselves. I’ve often seen ‘no name’ brands advertise the fact that they use a panel made by a big name brand. Never be fooled by this. While the panel is a very important part of the screen, the supporting electronics are also very important.
Here you will find the scaler that takes the incoming picture and, if it’s standard definition, scales it to the size of the screen. Other processes take place for high speed motion and color adjustment before delivering the picture to the panel. This means that, for example, a Samsung panel with cheap electronics won’t look as good as a Samsung panel with Samsung electronics.
Developing consumer electronics is an expensive and time-consuming business. It is very difficult for the smaller companies to compete, especially with smaller budgets.
Also, treat manufacturer figures on contrast ratios with caution. The only real way to tell how good a screen will look is to see it demoed when it has been set up correctly.
You might consider the decent brand if you’re talking about a smaller screen that you don’t use very often. But it’s a different story for $50 in your main living room.
@Carlos: I’ll try to tackle the LCD versus plasma aspect.
If you were hoping someone would say something like “Plasma is better than LCD.” you’re going to be disappointed. Like a lot in life, it depends on a lot of factors. I’ll make some generalizations below, but keep in mind, that’s all they are.
Contrast ratios: Manufacturer’s contrast ratios are marketing propaganda, nothing more. This stems from the fact that there is no standard contrast ratio test that manufacturer’s have to use when measuring their sets. Contrast ratios between manufacturers usually can’t be directly compared since they might use different testing procedures.
Size: Plasma tv’s range from 40 inches to 150 inches, and LCD’s range from less than 1 inch to 70 inches. For the most part, once you get above 50-55 inches, prices get ridiculous very quickly.
Price: Normally, you will be able to find an LCD cheaper than the same sized plasma. In general if you compare two televisions that have very similar prices, they will have similar performance. Once you vary the price more than about $50 in either direction, you are missing something, you just have to determine if it’s relevant to you and your viewing pleasure.
Power: LCD televisions usually consume less power than plasma tvs. Older plasma’s are energy pigs, but there are some ‘greener’ plasma televisions on the market now.
Black levels: Most flat screen televisions on the market cannot display pure black. The blacker the blacks, the better the rest of the colors look. Plasma is normally better than LCD for black levels, but this is changing with newer LED backlit LCD televisions… the only problem is that most LED lit LCD’s are $3000+ for edge lit, and $5000+ for local dimming!
Viewing angles: Plasma’s have wider viewing angles than LCD’s do period. If your viewing environment is such that people will have to sit more than 10 degrees off center from the TV, a plasma will look better (ignoring all other factors).
Motion blur: Plasma normally handles fast motion (aka sports) better than LCD, but again, seeing the set in person is much easier than writing a book on the various ways LCD manufacturers have tried to deal with motion blur.
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Rocky, Maybe I can suggest some glasses for you. Blu Ray will always look and… 
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I agree, you have to go with the Samsung. They are top of the line. I am not high on Plasmas. I have one and I absolutely hate the whissing noise that comes from the back. Unless I have my home theater blasted, I am going to be annoyed. But Samsung is quality and the TV picture quality is still amazing.
Samsung Highlight