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Re: [RFI] Plasma TV's are killing our hobby

To: Howard Leadmon <howard@leadmon.net>
Subject: Re: [RFI] Plasma TV's are killing our hobby
From: "Roger (K8RI)" <k8ri@rogerhalstead.com>
Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:23:22 -0500
List-post: <rfi@contesting.com">mailto:rfi@contesting.com>

On 1/1/2011 3:27 PM, Howard Leadmon wrote:
>   Not to be the devil's advocate, but being a Ham and also a Home Theater
> enthusiast, Plasma has some very distinct advantages over LCD tech at this
> point in time, so I seriously doubt they are just going to vanish overnight.
> I myself even have some Plasma based sets, but I think with the better
> quality models you do get better builds as would be expected.
>
>   That said, plasma has MUCH wider viewing angles than LCD's while maintaining
> color accuracy and brightness levels.
Not necessarily. not all plasma sets create RFI, and many LCD sets can 
match the plasma for viewing angle.
I do a lot of photo editing on the computers so I am quite sensitive to 
color, brightness, saturation, and contrast shifts.
I have a Samsung 40" that has a viewing angle wide enough to be useful 
for bragging rights only.  IOW you get much beyond 45-50 degrees +/- 
(100 degree total) and the foreshortening of any display type renders it 
useless.
>   Yes that has improved in more modern
> LCD sets, but with a Plasma set you can damn have a true 180 degree viewing
> experience is desired.
But the image viewing is useless way before you get that far.  At 90 deg 
+/- (180) all you would see is the edge of the screen.
They advertise the Samsung 40" as having a 178 degree viewing angle. IOW 
the image remains true far beyond a useful viewing angle. I can move to 
60 degrees off the one side and the image is still true, but too narrow 
to be viewed comfortably.
> Plasma, why they don't suffer from the motion blur that is so common on LCD.
Again, something I've never seen and refresh rates are far faster than 
even a 24 fps movie would run.
Unlike the old CRT with a refresh the entire digital image is not 
redrawn frame by frame.
> Last by not least, black levels,
This I agree with, although the average viewer isn't even aware of it.
> and LED dimming for LCD backlighting has
> improved LCD tech a great deal, but you still can't beat the black levels of
> a good plasma (yes there are cheaper ones that don't perform as well), plus
> in general you will find the brightness transitions are also better as shown
> in many tests.
>
>   So though there are some great LCD sets on the market, when it comes to
> eeking out the best possible image quality, and theater movie accuracy, LCD
> still can't beat Plasma, so until that changes, I don't think your going to
> see them vanish from the marketplace...
>
Thing is there are few people who can tell the difference and when 
actually viewing a movie, or show most of those differences that can be 
seen in a static display disappear.

For the average, or rather all but a small number of viewers it comes 
down to weight, cost, and power consumption...and reflections.  One set 
(like those in most homes) is in the livingroom.  In the day time, 
reflections off a glass screen (CRT or Plasma) make viewing difficult. 
Like most people we do not close the curtains to watch TV so the 
lighting is uncontrolled unlike you find in a home theater. In this 
environment the LCD screen is head and shoulders above the plasma.  The 
set in the family room is in a controlled lighting environment.but the 
one in the living room is the one we use well over 90% of the time. 
It's worked out that set in a theater environment is rarely watched. We 
moved the gym equipment into that room and watch that set while working out.

The market is driven, not by those of us who have satellite, cable, and 
OTA (with two antennas at 90-95 feet with preamps), but by the family 
that puts one in the living room with little thought as to lighting.  It 
goes where it's convenient. They have about as much understanding of the 
TV environment as most do of computers. IOW, almost no clue<:-))

73

Roger (K8RI)
> 73's..
>
>
> ---
> Howard Leadmon - WB3FFV
>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: rfi-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:rfi-bounces@contesting.com] On
>> Behalf Of Diane and Edward Swynar
>> Sent: Friday, December 31, 2010 8:33 AM
>> To: Roger (K8RI); rfi@contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [RFI] Plasma TV's are killing our hobby
>>
>> Hi Guys,
>>
>> Just as Roger says, plasma TVs seem to be eclipsed more&  more on the
>> consumer market by other (RFI-friendly) technologies...
>>
>> A friend of mine recently had his 5 year old big screen TV "expire" on him,
> so
>> he paid a visit to a local TV repair shop (rare though they are anymore in
> this
>> throw-away society we live in) to get the tekkie's opinion. Well, the guy
> had a
>> back room just FULL of big TV screens, lining the walls...
>>
>> When my buddy asked if he could maybe buy one of them on-the-cheap&
>> avoid an otherwise expensive repair on his own set, the proprietor told him
> to
>> forget about it---all the TVs in that room were plasma types that had died
>> premature deaths themselves...
>>
>> The guy went on to say that plasma TVs were a waste of money in that they
>> don't last long, they run HOT,&  they're energy hogs. He also said that as
> fast
>> as the plamas come into his shop, they're replaced by LED / LCD
> televisions.
>> In short, the days of plasma TVs are---mercifully---numbered. But I
> continue
>> to scratch my head in wonder as to how the federal regulatory bodies in
> both
>> Canada&  the USA "type accepted" these abominable RFI-generators for
>> consumer use in the first place.
>>
>>
>> ~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
>>
>>
>>
>> *****************************************
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Roger (K8RI)"<k8ri@rogerhalstead.com>
>> To:<rfi@contesting.com>
>> Sent: Friday, December 31, 2010 6:38 AM
>> Subject: Re: [RFI] Plasma TV's are killing our hobby
>>
>>
>>>
>>> On 12/31/2010 4:44 AM, Tony wrote:
>>>> All,
>>>>
>>>> I recently discovered that a neighbors Plasma TV has been the source of
>>>> interference I've been experiencing on HF. Needless to say, it's
>>>> difficult to hear much while beaming in his direction and if it wasn't
>>>> for the fact that I'm far enough away to null the noise in other
>>>> directions, I'd be off the air.
>>> Take heart, it may take a long time, but the plasma is steadily losing
>>> market share and the shortcomings of LCDs are being rapidly overcome to
>>> the point where they are far more popular than the plasma.
>>>
>>> Plasmas are much heavier, take more power, and depending on who you
>> talk
>>> to, have a shorter life than LCDs, particularly the new LCDs that use an
>>> LED light source.  Of course the light sources can be replaced in LCDs
>>> but not in the Plasma.
>>>
>>> Here too I have noises I've yet to explain, or find, but in general HF
>>> is pretty good and I've had only a few noise problems on 75 and 40 this
>>> winter and I'm not so sure they were even in the neighborhood.
>>>
>>> 73 and good luck
>>> happy New Year,
>>>
>>> Roger (K8RI)
>>>> To add insult to injury, the same noise has turned up on another beam
>>>> heading, but fortunately, it's much weaker and not nearly as intrusive.
>>>> The fact that it was discovered a day after Christmas leads me to
>>>> believe that someone received a new Plasma for the holiday.
>>>>
>>>> I hate to say it folks, but I think it's only a matter of time before
> we
>>>> become overwhelmed with devices like these, especially in areas like
>>>> mine where neighbors are within 100 feet of each other.
>>>>
>>>> We're fortunate that our utility company has a special investigator who
>>>> does a terrific job solving RFI issues, so we will pursue this one. I
>>>> feel for those who aren't so lucky.
>>>>
>>>> Tony -K2MO
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