Hacker News Reader

Comment by wltr | Hacker News Reader

Do you mind elaborating on plasmas? I have entirely missed this technology, and wonder what’s about it.

I paid $5,000 in 2007 for the best TV you could buy at the time: Pioneer Kuro Elite 50” 1080p plasma. I’m still using it as my only TV. For the past 5 years I’ve been looking to upgrade/replace it with a state-of-the-art top-of-the-line 4k OLED/micro-OLED/quantum dot/etc. — but when I go to look at current screens, none match the almost 3D depth and beauty of my plasma display. So, I’m patiently waiting for my 18-year-old TV to stop working — but much to my amazement it’s never ever needed service! Edit: Smart TVs appeared in 2007-8; mine did not offer this “feature.”

$5,000 in 2007 is equivalent to $7,800 today.

Top of the line 2025 65" Sony Bravia 8 OLED: $2,300

Deep blacks, smooth motion, wide viewing angle. Most people would say OLEDs are better, but some still say the motion is smoother on plasmas.

What about their energy consumption? Aren’t they much hungrier?

Power hungry and heavy as hell. I had a 55” plasma that weighed about 150lb with the base.

Refrigerators, stoves, and washing machines are also heavy as hell. Like our plasma TVs, once situated their weights are irrelevant.

The weight of something that is typically mounted to a wall seems very relevant. Most TV mounts are not rated to hold the weight of a plasma TV. A poorly installed or insufficient mount could definitely fail.

Plasma TVs not mounted to the wall are also concerning for safety reasons. A plasma TV tipped onto a young child would likely cause significant injury above and beyond what an LCD would cause.

I loved my plasma but I feel like the weight was a real issue.

Ah, I narrowly focused on my setup, which since inception in 2007 has consisted of my heavy plasma tv sitting atop the bespoke mount — extremely stable and overbuilt — that came with it atop a solid wood low console table.

Indeed, if the TV were to tip onto a young child it could cause serious injury; no such youngsters here.

As I think more about this, I realize I've never wall-mounted a TV nor would I ever do so: I just prefer them on stands.

Refrigerators, stoves, and washing machines are rarely suspended from walls or situated on consoles from which they could easily be tipped over; televisions, OTOH...

See my response above.

Motion is 100% better on Plasma because OLED's are just a stuttering mess at 24p because of instant response time. People love OLED blacks but the stuttering makes all of them look like total ass.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com