Ask The Expert: Plasma TV vs 4K TV, which one should you buy right now?

Ask the expert: Are you better off buying a plasma TV or is it worth investing in 4K now?

Now is an interesting time to buy a TV. Panasonic has decided to stop making plasma TVs, making the 2012 models the last in what is arguably the best quality TV technology for movie fans we've had. Panasonic has made some bold claims about its upcoming Studio Master 4K LCDs surpassing plasma, but until we see a finished product only OLED can surpass plasma for black level and Samsung reckons we're three to four years away from OLED being affordable. 

And then you have 4K TVs. Should you buy a top-end plasma TV now while you still can, or are you better off investing in 4K? That's exactly the question one reader had, and our TV expert John Archer was on hand to give him an answer.

Peter S writes:

"I need your help to decide between a Panasonic VT65 plasma and the Sony 65X9005 4K TV. The price difference would only be £1,500, because the Sony is a demo unit.

What would you choose?

Is the 4K future proofing worth the not so good blacks, which for me are on the plasma superior to the Sony? Or will there be so much 4K in say 3-5 years that the plasma will look old fashioned, because it could not handle the much better 4K signals?

Second question, is the Sony VPL-VW500ES 4K projector worth the money, or should I wait one or two more years to see prices for 4K projectors at £4k to £5k for the same quality?"

John Archer: It's worth waiting for new 4K TVs if you can afford to

 

That's a nice dilemma to be faced with! 

I have to say that, if it were me, of the two TVs you mention I personally would go for the Sony 65X9005. I might not have said this up until a month or so ago, but the momentum behind 4K is now so huge that I'm convinced 4K sources are going to arrive sooner and in greater numbers than many people expect.

Given what a difference 4K (when done right, anyway) makes to picture quality I think that if I bought a high-end HD TV now, even one as outstanding as the ZT65, I would find myself feeling frustrated about its lack of 4K compatibility within 12 months.

I should add here that I recently swapped a Pioneer KURO plasma TV for the Sony 65X9005 as my personal TV, and actually to my surprise I have absolutely no regrets about this. The Sony's 65-inch X9005 is an outstanding TV (more so than the 55in version, strangely).

The only other course of action I might suggest you consider is waiting. I know this might sound painful, but the key point is that if you wait for Sony's new 4K TVs to arrive they will carry HDMI 2.0 ports, which in my opinion are well worth holding on for if you can as they will ensure you can enjoy 4K at 60fps without any of the compromises in colour sampling HDMI 1.4 sets use.

The new Sony 4K sets will likely be quite a bit cheaper than the X9005As as well, I suspect, and there's even a new flagship direct LED model in the new Sony range which from what I saw at the CES 2014 (see: Sony 4K in 2014) should deliver a big contrast boost. Though obviously we can't be certain of the performance qualities of Sony's new 4K TVs until we've actually had them to test.

As for the final part of your question, the Sony VW500ES projector is worth every penny of its money. Its price is actually pretty incredible in my opinion for what it offers -- so much so that I would be surprised if 4K projection prices dropped significantly lower for a couple of years (though I'll be happy to be proved wrong on this).

Obviously, if you're trying to decide whether to buy a Sony VW500ES instead of a TV you need to think hard about the circumstances in which you're looking to install it. For instance, projectors are generally not well suited to a normal living room environment due to the way they need total darkness to work at their best. 

If you're looking for something to put into a dedicated home cinema room, though, I'd think very seriously about the VW500ES, though as with the 65X9005A it doesn't have an HDMI 2.0 port, so again you might be better off waiting until a revised model comes out, likely towards the end of 2014.

Ask the Expert is a new feature where our experts answer the burning questions you have about what products to buy and when. If you have a question you really need help with, email andy_vandervell@trustedreviews.com. We cannot guarantee an answer to every question, but the very best of your questions will get featured on the site.

Source: Trusted Reviews
  

Westinghouse takes a different spin on the 4K screen revolution

Westinghouse takes a different spin on the 4K screen revolution - Westinghouse brought big, impressive 4K displays to CES 2014, but even better were its massive interactive whiteboards. Buying advice from the leading technology site.

Want a 4K TV? Try interactive whiteboards

Westinghouse may not be the biggest name in the TV biz right now, but the company did bring some eye-catching products to this year's CES.

See Also: TV trends at CES: 4K, curves and smart TVs

It's playing the 4K game like just about every other TV maker, but unlike its competitors, Westinghouse is also thinking beyond the living room.

Need an example? Try the company's 85-inch 4K "interactive whiteboard" designed for business and classroom use, one that costs a 4K TV-esque price of $13,999 (£8,542, AU$15,515).

It also comes in 55-, 65- and 70-inch varieties with 1080p displays, but the Ultra HD 85-inch version was the star of the show.

Westinghouse envisions the giant touchscreens being used in business settings, for presentations and meetings, as well as in classrooms. Interestingly, they can come with an optional "PC module" that mounts on the back and runs Windows 8; alternately users can plug in their own Windows 7 or Windows 8 computers.

You can use your fingers to draw and tap on the interactive whiteboards, but they also come with a fat "touch pen" stylus.

Class in session

The whiteboards come with special software, called WScribe, that provides handwriting recognition, drawing tools, special interface features, and more that should be perfect for education and business settings.

This interface software also provides various templates, like a football diagram that can be used to map out and discuss plays.


Not for your living room

With the provided touch pen stylus, we wrote "TechRadar" on the screen over a video playing in the background. The whiteboard failed to recognize our admittedly imperfect cursive, though when we switched to normal writing it had no trouble translating it to typeface.

Westinghouse Marketing Communications Manager Brett Hunt said it will learn users' handwriting over time, so your chicken scratch should be legible after some quality sessions with the boards.


The interactive whiteboards can come with an optional computer module on the back

Aside from failing to pick up our script, these whiteboards looked gorgeous and felt great and responsive to use, whether with fingers or with the stylus (Westinghouse likes to brag about its (6-point Touch system with Intuitive Rapid Response").

The 55-, 65- and 70-inch whiteboards go for $2,999 (£1,830, AU$3,324), $4,999 (£3,050, AU$5,541) and $5,999 (£3,660, AU$6,650), respectively, and all come in 1080p. They're available now. The 85-inch 4K version, on the other hand, will cost $13,999 when it launches in the first quarter of 2014.

'Like The Jetsons and The Flintstones combined'

Westinghouse also had numerous TVs on display, including full HD and Ultra HD sets ranging in size from 39- to 85-inches. But its two other televisions, a Smart TV and an adorable retro-style unit, were more interesting by far.

Unfortunately, both are just prototypes for now. Westinghouse doesn't currently offer any Smart TVs because the company believes most consumers already have game consoles, set-top boxes, and other devices capable of running apps like Netflix, Hunt told TechRadar.


Westinghouse's 4K TVs look impressive

And the company has no plans to develop a Smart TV for market on its own, though "we might partner with somebody else to develop [a Smart TV] with us," Hunt said. "We don't have a set date for that yet."

More interesting was the 22-inch 1080p "retro" TV also present in the company's suite. The set looks like what people in the 60s thought the future would be like - it's anachronistic, both old and futuristic at the same time.


But not as impressive as this little fella

"If you had an extra room that's a retro room that would be kind of cool," Hunt said of the set. "It's like The Jetsons and The Flintstones combined."

The picture looked great - despite all the 4K hoopla, full HD is far from outdated - and the design was utterly charming. All it needs is some fake bunny ears, and it could easily sit on the shelves in Urban Outfitters next to coffee table books about marijuana, novelty camera lenses, and slinkies.

Unfortunately that may never occur, as Hunt said the company brought the retro TV to CES simply to gauge people's response to it. The ironic thing is that it was easily the most striking thing Westinghouse has produced in some time - so here's hoping they follow through.

This article originally published at TechRadar here.

Related Posts:

• 4K TV Not Quite Ready for Prime Time
• Computer users, not couch potatoes, will lead the way on 4K high-definition TV
• Akamai CEO on streaming 4K TV into your home (podcast)
• The hottest gadgets of CES 3-D printers to 4K TVs
• CES 2014: Sony's superb new 4K UHD TVs prove there’s more to image quality than just resolution