Eisboch wrote:

There is also quite a bulb cost delta between the technologies. Have
been told the current best value is Samsung's 50" DLP.

Maybe, but you need to go and view a DLP set. I checked them out and the
view angle is terrible. A plasma is much, much better at 170 degrees.

Now this IS getting interesting. Kinda reminds me of that old boat
discussion over 'compomise'...and we do know that some contend they have
"no compromise" boats. However, at least for most of us, compromise is a
fact of life.

LIFESPAN

DLP manufacturers list the backlight bulb hours at around 80,000 hours.
What's more, this bulb can be replaced for as little as $200 in some
cases. Certain DLP TV displays require a technician to change their
bulbs, and this will cost you more than the lamp itself. In other cases,
though, the DLP is configured in a way that makes it easy for a
layperson to replace burned-out bulbs. It all depends on the make and
model of your DLP.

And, since DLP is a mirror and light technology, once the bulb is
replaced, the DLP should perform as well as it did when it was brand
new.

Plasma, by contrast, uses a small electric pulse for each pixel to
excite the rare natural gases argon, neon, and xenon (a k a "phosphors")
to produce the color information and light. As electrons excite the
phosphors, oxygen atoms dissipate. These rare gases actually have a life
and fade over time. Manufacturers of plasma have estimated the life of
these phosphors to be about 60,000 hours. The life of the plasma display
itself is usually determined by half-life of the phosphors. So at 30,000
hours the phosphors will be at their half-life, and the viewer will be
seeing an image that has half the brightness capability that it did when
originally purchased. This should be a good point at which to consider
its life over. The gases in plasma TVs cannot be replaced. There is no
phenomenon of "pumping" new gases into a plasma display.

Advantage: DLP

--
Skipper