LG PV400 Plasma -> very dull brightness

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I was in Futureshop this evening checking out the plasma vs lcd scenario.
I was particularly interested in the LG PV400, 50", but was a bit confused by how lacking in brightness the image was, I adjusted the brightness from it's 50 value to Max and then down to it's Min value.
I really didn't notice any change at all. How could this be?
The power saver icon was greyed out... I flipped through the available Picture Modes, and the change between them seemed minimal (couple seconds spent on each one).

Is it possible the TV was recently unboxed and needs a few more hours of ON time?
Is it possible the screen has many many hours of ON time and is basically done?

Regretting that I did not tinker with the contrast as well... My fear is that this tv is a low end plasma and they have skimped on overall brightness... Thoughts??

Edit: it was next to an LED that was super bright (oversaturated imho), so the particular vidfeo it was displaying is not to blame either.
 
Your ideas could be right. When I bought my tv I wasn't happy at first but it has been on enough that it all even out. Same thing happens to headphones I find.

Check the contrast ratio on the tv that will be the huge difference in tv to tv. LED tv have very high ratio which is why they look extra good. The higher it is the better it will look.

I suggest go to other stores and check out the same model because the one you saw may be defective or be next to a much better/ much more expensive model tv to trick customers into buying the more expensive model. Also try to see if HD, cable, DVD or a blueray is playing because it will slightly change how turkey good the tv is. If its playing blueray and you won't be watching tons of blueray than it doesn't matter that it looks good when playing it. See how it looks with what you will be using it most for. Other than that just google like crazy reviews on it.
 
To avoid confusion (or perhaps contribute to it :dopey:,) the contrast ratio being referred to in the above post is not the same thing as the contrast adjustment in the TV.

Contrast Ratio is pretty much a measurement of the darkest black to the lightest white the set is capable of producing. The contrast adjustment sets the value of "White" in the picture, and can easily be set too high, washing out the picture.

The OP stated he didn't think about adjusting contrast, which if the picture was dull is probably exactly what he should have gone for.

That said, plasma sets in general are not as bright as LCDs, nor are they any where near the same energy efficiency. They are superior in response, though, and they can keep up with rapid picture changes that cause a flurry of pixels on LCD sets.

It may just have been a "plasma's-not-as-bright" issue, especially if it was a relatively cheap plasma set.

I have a Samsung 51" plasma that I couldn't be happier with.
 
Plasma's cannot be beaten on contrast ratio currently by any technology (even local dimming LED) so they give the best picture but they are not as bright as other technologies and should be viewed in a darker room.

Shop display models might seem darker because of the sheer amount of hours they have been on and set to a dynamic picture setting (basically everything cranked to the max). A new Plasma will be much brighter fresh out the box and at a realistic home picture setting it should be bright enough.

Also beware of retailers with Plasma's on display because I have seen many shops where they go out of their way to make Plasma's look inferior (mess with the settings) so they can flog you LED because they are relatively more expensive per inch.

Hope that helps.
 
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