Are Plasma TV's On Their Way Out?

[Robinson_A]

This topic started elsewhere and I thought I'd move the discussion to the Plasma and LCD thread for those of you who may be interested.

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I was discussing this very thing with Jerry earlier today. I'm not so sure the general public prefers Plasma TV's. I get people coming up to me all the time telling me that they just purchased a plasma TV for their home only to find out that they've bought an LCD TV. I may be wrong, but I think the word Plasma has become what Kleenex did for the tissue or Xerox for the copy machine. I think the word plasma has come to represent a flat pannel TV and not necessarily a plasma TV itself. Again, I could be wrong but even in my Hollywood day job many do not know the difference. I think people care about price, size and flat and to hell with LCD or plasma.

Samsung and Vizio are the two largest display companies out there today and both are going almost entirely LCD in the coming year. Whether you love plasma or LCD when the two biggest names in the business are going one way your options become somewhat limited. Sony too is also leaning more towards LCD from what I can see. That's your top three right there.

Plasma's biggest draw is size for the dollar however the large scale sets (60+ inches) aren't flying off the shelves quite the way the 42 or 50 inch sets are. And let's face it, a 103 inch plasma isn't in the cards for the average Joe.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by Robinson_A

This topic started elsewhere and I thought I'd move the discussion to the Plasma and LCD thread for those of you who may be interested.

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I was discussing this very thing with Jerry earlier today. I'm not so sure the general public prefers Plasma TV's. I get people coming up to me all the time telling me that they just purchased a plasma TV for their home only to find out that they've bought an LCD TV. I may be wrong, but I think the word Plasma has become what Kleenex did for the tissue or Xerox for the copy machine. I think the word plasma has come to represent a flat pannel TV and not necessarily a plasma TV itself. Again, I could be wrong but even in my Hollywood day job many do not know the difference. I think people care about price, size and flat and to hell with LCD or plasma.

Samsung and Vizio are the two largest display companies out there today and both are going almost entirely LCD in the coming year. Whether you love plasma or LCD when the two biggest names in the business are going one way your options become somewhat limited. Sony too is also leaning more towards LCD from what I can see. That's your top three right there.

Plasma's biggest draw is size for the dollar however the large scale sets (60+ inches) aren't flying off the shelves quite the way the 42 or 50 inch sets are. And let's face it, a 103 inch plasma isn't in the cards for the average Joe.

PQ Plasma has always lead the way.

I've heard way too many consumers that seem to believe the old problems with plasma still exist. Burn in, Plasma leaks, etc.

I think you're right though the majority want a "Flat Panel," and that has meant plasma to a lot of people. LCDs have always remained less expensive and thus better in sales. It's no wonder that many are dropping Plasma production.

However the Panasonic units are priced aggressively with LCDs and imho offer much better PQ. So for me I'd still suggest Plasma to people who ask.

[glocksout]

LCD has an advantage over plasma int he market because they have everything from 7" laptops to 65" displays so they sell more volume of the technology, meaning more money is going into LCD development and production than plasma. The majority of people still like 40" and smaller sets, this is changing of course now that prices are dropping, but that's leading LCD sales. But plasma still looks better.

[rykerabel]

Cheap will always be LCD.

Quality will be Plasma until OLED or SED catches up.

so, the answer is "not yet".

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by rykerabel

Cheap will always be LCD.

Quality will be Plasma until OLED or SED catches up.

so, the answer is "not yet".

When the major Plasma players stop producing Plasmas...

They are on the way out. Samsung is the next major Manufacturers after Sony, Toshiba and Fujitsu with plans of dropping Plasma soon.

Sony, Toshiba, and Fujitsu dropping Plasma was a real sign.

[rykerabel]

Plasma's never really made mainstream, so mainstream companies dropping them doesn't change their top end status.