Is plasma dead?

[fatroz]

I'm sure this topic has been brought up already, but I haven't seen anything recently, so I thought I would get the flame started.

I sell tv's for a living, so I talk with a lot of people about this. Almost everyone I work with says that plasma is a dead technology. These people are not biased. Believe me. We sell everything, plasma, LCD and rear projection tvs. They could buy anything they wanted to and they all go with LCD's or rear projection. Of course the big plasma makers would totally shoot down any thoughts of plasma being dead, but I wanted to get some other peoples opinions on this subject.

 

[MDS]

Plasma is not dead yet, but certainly whithering on the vine. The issues that used to plague LCD (poor response time, lousy black levels, etc) are slowly being solved. LCD is brighter, lasts longer, weighs less, consumes less power, gives off less heat, etc, etc. It's just a matter of time before Plasma is history.

 

[Hi Ho]

I work for an independent store/installer and when the new Sharp LC-52D92U came in we decided to put it up on the plasma wall for comparison. Wow! The Sharp is right up there with the likes of the Pioneer Elite FHD-1 and the new Panasonic Z750U. The black levels are much better than any other LCD in the store, in my opinion. I think the Sharp LCD actually looks better than the Panasonic Z750U. The Pioneer Elite is still up there though. Also, viewing angles are still an obvious issue with LCD. We originally had the Sharp on the top row and it did not compete well with the plasma displays. When it was moved to the bottom row the picture was dramatically better because of the different angle.

LCD is catching up fast and with the advent of LED backlighting I think it will eventually get the jump on plasma for all the reasons MDS cited.

 

[stratman]

Well placed rumours in the industry are saying that Panasonic will convert to LCD production entirely. That remains to be seen, but if other major manufacturers jump on the bandwagon, it would go without saying that it is a sure fire bet.

 

[avliner]

Well, if it's dead or not I don't know, but...

I just got a new Panny Plasma 42", which replaced an RPTV (Sony Bravia) and to my eyes it's leaps & bounds better than the LCD (obviously my Sony was about 2 years old and I know there are some brand new models available which offers paramount images as well).

Very happy with my purchase though

 

[AVRat]

Mitsubishi has already given up on plasma.

 

[Leprkon]

Plasma is not dead yet, but certainly whithering on the vine. The issues that used to plague LCD (poor response time, lousy black levels, etc) are slowly being solved. LCD is brighter, lasts longer, weighs less, consumes less power, gives off less heat, etc, etc. It's just a matter of time before Plasma is history.

you forgot to mention that LCDs have been getting much better screen treatments for daylight viewing, while you can still shave in a plasma...

 

[j_garcia]

Sony has also ceased all plasma production.

 

[brulaha]

Seems to me comparable LCD's that compete with Plasma's are considerably more expensive than their plasma counterparts. I'm sure the price will come down in time, but until then I think Plasma has life.

Having bought an LCD (aquos) and returning it for a Plasma a year ago, I was very happy with my decision to return the LCD.

 

[Duffinator]

Plasma is dead, long live LCD!

you forgot to mention that LCDs have been getting much better screen treatments for daylight viewing, while you can still shave in a plasma...

That's the deal killer for me. After watching my RPTV with very bad reflections plasma isn't even a consideration. Seems we had this conversation a few years ago and many were in the plasma camp. That camp is now closed.

And if you have any doubt just go check out the Sharp 65". Game over.

 

[Duffinator]

Pioneer Blew It

Upon further reflection on this topic I remembered how I posted a couple of years ago how I thought it was risky for Pioneer to put all their eggs in one basket. This may really hurt them in the end. Too bad because their sets look amazing. But the writing was on the wall when in 2004/2005 there were huge amounts of capital expenditures going into LCD capacity while almost nothing in Plasma. With the likes of Sony/Samsung and LG/Philips pouring billions into LCD you could predict what the outcome would be.

 

[fatroz]

I've seen the new Sharps and they are amazing. Also the new Toshiba LX177 Cinema series LCDs look great. Now with the new 120hz refresh rates, motion blur is a thing of the past. Sharp does it, the new Toshiba's do it and the new Sonys and Samsungs are going to be doing it as well. I agree with you guys. Plasma may not be dead yet, but it is on its way out.

 

[needaglock]

I've always been of the opinion that it would be image burn-in problems that would kill Plasma. Even with jittering and other trickery to get around it, it's still a problem. Most TV stations have those annoying static logos on the screen throughout the entire show (Like I'm really going to forget that I'm watching the Simpson on Fox 13.) That, and the high number of gaming households, with the increasing convergance of internet, multimedia, and HDTV's as PC monitors, it just doesn't bode well for Plasma. I think Plasma is neat, but the fact that I game sold me on LCD.

 

[avaserfi]

With newer generation plasmas burn in is a myth that has been propagated by fear. With the pixel adjusting that has been implemented you can leave static images on good quality plasmas for quiet a while and have no fear of burn in.

 

[stratman]

It all boils down to one thing (not the technology, as the regular joes don't care or want to know) price, as long as plasmas are less pricey they'll sell. Also keep in mind market saturation, plasma technology has made deep inroads into the market (because of price and availability) and these sets will be around for some time, which could be good for LCD as it gives the technology maturation time to close all gaps and for prices to drop even further. An intersting scenario could be this: five to ten years down the line plasmas are obsolete, LCDs having matured are now being threatened by the next big jump: laser based tv thinner than a cell phone, possible.

 

[needaglock]

It all boils down to one thing (not the technology, as the regular joes don't care or want to know) price, as long as plasmas are less pricey they'll sell. Also keep in mind market saturation, plasma technology has made deep inroads into the market (because of price and availability) and these sets will be around for some time, which could be good for LCD as it gives the technology maturation time to close all gaps and for prices to drop even further. An intersting scenario could be this: five to ten years down the line plasmas are obsolete, LCDs having matured are now being threatened by the next big jump: laser based tv thinner than a cell phone, possible.

And in my opinion it's a good thing, the existance of Plasma TV's forces LCD manufacturers to come up with further innovations to compete with Plasma, and vice versa, a win win for the consumer. Regardless which tech we adopt, we'll be getting a better set due to the competition. I'm probably going to wait one more year to get a LCD screen, as I'd like to try to get one with LED backlighting, and the better contrast ratios that should come with it.

/Can't wait to watch HD Bladerunner on 1080P

 

[Duffinator]

/Can't wait to watch HD Bladerunner on 1080P

When is it coming out on HD?

 

[stratman]

Bladerunner, my favorite top five movie! The piece Memories in Green was our wedding "song", my wife thought I was nuts, but I convinced her and now she loves that piece, haunting and beautiful.

 

[needaglock]

When is it coming out on HD?

It is supposed to have a HD DVD ultimate edition release by the end of the year. Don't hold your breath though, because they keep saying this month after month. Doesn't do me much good though, at the moment I'm leaning to adopting blu-ray.

 

[needaglock]

Bladerunner, my favorite top five movie! The piece Memories in Green was our wedding "song", my wife thought I was nuts, but I convinced her and now she loves that piece, haunting and beautiful.

It's an excellent piece. I also highly recommend "Rachel's Song" which you'll only find on the Vangelis release of the soundtrack.