I disagree, smurphy522. I don't think Panasonic will be pulling out of the plasma market any time soon. They have far too much invested in the technology and (rightly so, IMO) very little invested in LCD. Plasma panels are also cheaper to produce than LCD panels in larger sizes.
If it does happen then I will be screwed. I have yet to be impressed with an LCD TV. Case in point, the Sony KDL-55XBR8 vs Panasonic TH-50PZ85u side by side and calibrated in a light controlled room. $7,500 vs $1,500. These are two sets that aren't even close to the same price bracket. In my opinion the Panasonic looked better. To be completely honest, the Sony, even with its triluminous LED backlighting, had a greenish hue to blacks that made the picture look washed out. Get a little bit off axis and it's game over for the Sony. No contest, plasma wins. Did the Sony look better than any LCD I've seen to date? Yes. Would I buy one at that price premium? Definetely not. Would I buy one for the same price as the Panasonic? Also, no. All my opinion of course but the point is, LCD has inherent flaws that I don't believe will ever be completely overcome. If plasma goes away and I need a new TV I'll be waiting for OLED.
Well I guess I expected a comparison between Plasma/LCD (please note I was not taking sides and am also distraught about the loss of a superior technology). Fact is that LCD panels of sizes less than 50" are cheaper today to make than their Plasma counterparts. 50" and less is the higher margin and most popular category for HDTV sets. What it comes down to are the masses speaking and buying more LCD panels (at cheaper prices and yes at many times of lesser quality as well). Even then, for most situations in a TV veiwing area there is genrally little concern or attention put towards light control. If not calibrated and put into a brightly lit room I tend to say that LCD wins. Not always but more often than not the LCD will look better out of the box and in a brighly lit room.
I would suspect that if it were not for the economy Vizio and Pioneer (to name the recently fallen/announced ones) would be making Plasma panels still. Note that prior to the economy downfall, or at least prior to our Govt. acknowledging it, Pioneer stated they would start to not focus as much R&D on Plasma technology.
I was aware that Vizio did not make their plasma line (Duh...). Without good entry level offerings like Vizio there tends to be an even a longer time of development for our technologies; which we love. I always get a chuckle out of somebody bashing a company especially when they don't have or never did have the product. OK, if you got screwed by a company then so be it. But just chiming in to say Brand X sells rebranded doo-doo; I digress.
Think about...it if companies like Vizio weren't around, competition wouln'd be as fierce and the average consumer would have to put off that HD upgrade for longer and thus we, video/audioholics would not get as good a price on the middle and top end products. Hey then we might have to wait to upgrade as well! That's how much of this industry works.
I anticipate that Panasonic will make an anouncement in the near future stating the end of their Plasma development (not the sales mind you) just the actual engineering R&D. Eventually LCD will be replaced by something too, that's just how this technology works. Remember CRT's, when's the last time you saw a Mistubishi 40" or a Panasonic Super Flat or even an Sony XBR Trinitron on a shelf? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Like I said before RIP Plasma
