plasma rumor

[giacona]

Is it true they are going to stop making plasma tv's after this year? I am in the market for a new TV soon and I am leaning twoards plasma. A co worker of mine said they will stop making them after this year due to the new lcd technology that is out.

Is there any truth to this?

 

[MidnightSensi]

Is it true they are going to stop making plasma tv's after this year? I am in the market for a new TV soon and I am leaning twoards plasma. A co worker of mine said they will stop making them after this year due to the new lcd technology that is out.

Is there any truth to this?

I've been hearing plasma will die for a while now, but the fact remains that the picture quality is still far superior and for sports and videogame fans they kill LCD in motion. I think for the 50+ " market they will be around for a while.

Some brands have stopped making plasma displays, but there are still major brands building them. They bet on LCD, which was a good bet until everyone made that bet, and now that market is over-saturated with medium sized LCDs.

 

[AVRat]

Your co-worker doesn't know diddly. Panasonic is already working on next year's models. The new Pannys are really stellar. But depending on size you're looking for, there may be a slight wait time to receive the product. Although it seems Panny has increased the amount available.

 

[tcarcio]

Even if Plasma goes away, which I don't think will happen for a long time if at all, You will still have a great set with warranty so I don't understand the hesitation. If you like what you see then that's all that counts. IMO.

 

[FirstReflection]

There is no truth to that claim.

Pioneer did, in fact, stop making plasma displays at the very end of 2008. It is a great shame because their Kuro plasmas were, without question, the best flat panel displays available

But Panasonic, Samsung and LG will all continue to make plasma displays. Panasonic, especially, is heavily invested in plasma and - so far as displays that are currently being manufactured - they are offering the best flat panel displays at the moment.

Panasonic has also demonstrated their 3D plasmas at trade shows. The first 50" 3D Panasonic plasmas are supposedly coming out in late 2010.

So plasma displays are still going to be made. There may come a time when plasmas are no longer made, but it certainly isn't next year

 

[annunaki]

I saw something awhile back that showed Panasonic sticking with plasma for sets over 37" until at least 2012. They were going to stick it out until they could come out with a better tech (cost & quality) than either LCD or Plasma & dominate the market. They were looking heavily at OLED and SED as their options.

How much truth in it is tough to say, but it does seem to fit their style.

 

[Seth=L]

Pioneer dropping out was due to a huge failure to drive sales volume, they cut and run before they completely sunk into the abyss.

Panasonic shows no signs of stopping the drive for plasma televisions. New efficiency designs, extended panel life, and the advantages in PQ keep the market flowing strong for Panasonic.

It's likely that the OP's friend/co-worker, heard about the LED backlight LCDs and concluded that they would be the death of plasma, which is completely false. The slim LED side lit panels have everyone excited about nothing, which is funny because you can get vastly superior PQ from a plasma of comparable and lower prices. Some of the higher end Panasonic and Samsung plasma sets are every bit as thin as these LED side lit panels, cheaper per inch of screen, and offer better picture quality.

 

[LucB]

Does it matter? They'll still be able to repair them, I suppose.

And they won't change broadcasts when plasma is gone, so you'll be able to use it.

It's not a contest to have the newest thing, if you like the picture, buy it. That's what I would do.

 

[j_garcia]

OLED and SED are still not ready for mass market. Plasma will be around because it can compete on cost alone. As soon as the market share drops, it will go away, just like CRT did and CRT was better than any of the current technologies in use.

 

[rgriffin25]

I think the sales people at big box stores are to blame for this "rumor". Which would make sense if you mainly sold Sony or Sharp which only produce LCD. The fact is LCD is available in so many different sizes it helps them with market domination. I've had so many customers want a plasma so bad but only have the space for a 37". I'm sure plasma would have a larger market share if the smallest size available wasn't a 42".

 

[j_garcia]

They don't produce plasmas in smaller sizes because they don't compete well in the 37" and under range. It is a different customer that is generally looking for that size and it is usually for a secondary TV, not a primary one. That means they aren't looking for top picture quality, just something that works and doesn't cost a lot.

 

[njedpx3]

I've been hearing plasma will die for a while now, but the fact remains that the picture quality is still far superior and for sports and videogame fans they kill LCD in motion. I think for the 50+ " market they will be around for a while.

Some brands have stopped making plasma displays, but there are still major brands building them. They bet on LCD, which was a good bet until everyone made that bet, and now that market is over-saturated with medium sized LCDs.

Pioneer is quitting (price compression), but Panasonic and LG have excellent plasmas and are going strong

Later,

Forest Man

 

[rekced]

and now that market is over-saturated with medium sized LCDs.

The market being flooded with inferior displays shouldn't discourage plasma production, but it does. The only thing truly keeping plasmas on the market isn't their superior quality, but the price. Nothing in the world can correct the misinformation that has been spread about them enough to make it viable without the price advantage.

What's likely to happen is plasma will become a very small, expensive specialty item shortly before it dies. Current plasma manufactures will either need to make LCDs or get out of the market. It will be interesting to see many people's reaction to plasmas being sold only as a high end item, as if someone pulled a fast one on them or the world has gone crazy.

Panasonic can't be the only company trying to uphold a high level of integrity on this market. The cheaper and more gimmicky the TV the better. Panasonic needs to scrap the IPS LCD/LED technology their planning and go to a 480hz processor and cut every corner possible while keeping a picture that's brighter than everything else on the sales floor.

 

[highfigh]

Pioneer dropping out was due to a huge failure to drive sales volume, they cut and run before they completely sunk into the abyss.

Panasonic shows no signs of stopping the drive for plasma televisions. New efficiency designs, extended panel life, and the advantages in PQ keep the market flowing strong for Panasonic.

It's likely that the OP's friend/co-worker, heard about the LED backlight LCDs and concluded that they would be the death of plasma, which is completely false. The slim LED side lit panels have everyone excited about nothing, which is funny because you can get vastly superior PQ from a plasma of comparable and lower prices. Some of the higher end Panasonic and Samsung plasma sets are every bit as thin as these LED side lit panels, cheaper per inch of screen, and offer better picture quality.

Pioneer lost their *** on every plasma TV they sold, not because of sales volume. They had Hitachi making the glass at the end and now, Hitachi is done with plasma TVs, too. It sucks- the Pioneer were great.

I know a dealer who services a lot of different brands- Samsung makes the panels for Sony and those two are not only the two largest sellers, they also fail more than any other brands. He goes through about $70K in Sony parts every month, mostly LCD and Plasma panels.