Plasma TV is Dead - Pioneer Exits

[Biggiesized]

Another thing.

The same people that buy LCDs for their brightness levels are probably the same that buy loudly mixed CDs.

If you have a screen burn-in problem, I'd recommend hooking up your desktop or laptop to your flat panel display and running a nice little java app called JScreenFix. It's free and it'll clear up your problem in a jiffy. It can run a variety of patterns, but you should mainly use the white snow pattern.

 

[Kolia]

Dang!

Oh well, I still love my KURO.

 

[hodedofome]

Where do people get that lcd is cheaper than plasma? At 50" (which lcd doesn't make) I look at Circuit City and I can get a 720p plasma cheaper than a 47" 1080p LCD. If someone thinks the 1080p 47" LCD looks better than a LG or Panny or Sammy 50" 720p plasma I'll give them a dollar. Maybe they sit 4 feet away...doubtful. No they probably sit 10-12ft away and can't tell a difference, but that's another topic.

If I compare 50" 1080p plasmas to a 52" 1080p LCD the plasmas are cheaper, so it looks to me like both panels are about the same price, 47" 1080p LCD is slightly cheaper than 50" 1080p plasma, and 52" LCD is slightly more expensive than the plasma. This is assuming you can even tell the difference with 1080p at this size and seating distance.

I can burn in my Samsung 50" 768p plasma if I keep something paused on the screen for a few hours, but I can get rid of it lots faster than I can make it. I play Halo 3 on it all the time and my friend with a Sony 50" SXRD swears mine looks better even with half the resolution. Thank goodness for a glossy screen that fools the eye.

Since when does weight become a factor when buying a tv, do people move them around their house daily? My goodness, once I got my plasma on the stand it's staying there like every other house in America.

The only reason I would get an LCD is if I wanted to watch a bunch of daytime stuff in a bright room and I was concerned about glare. However even then your plasma may not show glare depending on the angle of the light coming in. My tv is low to the ground and shows glare from the lamp next to me, my dad's plasma is high above the ground and doesn't show any perceivable glare.

 

[JackT]

I love my 50" Panny plasma (9UK). People have told me it's the best picture they have ever seen.

I prefer plasma to LCD because of black levels. I expect OLED will eventually become the display of choice, as it outperforms even plasma.

 

[yettitheman]

Let's see, zero chance of "burn in"

I wouldn't say that. I thought that LCD never burned in until I took a factory tour of a Delphi that happens to run quite a few SMT machines and the LCD screens that control, report and change the way the machine runs, had burn in.
So, yes, they actually can burn-in, however, I haven't had a case personally.
All my problems are stuck pixels

 

[yettitheman]

I love my 50" Panny plasma (9UK). People have told me it's the best picture they have ever seen.

I prefer plasma to LCD because of black levels. I expect OLED will eventually become the display of choice, as it outperforms even plasma.

DING DING DING! We have a winner

OLED will be fun... it's expensive right now, but just wait.
That or Laser TV's.... mmmm....

 

[autoboy]

Definitely waiting for OLED with baited breath. I saw the Sony OLED at the Sony store and, while I probably looked retarded with my face 12 inches from the 11" screen, it looked amazing. I only spent $1500 on my 60" Sony SXRD, and I will be ready in 5 years to trade it up.

 

[JackT]

Definitely waiting for OLED with baited breath. I saw the Sony OLED at the Sony store and, while I probably looked retarded with my face 12 inches from the 11" screen, it looked amazing. I only spent $1500 on my 60" Sony SXRD, and I will be ready in 5 years to trade it up.

Those SXRDs had great PQ.

 

[rgriffin25]

To say plasma is dead because the 5th largest manufacturer pulls the plug on building their own panels is silly! Lets see last time I checked there were 4 other companies selling the crap out of plasma TVs. So if Panasonic, Samsung, or LG stopped making plasmas this statement might have a bit more truth to it.

No one doubted the quality of Pioneer's Plasmas, the problem is its hard to sell a TV that costs twice as much as its competitors. Just like anything else in the electronic industry quality doesnt always win out over a good price. Why do you think so many people buy the junk poloroid and vizio tvs? PRICE

 

[JackT]

I wonder if they announced the death of LCD when Sony announced it was getting out of that segment.

 

[autoboy]

Those SXRDs had great PQ.

Yeah. They have good black levels, color, and brightness. The only thing that bugs me is the silk screen effect. It used to bother me a lot at first, but now that I am used to it I don't see it. Still, even when I am not aware of it, I think it contributes to a grainy feeling to the picture that Plasma and LCD do not have. However, I'm still glad I didn't drop $5500 on a 60 Kuro. I'll patiently wait for my OLED. Maybe I'll have $5500 to waste by then.

 

[The Dukester]

Pioneer is getting out of the glass market, but not the plasma market. They will still put their electronic in them, and that's just as big a part of the overall picture as the glass. I look for them to sell a plant or two to Pannasonic and either sell the technologies they have outright or at least sell the rights to them as well.

I still look for the ECC units in the 10g line to come out, as well as the 9mm thick display. The gap between Panny and Pio will obviously close, but with the volume Panny is capable of, especially if they obtain a plant or two from Pioneer, look for all the PDPs you want at good pricing and of good quality.

As for the 9gs coming out in a few months, from what the insiders were talking about last night on AVS, they will still be all Pioneer. I'm not so sure, though, as they are offering several different bezel designs with the standard coming out first, a "slim line" coming out next and the Elites last in late fall. We shall see. I'm glad I jumped on one of the 1150s at Tweeter last weekend I sold my Pio 5016 I bought from there about 18 months ago for 1500 and plunged head first With my AViD discount and tax, I got out for just over 2300. You just can't get a better tv for that money, period, IMO.

Will plasma tvs continue to improve? For this year and next, yes. With 0 ire (FLAT black), reduced power consumption, lighter weight and thin bezels, I don't know how much more they could improve. Pannasonic may even pay Pioneer (or at least joint venture) to continue r & d to improve them, but who knows? I'll be satisfied with my 1150 for awhile, but if the ECC models come out and the following year they are half price, I'll jump on one of those, too!

 

[jonnythan]

Let's see, comparing plasma with LCD, LCD uses less power, generates less heat, is lighter weight, is better for viewing in lighted rooms (which is how most people view), zero chance of "burn in"...how do you come to the conclusion that an "inferior" technology won?

Notice that "picture quality" and "black levels" didn't appear in your list

 

[annunaki]

How is plasma dead when Pioneer will continue to sell plasma and add LCD? Sure they are not building the panel itself, but they are still "making" them.

The last I had heard was that Panasonic will continue with plasma until 2011-2012 where they will then shift to OLED or similar format.

I honestly cannot stand LCD's, for the most part. The motion, even with "120hz" is literally unwatchable in my opinion. It completely distracts you from watching the movie.

 

[stratman]

I think the headline "PLASMA DEAD" was just to grab attention, I really don't think that plasma will die anytime soon, or that the mods seriously believe that. Plasma and lcd aren't at war as per the now defunct Hi-Def DVD fiasco. Plasma has outsold LCDs primarily for two reasons, price, and size. PQ traits are important to us, but the majority of people look at price first then PQ and as we all know going to your local BB is not the best way to compare PQ, unless you strong-arm one of the sales kids. Pioneer will buy from Panny, probably strike some sort of deal with them for R&D, most likely like Duke writes, sell them a plant or two. Panny will exit plasma when OLED is a mature and viable (read affordable and mass-produceable) technology, they'll most likely come to market with a high-quality, low cost unit, outsell everyone and make a killing with volume.

 

[gus6464]

Honestly who cares if Pioneer exits the market? They only cover a niche portion of it while Panasonic and Samsung has the big pie with Panasonic controlling most of it. Look at the new Panasonic models coming out which are cheaper, bigger, and better PQ wise than their LCD counterparts. What did Pioneer expect when they were selling a product that was considerably more expensive but only a tiny bit better than their competitor?

 

[rgriffin25]

Its all about production, the more you can cut out of a sheet of glass the cheaper you can sell the TV. Pioneer did not have the capacity to compete with the more established companies. That is why they pulled the plug.. Cheaper to buy than to produce yourself.. Why do you think sony does so well with lcd?

 

[Audioholics]

I wonder if they announced the death of LCD when Sony announced it was getting out of that segment.

Sony never announced it was getting out of LCD. Everyone is moving towards LCD. Sony left the microdisplay (SXRD/LCoS) market and I absolutely think that is headed for extinction as well.

When we say "plasma is dead" it simply means that the end of plasma is now tangibly inevitable. When companies who have been plasma-exclusive suddenly shift to be LCD-inclusive it tells us that there are things going on in the industry which say that LCD will get so cheap to manufacture soon and be so consumer-compelling (ie <1-inch panels, etc) that plasma is in trouble.

LED backlighting will remove one of the last hurdles - black levels from the plasma camp, while 120Hz (if they ever implement it correctly) can alleviate the blurring issue.

 

[AdrianMills]

So what is the probability that the ultra black concept Kuro (or an equivalent model from someone else) will make it to market next year? I do hope it does, I'd planned on going for the 60".

 

[JackT]

Sony never announced it was getting out of LCD. Everyone is moving towards LCD. Sony left the microdisplay (SXRD/LCoS) market and I absolutely think that is headed for extinction as well.

I'm referring to stories like these from '06

http://www.digitimes.com/displays/a20060822A1001.html

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sony-Steps-Out-of-the-LCD-Display-Market-33976.shtml


You are correct, there was never an announcement, just statements from "undisclosed sources within the industry."

Also, there were similar stories about Fujitsu getting out of LCD about a year earlier. Not sure if that actually came to pass or not.

My point is, companies are ALWAYS saying they are getting out of or getting into this or that without it signaling the "death" of anything in particular. Yes, all current display technologies will eventually be gone, but not necessarily because of what Pioneer did or did not do.