Posted on 05/07/2009 7:26:54 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
THE plasma TV isn't dead yet -- but it looks like it's not long for this world.
Like the Betamax videotape format and laser disc DVD before it, the plasma TV set -- the favorite of techies -- is losing out to the more popularly priced LCD TV.
Pioneer and VIZIO -- the nation's No. 2 set maker -- say they're abandoning the plasma business.
With a 22 percent sales drop in the first quarter of 2009 compared to last year -- when the sale of flat-screen TVs overall is sky rocketing -- "the writing is kind of on the wall" for plasma, says Wired.com senior editor Dylan Tweney.
"The market has really shifted dramatically towards LCDs in the last year or two," he says.
The success of LCDs can be attributed to the fact that they're available in a wide range of sizes.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Their cheaper and available in more sizes, and don’t heat up your room like a blast furnace... Why exactly were plasma’s reported to be so much better?
Silly headline - from the article itself, LCD flat screen is doing fine and, in fact, it is what is displacing plasma.
They’re -not Their
“Betamax videotape format and laser disc DVD”
They forgot eight track cassettes.
Betamax and Laserdisc lost out for one reason. There was no porn on them.
It's a better picture, with more contrast. Blacks are really black.
because they were the darling of the month..
This has been obvious for at least 2 years and probably longer. Plasma looks great if you can handle the bright reflective screen but LCD has seemed like the better choice for quite some time.
Hey now, my basement gets cold. THe additional heat makes is more comfortable down there.
Plasma had an advantage in contrast levels, LCD had trouble with fast motion, and there were few LCDs larger than 42”.
In the last couple years LCDs have caught-up to plasma in all those categories.
Cheaper always wins out over better.
That is racist.
The reputation (right or wrong) for “screen burn” always scared me away from plasma.
They're talking about technically superior products that lose out to inferior products due to pricing.
8-track tapes were never superior in anything other than being portable. A few days in a hot car and the labels wrinkled, a few more days and they sounded like a they were being played at the bottom of a well.
How do LCDs compare to the newer LEDs from Samsung?
[I have a VIZIO LCD which has a nice picture, when the cable stream is good. Sometimes the cable feed is pathetic, however.]
Plasma had better refresh. Fast action scenes didn’t turn into blurs they way they did on LCDs (because the LCD pixels couldn’t change quickly). This problem has largely been overcome, hence the death of the Plasma. LCDs also have a longer lifespan.
The image clarity issue can be observed by going to a TV store and noting what kind of program is playing on the HD TV selection. It was always some nature documentary with lots of still camera shots and slow pans, and not a lot going on on the screen. However, nowadays, you do see more movies, sports, and other faster programs being played.
Besides BIG TV's will go the way of record player.
Projectors and Media Walls will become the norm.
Picture quality, clarity at a range of viewing angles, brightness of the color white and true black (home theater nerd things), less motion blur versus LCD, better contrast.
Downside, they are more expensive, heavier, use more power, and more fragile.
I've been a plasma person for a while but I'm looking forward to OLED. That should wipe out the market for both Plasma and traditional LED.
Not anymore. My nieghbor just bought a 56" LCD Samsung that has a 50,000 to 1 contrast ratio. The black is pure black.
One of my pet peeves. I learned in 5th grade English an ' is a connector for 2 words. In this case, "they are".
Tragic how the once great American education system has fallen into a failed state....and the worse is yet to come.
Still using a 19 inch tube tv here. (32” in the living room- also a tube tv)
I know, the dark ages........
Plasma has a better picture. That said, you have to replace parts after awhile, and that’s expensive.
I prefer the LCD.....picture almost as good, even for a techie like me. Close enough.
That said, I saw an LED TV in the store the other day. It beats them all. INCREDIBLE picture...Hard to describe since I remember growing up in the 80s still with one of those old types of color TV from the 60’s. How far we have come. The TV looks so good you don’t want to do anything but stare....lol.
The difference, of course, is that Betamax and Laserdisk were competing in format wars. They failed to achieve the market share necessary to get studios to release programming on their format and to get retailers to allocate shelf space.
Plasma is simply losing market share. But the utility of the last plasma screen sold will be the same as the utility of the one sold two years ago. Each individual unit does not require that plasma achieve market share in order to function. Nobody will be left with non-functional equipment.
So, except for the fact that the situations are completely and utterly different, they’re just the same...
i have a plasma in the family room that I much prefer to LCD. It handles ‘fast movement’ like sports a lot better. LCD’s will likely catch up on this over a short time, though. They are favorable in just about every other area.
That would be nice, but it has to be dark to have a projector.
No watching while you work on paperwork etc.
Still, it would be really cool to have a projector.
Wasn’t Calipornia writing a law to ban Plasmas? The government there will claim victory over the evil Plasma product.
Wasn’t Calipornia writing a law to ban Plasmas? The government there will claim victory over the evil Plasma product.
I’m right there with you.
“They’re - not Their”
Your kidding! ;-) That’s another peeve of mine. You’re right though.
In my opinion, liberty would be best served if everyone would haul all of them to the dump.
I know the feeling. I want one, but there are always other things needed instead.
Stinks since I really like gadgets/technology stuff.
Not so true anymore. Have you seen some of the new projectors available now?
Not lately, no. That’s good to hear.....they are really cool. Neat how you can have so massive a screen it’s like your own theater.
Now can I sell ya my HD-DVD player?
Maybe a better picture at night with no lights on and definately not during any part of the day.
If Plasmas go the way of beta, so be it, but I will be content with my purchase for years to come.
Ha! Same here. Means I don't have to fire up the space heater most nights.
I was showing somebody one of my Victrolas once. She said, “I guess it’s nice, as a novelty.” I thought, that’s the last thing it is. In fact, I think I said it out loud.
In my 5th grade English class they taught me about the past tense ... so, yes ..
The worse worst is yet to come.
Mine had better motion, plus could be viewed from any angle. Plasma works better in dim light, but who watches in a bright room anyway?
I'm glad to hear that LCD screens are finally catching up and have overcome their flaws. (Actually, we just got a 42” LCD for the bedroom, it's pretty good, but blacks are still not as good)
The fallacy in comparing plasmas to the Betamax is that there will always be content for the plasmas, while eventually new movies quit coming out in Beta.
In another 10-12 years my plasma will be at about half brightness and I'll be happy to hang a new 215” OLED on the wall at a price of around $300 (or $30,000 with Obamaflation)
TC
With plasma you will still be able to view everything you want if the standard became LCD. not like you have to go out and get new TV to pick up new cable format, of DVD format.
A bright room does still indeed affect the picture, but to have enough to read/write by is certainly not out of the question anymore. A lamp shouldn't have much affect while bright sun or an overhead light would. But still, with the high lumen count of the newer projectors, it's become less of an issue. However .... the cost of the units and the cost of replacement lamps can be quite expensive.
Plasma TV’s used to be the more mature tech that reporduced better black and was superior for movement video in things like sports.
LCD’s have caught up and may surpass.
I am curious whatever happened to the laser based TV?
If he feels like the worst fallout from our current educational system is already behind us, he's huffing glue.
Better color, better contrast (blacks are supposed to be black, not gray), better viewing angles.
Plasma’s had their place while LCDs lagged in those areas.
LCDs are catching up so the the differences aren’t as appreciable.
Love my plasma, but my next TV will be a LCD.
You are correct; when it came time to replace our ancient 300lb 35" Toshiba we went with a SONY VPL-VW60 1080p projector (trememdous reviews and picture) and a STEWART Firehawk SST Electriscreen (much, much bigger viewing area than a 50 to 70 inch lcd screen).
It serves as our TV and movie projector. When not in use we simply retract the screen and the room can be used for whatever we want. The picture is outstanding, especially with Blu Ray and high def TV programing. Best investment we ever made.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.