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Panasonic Reducing Plasma TV Production, Workforce.

Panasonic is reducing its plasma TV output and cutting its workforce by 1,000. Panasonic will stop making plasmas at its Amagasaki No. 3 factory by the end of March 2012.

By Grant Clauser, October 21, 2011
While there are three major TV manufacturers - LG, Panasonic, Samsung - still producing plasma TVs, one of those three is scaling back considerably on its output.

Panasonic, according to Reuters, will reduce plasma TV production and cut its workforce by about 1,000. Reuters describes Panasonic’s plasma TV business as a “loss-making television unit.”

Panasonic will stop making plasmas at its Amagasaki No. 3 factory by the end of March 2012, according to Reuters, which also speculates that Panasonic plans to sell off an LCD factory.

Related: Sony Recalls 1.6M Bravia LCDs | 10 Creative Ways to Mount a Flat-Panel TV

Part of this is likely a move to reduce redundancies that followed Panasonic’s takeover of Sanyo. Panasonic may be scaling back on its target of producing 25 million TV sets a year (plasma and LCD combined).

Globally, plasma holds a much smaller market than LCD. According to research firm DisplaySearch, 248 million TVs will ship in 2011, but only 17 million will be plasma.

It’s a curious move because throughout 2010 plasma was increasing market share. And Panasonic was held 40 percent of the market in 2010, with Samsung and LG following. However, plasma demand began to drop mid-year with an estimated decline of 6 percent.

I think considering that 3-D TV has proved to be an expensive dead-end, what everyone is really waiting for is "4K" HDTV (to be more precise, 3840x2160 resolution). I read about demos of 3840x2160 experimental panels with a real 4K source and its clarity is so clear people have said it's literally like looking through a window.

I believe this format--known as Quad Full High Definition (QFHD)--will probably become available to consumers in the next 4-5 years, and its primary delivery means will be either optical-fiber cable TV or through satellite transmission.