Plasma Getting phased out? LCD Taking over...

homthtr · 12-06-2006, 12:42 AM

Had an interesting meeting with one of our distributors last week. He claims that plasma's will be a thing of the past as LCD's Refresh rate and resolution is topping that of plasma TV's with about 1/3 the weight of Plasma screens. He's giving Plasma's another year or two to be scarce.

Anyone else reading any future projections on Plasma Displays?

Alon Goldberg · 12-06-2006, 01:01 AM

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/nov06/4697

Personally, I see a future of LCD, OLED and to a lesser extent plasma. What to do with LCoS and DLP? They will still be in projectors. SED is unlikely to have any relevance after it is released, especially with Toshiba's recent track record.

AlanZ · 12-06-2006, 10:58 AM

I have to admit, I was pretty excited about getting my first plasma until I saw what LCDs are capable of. I haven't been in the market for a tv for several years, and the last one I bought was a Hitachi RPTV that I was quite happy with. When I saw the LCDs at BB - particularly the Sonys and the Samsungs - I was very impressed. I've pretty much decided on going with a Samsung LCD as soon as next week. I pretty much just fell in love with the thing.

Steve_L_B · 12-06-2006, 12:47 PM

I still haven't seen an LCD display that I think looks better than a quality plasma display. LCDs have their strong points, brightness, lower glare and higher resolution. But all of the large LCD displays that I've seen still suffer from backlight uniformity problems, limited viewing angles and elevated black levels/crushed blacks. LCDs look their best when viewed with a moderate amount of ambient lighting, and, IMHO, not so good in dim lighting. Additionally, the larger LCD displays (>45") cost double or more what an equivalent size plasma costs. The higher resolution of LCDs really isn't an issue an normal viewing distances; for a 50" display, most people cannot tell the difference between 1080p and 720p at a 9 foot viewing distance.

Some of the issues with LCDs will be mitigated with LED backlighting, but this is still too expensive for mass-market consumer displays. Prices for 50" plasmas have fallen 40% in just the last four months, a rate of decline that LCD manufacturers have yet to match. I'm betting that plasmas will be around for at least another decade. And by then, LCDs will also be being displaced by newer display technologies.

AlanZ · 12-06-2006, 11:21 PM

What I don't understand is why some of you seem to be so entrenched in one TECHNOLOGY camp or another. I think that's a bit strange....

Personally, I just want the best display for my needs. I don't care if it's LCD, Plasma, or some crazy Star Trek technology that gets the job done. Why some people seem so insecure that another technology than the one they support might be better in a few areas is beyond me...

**HTF Ads**

Arthur S · 12-07-2006, 06:05 AM

Good post AlanZ

I am also interested in the best technology at the lowest possible price. I don't care if it is LCD, Plasma or anything else, as long as it is the best for my needs.

AlanZ · 12-07-2006, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthur S

Good post AlanZ

I am also interested in the best technology at the lowest possible price. I don't care if it is LCD, Plasma or anything else, as long as it is the best for my needs.

Hey, Arthur

So are you in the market for a new display, too? I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick up a samsung LNS4051 next Friday for games and 'regular' viewing. Then I'll focus on the main course after that, a 1080 projector. I've debated back and forth between plasma and LCD, though LCD wasn't anything more than an afterthought until I stopped into best buy a couple weeks ago. The best display I've seen is still the new Pioneer Elite Pro FHD 50" plasma....that is just an AMAZING display. I strongly considerd going that route, but I really want to put most of my budget into the projector, so I'm going to go with the samsung. I honestly thought the sony and sammy LCD sets were keeping pace quite nicely with the plasma screens I saw on display.

What are you currently watching?

Steve_L_B · 12-07-2006, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanZ

What I don't understand is why some of you seem to be so entrenched in one TECHNOLOGY camp or another. I think that's a bit strange....

Personally, I just want the best display for my needs. I don't care if it's LCD, Plasma, or some crazy Star Trek technology that gets the job done. Why some people seem so insecure that another technology than the one they support might be better in a few areas is beyond me...

Actually, I agree with you. While I personally prefer plasma, I do recommend LCD to people when their usage and viewing environment are not favorable to plasma. We actually own both types of displays and each has its strengths and weaknesses. I was simply trying to respond to the "Plasma is being phased out" notion, which I find absurd.

Kevin C Brown · 12-07-2006, 07:14 PM

I have seen projections from independent display market watchers, that they expect plasma sales to increase until at least through 2009. You can't buy a reasonably priced 65" LCD yet.

LCD is closing the gap for sure, but at comparable prices, plasmas still typically win for black level, contrast, motion, and off-angle viewing.

AlanZ · 12-07-2006, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_L_B