Plasma Getting phased out? LCD Taking over... (1 Viewer)

[homthtr]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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...

 

[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.

 

[AlanZ]

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]

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]

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]

ah okay, cool....and I didn't necessarily mean to be singling you out, I just have seen some folks on here who are really passionate about one technology over the other....sorta seems weird sometimes, lol.

 

[Arthur S]

Hi Alan

I am not really in the market for a new display, but at the same time I am always in the market for a new display...

I am currently using a Toshiba 65H84 CRT RPTV, that looks pretty good with both HD and SD. I was in BJs Wholesale today and saw a 60 inch Phillips DLP for $1,500 that looked very good indeed and was next to a Sony SXRD that also looked great.

My thinking at this time is to wait a couple years and get a 1080P Projector. Looks like DLP is going to be a big winner.

How does the Sammy compare to the Panny TH-42PX60U plasma?

 

[AlanZ]

Arthur:

I hear ya on the 1080p projector....I have yet to actually SEE one, but I plan to start taking a closer look in the coming weeks. JVC has one coming out that is supposed to be phenomenal, both in quality and value. I'm excited to see that one, the sony Pearl, and the new Mitsubishi 5000. It's a great time to be a fan of home theater!

I think I'm one of the few people who wasn't really all that excited about the Panny plasmas. I think it must just have to do with the fact that the in-store displays aren't in their ideal environment or properly calibrated...I really don't know. I've been really impressed with three displays/companies over the past few weeks: The king of the hill, IMO, is the Pioneer Elite Pro-FHD plasma. I've never seen ANYTHING like what this set can do. I was absolutely shocked at how good it looked, particularly with a blu-ray feed....If I were going with a single display, I'd get that one. No question about it. The other two that impressed me were the Sony XBR2/3 LCDs and the Samsung LCDs I mentioned above.

I work nights, so a lot of my viewing is during the day when I get home. The glass portion of the plasma sets was a tad distracting for me, whereas it was a non-issue with the LCDs. For some reason I felt the Sammy and Sony LCDs were a tad brighter than the plasmas, even though I think it's supposed to be the other way around (?) I didn't spend much time with the DLP projection sets, but I did notice that their prices have really come down....if that's the display that appeals to you, then you ought to be able to get a great deal!

 

[Arthur S]

Hi Alan

In a brightly lit environment, LCD is the way to go. I saw a Pioneer plasma at BB and it was stunning.

I have not seen a 1080P DLP projector myself, however, the DLP rear projectors are pretty amazing. I probably won't be buying a projector for a while, since my 65H84 has about 2.5 years left on the extended warranty.

I'm also home a lot during the day and I am used to reflections on my CRT RPTV, but I am looking forward to curtains or a new set that does not have as reflective a screen.

 

[johnADA]

Yes, Ive been keeping track on such things
With LCD's coming of age with faster resolutions and black level displaying, that alone is digging into the Plasma market hard. But as of now and the near future ,its limited to the 40 inch and under market place. Actually there aren't many people that really want nor could use a larger TV. With that said, of those who do, plasma's just dont have the pricing to move it out of the niche market its all ways been in and deepening due to LCD's.

Now with a new technology coming up, plasma's are being targeted again. Plasma's and CRT's share a common connector that people like.They make anything look decent, just decent and blend in poor picture qualities along with high quality picture images, In doing so they lose up and over 50% of the true images of higher quality, which with LCD's really show the differences of signals. And off shoot is coming out that takes normal plasma's over this hump, its called laser TV's. Some say this is hype, it taking plasma down, but it a new technology, which takes time to plant and it does offer what plasma's lack with much better projected pricing . Demo's currently are beating the plasma's in all areas and its still in its infancy!!

 

[Kevin C Brown]

From the latest Hi Fi News, a UK magazine:

 

[AlanZ]

I think what's really impressed me with both the plasmas and the LCD displays is the depth of image. Particularly with the Pioneer Elite Pro-FHD that I loved so much, it was like you could reach into the screen and pull things from it. The Samsungs are my favorite LCD displays, and while the image depth isn't as good as the Elite, it's still quite impressive given the price of the set.

Personally, I don't think you could go wrong with either.....and you REALLY can't go wrong with a 100+" 1080 projector