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.
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