PLASMA on the way OUT ??

[ISO Perfect HDTV]

I have been going around various BB & CC lately checking out the new 1080p LCDs and some of the new Plasmas........and I have noticed that those two big chains are pushing the LCDs a lot and warning costumers about the burn in problems on Plasma versus the "better" technology of the LCDs.
At BB I was listening to this kid explaining to a lady that Plasma was not a good technology cause if you play video games it gets burned in and she didn't look like a gamer to me, he also added that you can burn in channel logos, on screen TV guide and if you pause the picture for a while and so forth, while you don't have none of this problems with LCDs.

On the same day, in one CC store the salesman was trying to talk me out of my interest in the new 50" Panasonic, telling me how much better the black level is on LCDs compared to Plasma and the higher level of detail of a 46" XBR2 (1080p of course) versus the 50" Panny 60U which of course is only 720p.
He also said that Withes are more important then black level, and LCD shows better brighter whites.
He also pointed out that the Panny looked sort of cartoonish in compares to the XBR2......to which I replied " I think it's because the Panny is on Vivid and the XBR2 is very well calibrated and that you are doing that cause you are pushing the Sony which gives you bigger margins".......he desagreed.....there was no remote around to check.....I told him "I bet you it is in Vivid if not i'll concede your point"....he searched for it.....founded it......it was on Vivid of course he even admitted that the Sony guy comes around to calibrate the XBR2 with Spider TV.
So at that point he started telling me that the Plasmas are on the way out cause they get burned in like crazy and nobody want to put up with that kind of flooded technology.....And that's the reason prices are dropping on Plasmas and he is telling me LCD is the way of the future.
To which are replied " what about those bulky RPTV with bulbs are they also on the way out? and he said " no cause people like their size and lower price" and I replied " that's why I like Plasmas, for size, price and PQ".
Now if you go around to those big stores and ask for help you'll see how they will try to knock down Plasma and push the LCD models.

Now this is my recent experience, before recently they used to play it down on the burn in thing....let me know what you think about it

Is Plasma really on the way out?
Or the big chains are trying to kick it out cause they make more money on LCDs? Or whatever other reason :confused:

[8IronBob]

Well, you do have flat-panel LCDs reaching the same size as plasma screens, currently, or making a big run for them. Right now, I believe that the largest LCD flat-panel was 52" or so, am I right? Well, the largest affordable LCD was a 46", I believe. However, just recently, I believe that Panasonic released a 103" plasma, but for that price, you'd much rather buy a Mercedes-Benz car rather than a plasma TV, I bet.

Anyway, I believe that since LCDs are better than plasmas in the marketplace, it's only fitting that there are more LCD manufacturers than plasma manufacturers, and they are far cheaper to produce, and seem to have a bigger marketshare, atm. I believe that the ratio was 3:1 LCD to plasma. I believe I have that ratio right, not too sure. I can hardly wait to see what DLP technology's gonna do, that's another technology that may outright make plasma as dead as a dodo, too. Even the old tube projection and/or CRTs are gonna be a thing of the past, too, if I'm not mistaken. That's why you don't mistake a flat-screen with a flat-panel, as you may expect.

[DigsMovies]

[QUOTE=ISO Perfect HDTV]IOn the same day, in one CC store the salesman was trying to talk me out of my interest in the new 50" Panasonic, telling me how much better the black level is on LCDs compared to Plasma...[/QUOTE]

:rolleyes: LOL Any advice from someone who believes this is suspect.

While there are many opinions out there, there are also some facts. One fact is plasmas have better black levels than LCD's. Maybe in the future, with LED backlighting, this will change. Every technology has its weaknesses. Black levels are NOT a weakness of plasma!

I'll be the first to admit plasmas are not for everyone. If I was buying a set for a bright room or for gaming, I would buy an LCD. Maybe some retailers have less problem with returns with LCD's. Here is the bottom line- for content with no risk of burn-in, viewed in a dark room, Plasma has the superior picture. This is not just my opinion, but is widely reported by testers and critics in the videophile mags. Yes, LCD's are coming on strong! They are gaining on plasmas for sure. Does this mean plasmas are on the way out? Maybe, but not today.

[ISO Perfect HDTV]

[QUOTE=DigsMovies]Yes, LCD's are coming on strong! They are gaining on plasmas for sure. Does this mean plasmas are on the way out? Maybe, but not today.[/QUOTE]

do you think this is because of manufacturers pulling away from plasma, like Sony did, or its the big retailers boycotting them ?

[1080t]

I work in a "little guy" retail electronics store. We are honest and upfront with every customer about how plasma technology is better a better pq choice unless, like previously mentioned, you are putting it in a bright room, or are a HARDCORE gamer. Large plasma panels have seriously dropped in price over the last 18 months or so. They are now at an affordable range. In doing so, the margin has significantly dropped.
Large LCD panels, (above 42ish) are fairly new to the marketplace. New technology always has better margin.
On a recent trip into the sony store (looking for a specific viao accessory) we mentioned to the salesman that we had just recently bought a 50" pioneer. He immediately started talking plasma technology down. Like his poor people skills were going to miraculously win us over to the ways of the XBR. "Sure buddy, i'll return my cost pio deal, and buy your $ony."
Clerks at some of these stores will say anything to get a deal. With all the referals like that from the big box store.. i've been thinking about opening a plasma recharging station... from what I hear, there could be a lot of money in it soon...
Trevor.

[YeuEmMaiMai]

these are the same people who will sell you a $100 HDMI cable that you can buy for $20 at your local PC store

[ISO Perfect HDTV]

[QUOTE=YeuEmMaiMai]these are the same people who will sell you a $100 HDMI cable that you can buy for $20 at your local PC store[/QUOTE]

do you want to laugh??? Go to Magnolia in any Best Buy, they have a new Monster HDMI Cable for $ 274.00
ask them if it's plated with real gold :D

[DigsMovies]

[QUOTE=ISO Perfect HDTV]do you think this is because of manufacturers pulling away from plasma, like Sony did, or its the big retailers boycotting them ?[/QUOTE]

First, I think LCD TV's are a bit younger in their development cycle, and therefore are improving at a faster rate. Look at the two technologies a couple of years ago. Plasma has improved a bit since then, but LCD's have improved A LOT!!! Back then, LCD's were horrible- motion blur, limited viewing angle, poor black levels, etc.... They are significantly better today. So much so, that for many, they are a better choice than plasma, especially in the smaller sizes, and for gamers or bright room users. It's possible in the future with LED backlighting that LCD's may rival the performance of plasmas without the drawbacks. Then, once they can get the prices down for the larger sizes (which is happening), plasma will have a real run for it's money.

I don't think the "big retailers" are boycotting them (plasma), but LCD's own the smaller screen segment completely, and therefore outnumber plasma in the stores. Look at the larger sizes, and the number of sets from the two technologies are closer. We talk a lot about the big 50" and 60" sets in here, but $4,000 is still a lot of money for the average buyer. I wonder if stores have fewer problems with LCD customers than Plasma customers, but I don't know. I do know LCD sales outnumber plasma sales. I think we can count on stores to sell what makes them money!

While LCD's have really improved, and are the best choice for some users, they cannot match plasma in terms of absolute picture quality yet. There are other factors/variables that enter into a decision. As good as the LCD's are now, none match the picture quality of plasma to me. For my use (mostly movies and TV shows in a dark room, with some daytime football), if I was buying a new TV today, I would buy a plasma Without Hesitation!

[rogo]

21 million plasmas are expected to be sold in 2010.

[ISO Perfect HDTV]

[QUOTE=rogo]21 million plasmas are expected to be sold in 2010.[/QUOTE]

a lot of things can happen from now to 2010 and if BB & CC and others keep fighting so hard against them.......things may turn out differently

I'd like to hear from people who has visited any of these big retailers from different parts of the country and see if what I witnessed it's happening nationwide with the same intensity......cause I'm telling you when those salespeople were talking about Plasma it sounded like they were talking about the competition....not of a product in their stock.

[mark_1080p]

[QUOTE=DigsMovies]For my use (mostly movies and TV shows in a dark room, with some daytime football), if I was buying a new TV today, I would buy a plasma Without Hesitation![/QUOTE]
For my use LCD works best. No glare, better in moderately lit room, lower energy usage when backlight turned way down, no worry about 4:3 content.

For a darker room, a Panasonic plasma is a thing of beauty. Colors are beautifully saturated, vivid, crt-like. Still the picture to beat. 1080 LCD vs. 768 plasma could effect people's purchasing choices a bit this fall, we shall see.

There are a few salespeople around here that bash plasma, but most have good things to say about either technology, as they should.

[sbliftmachine]

I've had mixed experiences at those large retail stores...generally, Compusa's salesmen push plasmas over LCDs and the same goes for the Sears around here. The CC here has the worst employees ever, one guy actually told me that I need to purchase the extended warranty because plasmas last 3-4 years and that they will replace it w/ the extended warranty. I also get mixed opinions at Magnolia centers inside BB.

I personally like plasma's PQ better than lcd's. I own both technologies and my plasmas outperform my lcd panel as far as PQ. However, I don't own a top of the line LCD like the new 1080P sets. Even if LCDs eventually win out over plasmas, it won't be for a while. My buddy's dad is the VP for hitachi and he spent this summer in Japan as an intern testing their HDTVs. He told me that their line of plasmas greatly outperform their LCDs in PQ testing. Of course, Hitachi's LCDs aren't as famous as those from Sony and Sharp.

[JimP]

I think that plasmas have a price advantage in the larger sizes that will keep them ahead of LCDs for a while.

As to salesmen in stores pushing LCD flat screens, don't be too surprised to find out that there is some financial incentive for them to sell those.

[AzureKnight]

[QUOTE=ISO Perfect HDTV]
I'd like to hear from people who has visited any of these big retailers from different parts of the country and see if what I witnessed it's happening nationwide with the same intensity......[/QUOTE]

I live in Northern Arizona and just went through the purchasing process. I started looking plasma and was being pushed hard towards the Pioneer 4271 at BB or a JVC I believe it was. I visited a few other Magnolias and they didn't push one technology or the other.

I ended up with an XBR3. I have sunny bright rooms, the wife likes the room brightly lit at all times even nightly movie watching. I watch a lot of SD and hate stretch mode and I am a computer programmer and work from home using my new LCD as a second monitor. Overall LCD was for me. But in terms of PQ the Pioneer almost sold me. Both sets are great and I don't see either technology going away any time soon.

[edklite]

I'm not sure what you people are talking about but LCD is not better then plasma ;)

the only thing that is better is the replaceable bulb ;) I have not seen a LCD or dlp that is as clean and as crisp as a plasma ;)

[Nmlobo]

"LCD TVs will be the most popular kind of TVs in the world by 2009, according to a new analyst report" "By 2010, LCDs will account for 56 percent of TVs shipped. Meanwhile, sales of projection TVs and plasmas will remain a somewhat small part of the overall market." 06 June 2006 http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/lcd/0,239035307,240063502,00.htm

LCD TVs sales are expected to reach 66 million units in 2007 http://www.digitimes.com/displays/a20061004PB203.html

LCD sales outpaced plasmas 4 to 1 (9.4 mil units to 2.2 mil units) during the Aug 05 to Aug 06 time frame. http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/08/25/plasma.sales.soar/

[slksc]

[QUOTE=Nmlobo]"LCD TVs will be the most popular kind of TVs in the world by 2009, according to a new analyst report" "By 2010, LCDs will account for 56 percent of TVs shipped. Meanwhile, sales of projection TVs and plasmas will remain a somewhat small part of the overall market."

LCD TVs sales are expected to reach 66 million units in 2007.

LCD sales outpaced plasmas 4 to 1 (9.4 mil units to 2.2 mil units) during the Aug 05 to Aug 06 time frame. [/QUOTE]


I'm sorry, but these statistics are just so worthless. What is the percentage of LCD sales in sets 50" and larger? Those are the only sizes that are relevant to me.

[bac522]

I bought what I wanted to buy...how crazy is that!

[markrubin]

Plasmas are NOT on their way out

Plasmas NEVER need recharging

Thread closed: these 'plasmas are on the way out' /LCD Vs Plasma threads pop up nearly every day