Vizio drops plasma, too

[KeithM]

Vizio drops out of plasma market

First Pioneer, now Vizio. Who's next?

[Kevin P]

It seems that LCD is the wave of the future for flat panel displays. It's reached and even surpassed plasma in picture quality.

[Nolan B]

It seems that LCD is the wave of the future for flat panel displays. It's reached and even surpassed plasma in picture quality.

We will have to dissagee...

Sure some LCDs have surpassed some plasmas, but the best plasma still much better then the best LCD.

Plasma isnt dying because of their PQ.

[audioqueso]

Though I can't agree that the PQ of an LCD is better than a Pioneer Kuro, LCDs are so much more cheaper. Supply and demand. Correct me if I'm wrong (since I've been away from the US for a bit), but isn't Vizio a small company?

[Hdale85]

Actually currently most Plasma's are cheaper then LCD's. And I would have to say there are a couple LCD's that at the very least equal PQ of the Kuro. The Samsung 950 series are supposed to be better but I haven't seen them personally so I'll say they are probably on par at least in terms of black levels and PQ. Granted they have a couple small issues that personally wouldn't bother me. There are issues with plasma's that bother some people as well though so each technology has its own little quirks.

[Ken49r]

You still get a faded picture when watching LCD from any angle but head on. I don't see how LCD can surpass plasma except cost. A good Plasma is hard to beat. Maybe when people buy plasmas they don't look for Vizio as the #1 brand. I didn't even like Vizio LCD I purchased. I returned it for a Toshiba for my bedroom where my viewing angle is allways centered.

[Nolan B]

Actually currently most Plasma's are cheaper then LCD's. And I would have to say there are a couple LCD's that at the very least equal PQ of the Kuro. .

I totally disagree. When calibrated the Kure is near perfect. Black levels are no contest and the Kuro truely handles 24 fps and converts it to 72.

From the comparisons I have done no LCD comes even close to the 9G Kuro.

[Hdale85]

The Vizio plasma's look horrible

[Nolan B]

The Vizio plasma's look horrible

agreed...

First the most expensive and now the cheapest. It doesnt seem its just about high priced displays going out because of the market they are going after it seems like Plasma may be on its way out.

[Hdale85]

Well plasma is a very expensive technology with smaller profit margins.

[Smokinghot]

It seems that LCD is the wave of the future for flat panel displays. It's reached and even surpassed plasma in picture quality.

lol... While I have to agree that LCD is going to be the future, (mainly to poorly educated comsumers listening to BestBuy staff), the idea of LCDs coming close to even a "quality" plasma is hilarious...

[littlesaint]

The better LCDs with LED backlights are very, very good. They are also very, very expensive. I think an average priced plasma (<$2000) is going to beat a similarly priced LCD at the same screen size any day of the week, but the gap starts to close once you get into the higher priced models. One of the articles made a good point though. In the stores the LCDs have the brightness cranked way up, and look better in the heavy fluorescent lighting, plus in that environment the plasmas will tend to have more glare. People don't think about angled viewing in the store either. I hope plasma keeps going because there is some really great PDPs coming from Panasonic with even better contrast and brightness at lower power levels.

[Smokinghot]

I think an average priced plasma (<$2000) is going to beat a similarly priced LCD at the same screen size any day of the week, but the gap starts to close once you get into the higher priced models.

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I would have gone the other way with this statement. Once you get into the higher priced panels, pioneer, runco, nec, vidikron, etc... the very best LCDs don't even come remotely close. Panasonic would be at the bottom end of the better panels.

One of the articles made a good point though. In the stores the LCDs have the brightness cranked way up, and look better in the heavy fluorescent lighting, plus in that environment the plasmas will tend to have more glare. People don't think about angled viewing in the store either.

Yep... the bigbox stores will be the end of quality electronics, not just pdps.

[Kevin P]

Well, at the price ranges the average consumer can afford, LCD is very close to, or exceeds plasma quality. Certainly when looking at the sets at a store like Best Buy it certainly looks that way. To get into the high-end plasmas that blow all else away, you're talking big bucks, and you aren't going to find those sets at Best Buy. I personally haven't seen such a set yet, most plasmas I've dealt with have been the Pioneers (not Elite), Panasonic, Vizio, the Best Buy class of sets. And LCD is very competitive in that range.

I think LCD is advancing and prices are dropping faster than plasma too. For example, 1080p LCDs are (or at least were, as of a few months ago) more affordable than 1080p plasma. Often when I see an inexpensive plasma it's a 720p set.

[littlesaint]

Well, at the price ranges the average consumer can afford, LCD is very close to, or exceeds plasma quality. Certainly when looking at the sets at a store like Best Buy it certainly looks that way. To get into the high-end plasmas that blow all else away, you're talking big bucks, and you aren't going to find those sets at Best Buy. I personally haven't seen such a set yet, most plasmas I've dealt with have been the Pioneers (not Elite), Panasonic, Vizio, the Best Buy class of sets. And LCD is very competitive in that range.

I think LCD is advancing and prices are dropping faster than plasma too. For example, 1080p LCDs are (or at least were, as of a few months ago) more affordable than 1080p plasma. Often when I see an inexpensive plasma it's a 720p set.

Completely disagree. I was just looking for a 50" display under $1500. At the same screen size and resolution, the Panasonic plasmas where far and away the best bang for the buck. It wasn't even close. Contrast, color saturation, viewing angle; all much better on the PDPs. The kicker was I ended up getting the best deal from Best Buy of all places, and that includes online retailers.

[wettou]

Completely disagree. I was just looking for a 50" display under $1500. At the same screen size and resolution, the Panasonic plasmas where far and away the best bang for the buck. It wasn't even close. Contrast, color saturation, viewing angle; all much better on the PDPs. The kicker was I ended up getting the best deal from Best Buy of all places, and that includes online retailers.

For picture quality Plasma are kings but for how long, they cost a lot more o make, operate and are a lot heavier soon OLED will take on the market 2011 maybe :T

[aud19]

Yeah I'd have to say in the Panasonic plasma price range (not low end, not high end) they're tough to beat. Excellent contrast, shadow detail, colour etc and IMO can only be beat by the better LED lit LCD panels that are much more comparable to Kuro prices and Kuro plasmas. Then it depends on what your preferences are - shadow detail, no fast motion issues, good off axis viewing or good ambient light performance and lower glare, no risk of burn in. Standard LCD's, even from the quality brands don't cut it in this guys opinion.

[Kevin P]

I guess I'm out of touch with display technology/quality recently. Oh well. It just so happens that my display is a 50" Panasonic plasma. Albeit a 720p one, 3 1/2 years old. Nice picture, but not quite like my NEC 9PG CRT projector.

It seems like a lot of manufacturers are dropping plasma technology. Probably because of cost/profit margins mainly. But I think LCD is still advancing faster and will one day catch up--a few years back, I thought LCDs were unwatchable, but now I've seen some really nice ones.

[Ken49r]

TV's are just like audio equipment. You really can't judge the PQ until you get it home in realtime lighting conditions and calibrate it. Manufactures set the settings on their TV's displayed in showrooms to stand out from the others.

To my eyes plasma offers that tube like warmth that CRT's produce and LCD's seem more like watching a oversized computer screen. My 1080p LCD blows away my 720p plasma in PQ only because it is 720 vs 1080, but if I still prefer the plasma TV warmth over the LCD.

Another problem I have with LCD is the brightness. The backlights can be blinding when whites are displayed on programing. The same problem I have with RPTV's as well. I had to change my bedroom TV from 37" to 32" to compensate for the brightness produced from the 1080p LCD.

[Smokinghot]

Yeah I'd have to say in the Panasonic plasma price range (not low end, not high end) they're tough to beat. Excellent contrast, shadow detail, colour etc and IMO can only be beat by the better LED lit LCD panels that are much more comparable to Kuro prices and Kuro plasmas.

Kuros arguable have the best PQ of any pdp available. Only those that either own only LCD or have shares in the Sharp corp claim that LCD can compare to best in class of the pdp models. I'm really confused by your post...

Then it depends on what your preferences are - shadow detail, no fast motion issues, good off axis viewing or good ambient light performance and lower glare, no risk of burn in. Standard LCD's, even from the quality brands don't cut it in this guys opinion.

Agreed... if you're looking for a the best possible digital picture frame...LCD is the way to go. A display that can't handle fast motion is a waste of money, and even the 120hz LCDs are lacking in this area.

[aud19]

Kuros arguable have the best PQ of any pdp available. Only those that either own only LCD or have shares in the Sharp corp claim that LCD can compare to best in class of the pdp models. I'm really confused by your post...

What do you find confusing? In the non high-end price range nothing beats Panny plasmas IMO. The only LCD's that can compete with/beat the Panny's are the LED lit units from Samsung/Sony which are comparable in price to Kuro's. Then it becomes a matter of preference on whether you prefer LCD strengths/weaknesses over plasmas strengths/weaknesses. And if I was spending high end dough I'd likely go with a Kuro in all but the brightest room.

[Hdale85]

Panny plasma's are definitely the bargain right now. Can get a 50" 1080p plasma for 1499 most of the time. The Panasonic 650 series is very close if not equal but on its good sale days is still 2k.