New Larger TVs Favor LCD Over Plasma 211
Information Week is carrying a Reuters story examining the shift towards LCD technology in recent large-screen television models. Though some analysts acknowledge that plasma displays have faster response times over large surfaces, the industry seems to be betting that consumers will prefer higher resolution images over time. From the article: "CPT's Wu agrees that plasma panels, especially 50-inch and larger ones, do excel LCDs in some aspects of picture quality, but he says the sheer size of the LCD camp will help LCD panels overcome whatever drawbacks they have in a timely manner ...With the 40-inch-class market gradually taken over by LCD TVs, plasma models need to migrate to the market for 50-inch TVs and above, but demand is not as well developed there, analysts say. 'The United States accounts for more than 70 percent of demand for 50-inch plasma TVs and larger. In other words, there is virtually no 50-inch-class plasma TV market outside the United States,' DisplaySearch director Hisakazu Torii said."
Why would anyone buy either? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm not very much of a television watcher, but I do sometimes have friends over to watch movies and such. I recently picked up a projector, and now have a 100ish" display that becomes a blank wall when I'm not using it.
I'm pretty happy with it, projectors are hardly a specialty item any more, and I doubt it was significantly more expensive than a 50" plasma or lcd television. So I'm having a hard time seeing why anyone who wants a big display would ever purchase anything other than a projector.
Is there something here I'm missing?
Re:Why would anyone buy either? (Score:1, Interesting)
Why does nobody ever mention DLP? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Why would anyone buy either? (Score:1, Interesting)
Unless your wall is uniformly white, you need a "screen" in front of the wall anyway. These can be rolled up, and only pulled down when in use, so putting it in front of a window would work fine. You can't mount a flat screen TV on the window.
A projector takes much less space than a TV set, so I don't see how you can have room for a TV but not a projector. And the TV needs to have nothing between the couch and the TV anyway, otherwise you can't see it. By hanging the projector over the couch, you'll be using the same "nothingness".
50 inches, not surprised (Score:2, Interesting)
OK, but how much 50-inch-class LCD market is there outside of the United States.
My guess is it's pretty limited as well, after all, 50 inches is huge. I have a large house by English standards, and a 50 inch screen would simply look idiotic in my lounge. Anything larger than about 32-35 inches is simply too big for most houses.
Can't stand LCD (Score:4, Interesting)
I just bought a 42" HDTV capable plasma, and had to turn the sharpness down to 50%, as otherwise all non-HDTV contents, including DVD's looked extremely blocky and I could see the MPEG artifacts everywhere - the default image was far too clear. I shudder at the thought of how horrendous it would have looked on an LCD screen, as I usually notice the pixelation far easier on LCD screens than I do on plasmas.
Maybe I'll consider an LCD screen when I'm using all HD content, or if they start supporting adaptively blurring lower resolution content sufficiently.
Sharp images only works for me when the DPI of the source is high enough that you can't see individual pixels at normal viewing distances.
Yes, I realize that means that I've on purpose chosen a screen with a "lower" picture quality, but the end result is far better with 90%+ of the content available to me. And it was cheap enough to replace in a couple of years if a usable LCD screen (or other tech) comes along.
Re:Memory (Score:5, Interesting)
I get burn in on my Plasma (a 50") after watching BBC News 24 (which has a large bright red box with the news logo and time on it in one corner) or when leaving my PVR menu on screen for a few minutes or leaving it outputting my Mac Mini desktop for some time (the bright icons in the Dock tend to burn in). As per the manual, if I watch another channel - particularly something bright - it goes away quickly. How quickly it goes away depends how long it was displaying the image (I think that's actually stated in my manual too).
Plasma does seem much more susceptible to "burn in"/persistence than LCD, but for the moment Plasma displays are the only way to go if you are looking for a large set (because you simply can't by very large LCD's). Plasma sets are also typically quite a bit cheaper, which makes them attractive. Lastly, they are also brighter than both back projection displays and LCD displays - my Pioneer Plasma is brighter than my old 1,500 UKP Sony CRT! Plasma sets seem to be the only ones that are able to deliver a bright picture, even with bright direct sunlight bouncing right off them (not a major selling point perhaps, but I was impressed).
I completely expect LCD displays to ultimately take over from Plasma's though. They are (potentially) a fair bit sharper, and they don't generate nearly as much heat - having the Plasma TV on is quite literally like having a radiator on in the room - particularly if it's a bright image, it gets as hot as the bottom of my PowerBook G4. It's just a matter of time before they can be made cost effectively at large sizes with little to no defects. If I was looking for a second (smaller) display I would definitely consider an LCD as it is. That said, I still expect Plasma TV's will be around and selling well for another 5 years yet (not least because it's much better than back projection and it's still kicking around).
I'm not surprised the US is the only real market for large displays. Not only do people have larger houses in the US (than say in Europe or in Asia) - you shouldn't really go bigger than about 42" unless you have a decent sized room -, and have more disposable income (due to lower taxation) but things like electronic goods are just so much cheaper (down to due to a combination of low taxation and economy of scale, I assume).
e.g. The cheapest price for my 50" Pioneer Plasma on Froogle (or indeed anywhere else) in the UK was ~3,500 UKP (with near identical pricing in stores on the continent). It a bit more expensive than most, as it's noticeably above average in terms of picture quality. At current exchange rates, that's over 6600 USD. When searching US stores in Froogle it was not only less than 3,500 US Dollars it was more like 2,000-2,800 (just under 1,500 UKP). Definitely worth a weekend trip to NYC if you are looking for something similarly expensive (but more portable
plasma vs lcd (Score:2, Interesting)
When will LCD's offer 10000:1 contrast ratio (IE: good blacks). Plasma has it now.
When will LCD's be made in 50" screen sizes at prices under $2000-$2500 (can get a plasma in this size
and price now).
I currently have a 40" direct view tube tv and will be looking to replace it with a HiDef in the
near future. Translating the 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9 means that to get a screen with the same height
I want at least a 46" display. (42" would be a smaller screen). So today, I would buy a 50" plasma.
Plasma's only disadvantage today is lower resolution (720-768 vs 1020) and some reflective glare off the
tube face (but this is no worse than my direct view tube tv). Burn-in is an over-rated problem today.
LCD displays will fade over time too, and suffer bulb burn-out. You can burn-in picture tube displays too, and
this is not a major problem. Until LCD's grow in size, shrink in price, and over-come the gap in contrast
ratio there will be a market for plasma.
IEEE (Score:3, Interesting)