Dan Martin

Sign of things to come in the industry? http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20060803A6030.html

fdl

Hmm... I thought Sony stopped making plasma a while ago. What plasma model do they currently have on the market?

Dan Martin

You might be on to something... I don't see any listed on their website.

Last time I was in Best Buy they had a couple, but maybe they were already discontinued.

Maybe they sell them in other countries.

fdl

Well, it was my understanding that they have been out of the plasma game for a while. At least in residential applications. I'm not sure what they had in Best Buy, but if you go into a Sony store there are zero plasmas.

Dan Martin

It sounds like the bottom fell out of the plasma market and they're just not going to make any effort to revive it. To me it seems like LCDs would be a lot cheaper to manufacture, so I think they're probably having a hard time selling Plasmas at a comparable price point.

keg1997

^^^ Panasonic and Pioneer (and probably others) are doing quite well. My bet is that Sony did not really put our a competitive plasma to the aforementioned companies and they decided to focus on what they did well instead of trying to improve their plasma offerings...just a business decision. Again, this is just my thought....

fdl

Sony loves to put all their eggs in one basket.

Python2121

but in this case it isn't like they are losing a ton of sales. IMO plasmas may be doing "well" with a few companies but the market seems to have chosen LCD (as I have as well).

fdl

Do you have any data to back that up? Up untill very recently, LCD wasnt even an option for "big screen". Plasma was the only option for any flat panel at or above 40 inches. Even now LCD tops out at 46, and has issues with fast moving action. I dont think the market has chosen LCD (or plasma for that matter).

Scrib

Sony has never been a big player in plasma... Their XBR line hs always been a form of LCD... Not too surprised.

keg1997

I'll second that...I have seen NOTHING that would imply that the market has "chosen" LCD or plasma or DLP or ______.

Python2121

Plasma has obviously won in the larger screen department because of manufacturing capabilities. Need evidence that lcd has won? Every computer at my school has an lcd...I only see plasmas in the homes of rich people and buisnesses. These are different markets but since the LCDs are almost the same I see them as one: the display market.

Python2121

The way I see is this, for expensive, large thin tv's you get a plasma and for small thin tv's you get LCD. I think most people want tv's under 42'' which is the real range of LCD, not to mention not everyone wants to drop over $1g for a television. Sony already deals with LCDs in their laptops so it probably makes a ton of financial sense to limit the company to the largest market and focus on one technology. Meanwhile, other companies have higher production on plasmas and both companies have a comparative advantage in their field.

fdl

A computer monitor and a tv are completely different applications.

Up to now its been an easy choice. small screen - go lcd, big screen, go plasma. But with LCD"s getting bigger, the battle will heat up. I suppose we will eventually see a winner, but it hasnt been decided yet. They both have pros and cons.

2001AudiS4

The sole remaining Sony Plasma is actually a monitor and not a tv. It comes with only one input of each type. It does come with speakers, but they are detachable and don't sound as great as some other tv's do. The picture quality is very good though, and it handles non-HD signal quite well. This is the model http://www.epinions.com/pr-Sony_FWD-...sma_Television

Now I haven't heard if they are definitely ending production on this particular line, but I did hear a while back they were completely getting out of the plasma game. Of course this tv rolled out after that announcement, so who knows.

soopa

Sony has been putting out this propoganda for awhile now. They caught a severe beating in the Plasma market from competitors like Samsung & Pioneer. The only economically viable solution for Sony (which is hemoraging cash in just about every arena they enter) was to halt Plasma production and put all their marketting efforts behind LCD.

Since making that decision well over a year ago (if not more) they have been doing everything they can to "talk-down" Plasma technologies. My best guess is that this is a silly PR move which they hope will boost confidence in LCD (which by this thread it seems to be doing) and tarnish the reputation of Plasma (if it's not selling well, it's not popular, and it's not cool) in the hopes of boosting their LCD technology sales while diminishing the revenue of their competition which is invested largely in Plasma technologies.

Sony's reality distortion field is in full effect. Sony is a lagging dinosaur, Samsung is the new breed.

doopstr

LCD has won out on computers because the only competition there was CRT.

In main viewing rooms at home an affordable 16:9 LCD screen is simply not large enough. The 40+ LCD screen costs more than a comparable plasma.

For main viewing rooms you can bet that 16:9 rear projection technologies are outselling plasma and LCD. Simply because they are cheaper.

keg1997

For whatever it is worth...I'm not rich, yet I've owned a 50 inch plasma for 2 years. Many people in my neighborhood own them- just like several have gotten LCD or DLP.

While smaller sets probably make up a larger portion of the market, many homes have at least one "large" (over 42 inch) display. These large displays are what best show off the advantages of HD material.

That bastille of consumer of information, Consumer Reports, does not suggest LCD over Plasma or vice versa. Crutchfield did note, however, that plasma has a better, "more filmlike" picture. If you read reviews in S&V or HT, you'd be hard pressed to find a categorical, "LCD is better than plasma" or vice versa. Different applications call for different displays. It is as simple as that.

Python- It has been said above, I do believe that you have fallen prey to the Sony marketing machine. Do you own Bose speakers too?