Panasonic Plasma TV Update

Filed Under Panasonic LCD TV, Panasonic Plasma TV

Panasonic are maintaining their position that for larger screen sizes plasma is the better technology, but acknowledges for smaller sizes LCD is more appropriate.

Their manufacturing remains focused on plasma TVs, mainly in the 42-inch and 43-inch screen size. In this size range about two-thirds of TVs sold are LCD and one-third is plasma. This has changed drastically over the last year as LCD has become popular and cheaper in larger sizes.

2006 was the year when the tier-one brands heavily promoted and discounted their TVs to get people’s attention. Panasonic, Sony and Samsung were all sold at very aggressive prices.

On their special “Black Friday” promotion days in 2006 you could get a Panasonic 42-inch HD Plasma TV for $999, whereas the best street price today (in Feb 2007) is around $1,100-$1,195.

Panasonic say a plasma television is still better at displaying moving pictures than an LCD television. For example, when an image is shown with motion at walking speed on an on a 1,080p LCD panel, the resolution of that picture drops below the high-definition 720p standard.

Resolution also drops in motion scenes for plasma, but the drop off in resolution is not as sharp as it is for LCD. The result, and this is not understood by most consumers, is that when an image is shown with walking speed motion, the typical 720p plasma display can show more resolution than a 1,080p LCD panel.

Panasonic and most other vendors expect the the total number of TV units sold to remain stable, but the proportion of 37-inch and above models will grow, because people are now buying 42-inch models for their secondary rooms.

Keep up-to-date with LCD TV prices and news at www.lcdtvcenter.com

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