More on Plasma Television Sales will follow soon.

Subscribe to our free monthly e-zine to remain abreast with the latest additions to our website. 

Click here for details.

Will High-Definition Plasma Television Sales keep up against the latest Big-Screen LCD HDTVs?

Plasma Television: A Threatened Species?

Plasma Television Sales have been experiencing a steady fall since last quarter of 2006 - this after the sharp growth we saw in plasma TV sales in the previous years. It is true that a lot has changed in flat-panel display technology since plasmas were first introduced in 2003.

Some analysts are referring to the plasma TV as the endangered species - in particular as a result of the fierce competition between plasma and LCD HDTV makers. Still, plasma TV sets are managing to outsell LCD TVs at the larger-screen sizes. But... is this enough for plasma televisions to survive?

An affordable option from Panasonic: TH-42PX75U 42" 720p Plasma HDTV

The Flat-panel TV Invasion!

Flat-screen displays are literally flying off store shelves. 40 to 50 inch models have become truly affordable, while larger plasma displays and LCD TVs are readily available from major stores.

In the process, we have started to see some really cheap plasma HDTVs from a few leaders in the field. Name-brand 720p 42-inch plasmas are already available at around $1,000, while some 50-inch 1080p plasma HDTV sets are selling at under $2,000.

Bigger and brighter is the way major manufacturers are pushing ahead. But consumers are not just buying flat-panel TVs; they are flat-panel HDTVs. And not any HDTV... the hot spec of the moment is 1080p HDTV.

Sales of HDTV sets have surpassed that of standard definition TVs. And within a year, 1080p LCD and plasma television sales are expected to outsell 720p HDTVs. This despite the higher price tag and the non-availability of broadcast programming in 1080p yet!

The irony here is that despite the increase in the presence of HDTV sets in US households, there is still a lot of consumer confusion about high definition television.

The unfortunate thing is that TV makers appear to be taking a ride over this lack of consumer understanding.

A study carried out by Best Buy in 2007 had shown that having an HDTV set in the house does not necessarily imply that the customer has an understanding of HDTV. In fact, some 89% of all consumers stated that they lack the necessary understanding of HDTV technology.

In addition, 52% of those planning to buy an HDTV fail to budget correctly; they just fail to take into account the cost of other necessary HD components. Even worse is that half of all HDTV owners taking part in the survey admitted they are either not watching HD programming, or they aren’t sure if they are!

A higher price tag... Despite all this HDTV confusion among consumers, the average customer is ready to pay the higher price tag associated with 1080p HDTVs, even though the price difference is significant. A 50-inch 1080p HDTV plasma costs at least five to six hundred dollars more than a 50-inch 720p plasma HDTV.  To many, a 1080p HDTV set equates to the very best in picture quality - this is what the media says - so consumers are ready to spend more.

In the mist of all this confusion, the average consumer is not only ready to pay more for any 1080p HDTV, but for a 1080p LCD HDTV - even though these represent the most expensive breed. Most TV makers and retailers alike seem to be driving the message that LCD is better.

But if this were the case, then why do numerous high-definition enthusiast keep affirming that plasma TVs deliver the best picture on the market? Will plasma survive the fierce completion from LCDs?

What about Plasma Television Sales?

The fierce competition between plasma and LCD TV makers is surely resulting in some healthy price cuts for the end consumer. In particular, during last quarter of 2007, plasma TV manufactures came with more aggressive pricing strategy especially at the 50-inch category to maintain their foothold at the larger-end segment of the market.

This move came at the right timing and helped boost plasma television sales as studies showed that most households are moving on to pick their second flat-panel TV, and this will be 50-inch or bigger.

One should not forget that the 2006 was the year of the LCD, when sales of LCD HDTVs at the 40 to 44 inches screen size surpassing for the first time ever 42-inch plasma television sales. Furthermore, 2006 was also the year when LCD HDTVs surpassed plasmas in global sales. What remained a stronghold for plasma televisions is the larger screen category, where plasma television sales still surpassed LCDs.

Main reason is that at the larger screen size, plasma HDTV sets like the 58-inch Panasonic TH-58PZ700U and the Samsung FPT5884 (reviewed on our site here), released earlier in 2007, while relatively expensive in comparison to 1080p rear projection HDTVs, yet they still carry a significant price advantage over their LCD counterparts.

But is the price advantage enough for plasma HDTVs to survive the LCD TV threat - at least at the larger end of the TV screen market?

For sure, the latest flat-screen plasma HDTVs are capable of delivering a great picture quality. In particular, plasma television sets have an edge over LCD TVs when it comes to shadow detail and deep shade of black. A deep shade of black improves the realism of dark scenes while making colors look richer and more saturated.

Furthermore, plasma TV sets  tend to support a wide angle of view both vertical and horizontal - meaning that they do not suffer from image degradation - as you move away from the normal to the screen - associated with some rear-projection TV systems and earlier LCD TVs. 

And high-definition enthusiasts would soon vow that plasma TVs deliver the best cinematic picture quality on the market.

So then, why plasma television sales are on the decline? Why is it that many consumers prefer the more expensive LCD HDTV set, and why more TV manufactures are deciding to stop making plasma TVs?

It is clear that the edge in picture quality alone is not enough for plasma to survive, after all, most display technologies today are capable of doing a great job in delivering a great picture - and this applies even to the substantially cheaper yet bigger rear projection HDTVs.

And what about the price advantage that plasmas have over their LCD counterparts?

Well, RPTV sets have a far significant price advantage over both plasmas and LCD HDTVs, and still rear projection HDTV sales are on the decline.

In other words, even the cheaper price of plasma TVs with respect to LCDs, is in our opinion, not a determining factor to slow the present drop in plasma television sales. The drastic price cuts we saw during last quarter of 2007 on 50-inch and larger plasma HDTVs - while did help plasma HDTVs to make a comeback, yet were not enough to stop the present overall negative trend in plasma television sales.

There is a simple valid reason for this. When it comes to high tech electronics, there is the trend among most consumers that they are ready pay more for those products that give them the perception that they are the greatest and latest. And in this respect, the misinformed consumer tends to equate a higher price tag with a better product - when in reality this needs not be the case.

The plasma TV set was once regarded as a sort of status symbol among Americans. Trends changes with technology. Thanks to advancements in technology, what used to be very expensive has become relatively affordable. Plasma is no longer the most expensive TV you can get, instead, it is the 1080p LCD HDTV.

In this respect, the 1080p LCD HDTV set had sever impact on plasma television sales despite the much higher price tag associate with 1080p LCD TVs. LCD TV makers were faster than plasma manufactures to roll out 1080p HDTVs; this gave LCD TV makers the chance to drive the message that LCD HDTVs are better even though this need not necessarily be so.

1080p is bigger than 720p, and bigger numbers sell better! Manufactures know this very well and started making 1080p LCD HDTVs even at the smaller screen sizes where the benefits associated with a 1080p native screen resolution would be hardly perceivable by the viewer. But a 1080p HDTV LCD sells for a higher price tag and therefore brings in higher profit margins for both manufactures and retailers. Isn't this enough to push retailers in particular to drive the more expensive LCD HDTVs?

Surprised? Maybe not, but it is this push by TV makers and retailers favoring the more expensive 1080p LCD HDTV that is really threatening the plasma HDTV species. This is leading to fierce competition between LCD and plasma TV makers, which while resulting in beneficial price cuts for the end customer, yet it is also significantly eroding the profit margins associated with plasma television sales

This is leading major plasma TV makers like Pioneer - ranked as the fifth largest TV maker in the world, to pull off the plug on plasma panel manufacturing. OK, reports by Reuters stated that Pioneer will still continue making plasma TVs by procuring display panels from Matsushita. Ironically, Matsushita's Panasonic brand is surely one of the biggest plasma TV rivals Pioneer had been facing with its Kuro mini-brand.

Similarly, Philips announced that it will exist the US and Canadian TV market. Philips will still continue to sell name brand TVs but these will be made by Funai Electric.

We believe that it is still too early to determine if plasma will eventually survive the present threat imposed by the fierce LCD HDTV competition. We sincerely hope it will; plasma TV sets still have a lot to offer in terms of picture performance till better display technologies emerge. Equally important, we do not think it would be beneficial to the end-customer if plasma TVs were to reach a pre-mature death because of LCD HDTVs.

However it all depends on the TV makers and retailers in particular, in that they have the potential to mold the market and determine the way forward by manipulating end-customer perceptions.

 Copyright © - Practical-Home-Theater-Guide.com  All rights reserved.