Right time to buy an HDTV?
If you ran out and bought a shiny new plasma or LCD television this past holiday season, you might not want to keep reading. According to a forecast by the firm Pacific Media Associates, flat-panel HDTV prices will drop another 15.6 percent this year.
If you ran out and bought a shiny new plasma or LCD television this past holiday season, you might not want to keep reading. According to a forecast by the firm Pacific Media Associates, flat-panel HDTV prices will drop another 15.6 percent this year.
This projected drop would top the 14.7 percent price cut for flat-panel HDTVs in 2007 compared to the year before, which resulted in an 86 percent increase in sales.
Bear in mind, however, price drops are more dramatic for some TVs over others; consumers, for example, are opting for larger sets and with the top-of-the-line 1080p resolution, both of which net a higher price tag than smaller 720p/1080i televisions, this study finds.
Don’t be surprised about this projected flat-panel HDTV price drop in ‘08. Think about it: today you can pick up a 42-inch plasma TV for under $800. How much was that same TV (and likely with less bells and whistles) in 2003? Closer to $4,000.
Filed Under: Home Entertainment
Hey Marc, I'm a little confused. Are you saying that you believe that the estimated 15.6% price drop will effect mainly lower end flat panels and not the top of line 1080P 50"+ flat panels?
I ask because I am currently saving for a 50" Panasonic Plasma TH-50PZ700 which goes for about $3500. What is your opinion on the Panasonic PZ700 vs. the Sony XBR4 52". I can't decide because I like the Sony but I can't ignore the fact that Plasma offers better handling of motion and deeper blacks than LCD's. If the only advantage LCD has over Plasma is the fact that it can be seen better in a room full of light, I just can't justify buying the XBR4.
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Hey Brian,
I meant the top-of-the-line TVs might not drop in price as fast as those with less bells & whistles. Personally, I'm a fan of Panasonic and Pioneer for plasma and Sony and Sharp for LCD. I understand your dilemma but you need to look at what size you want, what kind of room you'll be watching in and what you'll be using it for primarily.
Marc
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Hi All! I work in the industry and i still see plasmas having the same problam with burn-in. Happens less often on Panasonic than other brands but still can happen. Stretching the picture for the first 75 hours of viewing is still no guarantee against burn-in.(and a pain in the butt) For my money,any of the top 3 brands fo LCD featuring 120 hz.is the way to go, but i would wait until summer to make the purchase when the sets will be less exp.
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Brian, under 95% of viewing conditions the Sony LCD destroys the Panasonic plasma. In a completely dark room with no other light source the Panasonic plasma will do well. The rest of the time it looks like crap due to internal and external reflection of ambient and point light sources. Just drive down to your local best buy and see them side by side.
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Brian, Sorry to gang up on you for this but I have to agree with Tony and Jeff. We are talking about an XBR here with the Bravia Engine PRO. This feature gives you a smoother 8ms refresh rate and better color reproduction plus an awsome 18000 to 1 contrast ratio. Jeff is right also about the external reflection on Plasmas. It really bothers me, LCD has an anti reflective screen that difusses reflection so you can focus more in the image. I also reccomend you wait if you can. 2 things, 1) XBR 6 and 7 are on their way this summer, 2) Current models are being packaged with a Blu-ray (Crossing my fingers Paramount/universal swiches over) + hometheatre that will do a Theatre Sync (I love that feature). Lastly, If you're planning to use it for gaming, Don't buy plasma.
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@ Brian- I must tell you that Plasmas are a rip off, they only have a life of about 1,000 hours i think it was, maybe more but if you watch it about 6 hours a day it will only last a year. Country club i used to work at would have to re-buy a new plasma every single year since plasmas first came out becaus the picture would fade and die out until its gone do to the gasses inside breaking down. LCD is the way to go out of those two, but id suggest waiting for sony's OLED tv's to come out before making a big purchase.
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Hey Sean… You gonna have to wait for awhile for those
OLED… Largest they can make so far is 27" and it's around $5000. It has a lot of bugs still. It will be around 7 to 10 years before OLED will be practical and before we see a 50" at a reasonable price. They are Awesome though. I saw one at the Sony Show last November at the Sone Centre here in Toronto (I kinda likes the 70" LCD as well but I rather buy a BMW for $40000)
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Thanks for your input guys. I am a big fan of Sony. It looks like it will take me at least until the summer to save that much coin. I'll wait as you suggest. I am surprised to hear such negative input on the plasma displays though. I read in Consumers Reports that the PZ700 was the best display they had ever seen. Panasonic rates this TV at 100,000 hours but according to Sean it's more like 1,000 hours. I watch a lot of sports, a lot of movies and I intend on buying a PS3 in the future so the consensus is to buy 120 mhz LCD over Plasma? Sean I would love to buy an OLED TV(saw it on TV at the CES Show)but I don't have 20G's for 50".
Thanks again for your help.
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Tony, Jeff and Sean: I'm not sure which decade you guys live in, but the arguments you bring about Plasma TVs are absolutely retarded.
Plasma do well in any room with any lighting. The LCD might look better at your Best Buy, but it's because the lighting is 5 times brighter than in any average living room. My plasma is mounted over the fireplace in direct sunlight during the day, and it doesn't affect the viewing whatsoever. I have ambient lighting at night, which again, does not cause any reflection issue. Unless you have spotlights beaming at the TV in your living room, I don't think you need to worry.
As for the burn-in, this has been a moot issue for many years. Burn-in was an issue in the early part of the decade, but TVs built post-2003 do not suffer from this issue.
As for the 1000-hour life, I'm not sure where you got that from. Most plasma tvs have a life of 50 000 hours +, which means you would have to watch tv 24 hours / day, 7 days / week for more than 5 years before you start seeing a decline in picture quality.
Brian – go ahead and buy that Plasma tv. You won't regret it!
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I agree with Panasonic Onyx XVS 42 inch. In fact, the only arguments against plasma that make any sense to me are the ones based on power-consumption. Plasmas still consume more power and that's a pity because IMHO, the picture is still superior to LCD. BTW, the one thing that really bugs me about LCD to this day is the off-angle viewing, especially on the vertical axis. Tilting an LCD has a noticeable effect on picture quality. Plasmas just don't suffer from this at all.
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But remember what we are trying to compare… a 50" Panasonic Plasma TH-50PZ700 and a Sony KDL-52XBR4. Simon, I believe you agree that the XBR4 is not your typical LCD TV. I guess the only way to go is to do a head to head…
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After thinking long and hard about all the arguments I'm beginning to lean towards the Sony for a number of reasons. In all the reviews I've read and watched on-line I don't think anyone has said they were unimpressed with the Sony XBR4. In fact everyone has pretty much agreed it is the Crown Jewel of 50+" LCD TV's. Sure a few have said Plasma was superior. Some even feel the Pioneer Kuro Plasma's are also superior to the XBR4, but not by much in any case. When I also weigh in the factors that there is no threat of burn-in, consumes less power, views well in any room irregardless of lighting and cost about the same…..It's hard not pick the Sony. Not to mention the outer casing is far superior to the Panasonic.
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All you Sony guys have been blinded by Sony's incredible "marketing machine". The Samsung 81 series is much better than the XBR 4/5. You need see them side to side, and keep your damn Sony bias to the side. First off, the Samsung 81 series has LED backlighting, that BLOWS away the Sony's contrast ratio; Samsung – 150,000:1 and Sony 18,000:1 !!! And the colors are much more vivid. AND the blacks of the Samsung are much deeper!! Buy the Samsung 81 series bro!!!
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If you are a gamer, I suggest NOT going with the Sony LCD. You will notice ghosting if playing fast games.
Also, if you are a sports fan…forget the LCD – it just doesn't cut it as compared to Plasma. Unless you loved the Fox Tracker with the trail behind the puck, go plasma.
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Vince,
Look at consumer reports… What LCD's are given the highest rating? Sony XBR's. It's not Sony's marketing machine that makes the tv so popular, its the fact that they make a superior tv compared to their competitors. It's time to stop the Sony Hating…..
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