Where Do Plasma Displays Go From Here?

The cream rises to the top, at least that’s how the saying goes. However, when it comes to consumer electronics, nothing could be further from the truth. In this arena, mediocrity reigns supreme. The life of an electronics enthusiast and early adopter is tough, just ask Laserdisc and HD DVD fanboys. However, the one constant seems to be that when electronics are marketed to the general public, it’s never based on how well the said product performs, it’s all about convenience and useless gimmicks. This is the bane of anyone who cares about quality because mass appeal usually comes at a price, and that price is usually performance.

The latest example of this playing out in the CE world is the LCD vs plasma issue. LCD technology has come a long way, and many look good, but they still pale in comparison to a quality plasma display. To date, I have yet to see any LCD panel look as good as an ISF Calibrated Pioneer Kuro plasma. That also includes all the extremely expensive LED/LCD panels. Sadly the Kuro is no more, and once all the current stock is depleted from dealers across the nation, the best thing since sliced bread will be gone forever. View the cnet video review of a Kuro Elite below. They declared it the best panel they have ever seen before. These guys have reviewed literally every flat panel on the market to date. That says a lot.

Before the Pioneer Kuro line, there was another titan in the plasma market that vanished all too soon because of consumer ignorance. That titan was the Fujitsu Aviamo. The Aviamo was the golden standard of plasma displays. Rich, vibrant and accurate colors. It wasn’t cheap, but comparably priced luxury LCDs sold more, which was a crying shame since this wasn’t a thing of economics. People willingly payed top dollar for inferior performance.

So if plasma displays are better, why do they trail behind LCDs in sales? This might seem like a fair question on the surface, but there is absolutely no correlation with a product having a lot of sales and that said product being the best. I’ll use an analogy here to drive my point further. No one can argue that Kenny G has sold far more records than John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, but does it mean that Mr. G is the better saxophone player? Mentioning his(Kenny G) name in the same sentence is insulting enough to Coltrane and Rollins, I will sully their names no more. You get my point. So why is this always the default argument whenever there is a comparison with LCD and plasma technology? You will never see any videophile or video centric website, journal, magazine or publication say that LCD is superior to plasma in terms of picture quality, because it isn’t.

The primary reason LCDs sell more is simple, there are a lot more of them. Outside of the uber expensive, esoteric brands like Runco, Bang & Olufsen and a few others, there are slim pickings for the average consumer. Panasonic, Samsung and LG is all that is left for plasma fans.

Other reasons for the lackluster sales of plasma is that LCDs range in sizes from 6 to over 100 inches, while plasmas generally start at 42 inches. LCDs have the under 40 inch display market, so that skews the overall number in favor of LCD tech dramatically. LCDs are also cheaper to manufacture, so that is what will be promoted more heavily. Take a walk into the typical electronics store, the LCDs are out front and center. They sure look good under those intense fluorescent lights don’t they? What your friendly sales associate neglected to tell you is that those LCDs are usually factory preset in what videophiles call “torch mode”. They jack up the contrast dramatically, making bright colors extra bright. LCDs also perform well under bright lights, so the combination of “torch mode” and glaring fluorescent lights attracts people like moths to a flame. However, most people don’t have homes with 10,000 watt industrial fluorescent lights and will not knowingly watch televisions that are out of contrast and not color accurate. Irrelevant issues like burn-in and power consumption continue to linger on, despite the fact that these are non issues with current plasma technology. On an A/V forum I frequent, I had a guy tell me he doesn’t like plasma because they are slightly heavier. An absurd stance, because unless I am mistaken, televisions are stationary, you either wall mount them or put them on a stand.

Of all the current plasma manufacturers, Panasonic, in my opinion is in the best position to take plasma tech even further in terms of performance. They have really modest prices, and are often cheaper than similarly priced LCDs. However, I’m more excited about their future plans. They have pledged to carry the plasma flag for the foreseeable future. Videophiles are grateful. We can’t continue to wait for OLED.

In conclusion, when buying a television, make sure you consider the lighting of your room. Plasmas will always perform better in light controlled situations. Do not assume that just because something looks good at the store, it will look good in your home. If you remotely care about black levels and accurate colors, then the nod again goes to plasma. Ultimately, you should buy what you like, just make sure your comparisons are thorough. Eyeballing it at your local store is not enough. All comparisons being equal, the discerning eye will always choose plasma.

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