plasma

Some salespeople still think flat-panel LCDs beat plasmas?

In a time when CNET's two top-rated HDTVs of the year are Panasonic's TH-50PZ800U and Pioneer's PDP-5020FD, we have to wonder why a salesperson would recommend flat-panel LCD HDTVs at the rate that J.D. Power and Associates claims in a recent report.

The report, which surveyed more than 2,000 shoppers on their experience in big-box electronic retailers, a specialty television retailer, a mass merchant, and a warehouse store, found that retail salespeople recommended LCDs over plasmas at a three-to-one rate.

Sure, plasmas have a long list of supposed failings: they're allegedly bulky and power hungry, and have image burn-in issues and leaks, and a short lifespan. However, most of these problems--image burn-in being the most common with early plasma sets--have been resolved on modern plasma displays.

According to the report, however, "37 percent of salespersons warned their customers that images may be permanently burned onto the screen of plasma TVs." The lifespan argument doesn't hold up either, as both LCD and plasma lifespan claims are basically the same now at 60,000 hours each. And, with LCDs still costing more at equivalent screen sizes, it's certainly convenient for retailers to promote the LCD technology over its less expensive rival.… Read more

Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD reviewed, and why Panasonic is rated higher

For quite some time, the battle for CNET's "Best HDTV Overall" has essentially been between Pioneer's and Panasonic's plasmas. Plasma technology may be losing market share every year, but it's still the clear winner when it comes to image quality, thanks to deep, rich blacks that LCDs still can't match. And the conventional wisdom lately has basically been that Pioneer is the best bet for flat-panel videophiles, due to its industry-best black levels (excluding Sony's little OLED set.)

We posted our full review of the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD on Friday, and home … Read more

Homemade plasma speaker puts on a light show

Cruising around YouTube, I found "Plasma Speaker/Singing Arc," an intriguing little video of a homemade "speaker" that makes sound by directly ionizing air.

It's not exactly high-fidelity, but it shows there are still a few tinkerers out there thinking about something other than the iPod.

The person behind the video describes the process: "This is a prototype of a FM modulated plasma arc speaker/tweeter. Have since built this circuit on a custom PCB & made an improved vertical discharge setup, using tungsten-tipped electrodes (see my other videos). This stops the plasma hopping … Read more

A plasma that Lucy would have watched

Those who are still salivating at the thought of having a state-of-the-art 103-inch HDTV taking up a wall in their apartment probably wouldn't have much use for a retro-designed set from the '50s, but we're sure that others would die to have something like this.

It's hard enough to find furniture that can blend a flat-panel TV into the decor, and it can be infinitely more difficult when there's a specific theme or period that needs to be matched. The revival of "mid-century" design is no exception, and the boom in that genre would … Read more

Sneak peek of 9G Kuro coming to Asia

We've received a heads-up from our Pioneer source on a recent Japanese launch of its videophile-grade 9G Kuro. This delivers five times better dynamic contrast than the U.S.-centric PDP-6010FD, promising even richer blacks than any existing Kuro plasma TVs on the market.

Furthermore, the KRP-600M's 100,000:1 rating puts it in the class of the recently announced Panasonic Viera TH-65PY850M. That said, the former is strictly a full-HD monitor, shipped without an onboard TV tuner and loudspeakers.

It also features multiple remote LEDs for enhanced infrared control in dark home theaters, as well as a … Read more

Report: Game consoles, plasma TVs major power sucks

If you're aiming to be green these days, I'm afraid I have to counsel you to turn the power off on your next-generation video game console.

According to Reuters, an Australian research firm has concluded that machines like Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 lead the field when it comes to consumer electronics that consume the most power.

And no, not using them is not enough. As the Australian researchers at Choice found, the machines continue to gobble up power, even when they're in stand-by mode.

The PS3 topped Choice's list, followed by … Read more

Report: Tube TVs weather slowdown better than LCDs, plasmas

Tube TVs did best weathering an overall decline in television sales during the first quarter, largely due to a softening economy and a lower price point than their plasma display panel and liquid crystal display TV competitors.

Total North America TV shipments declined 34 percent in the first quarter over the previous quarter, according to recently released results from DisplaySearch, an NPD Group company. Plasmas fell by 38 percent, while LCD televisions dropped by 35 percent.

But in comparison, shipments of the old CRT (cathode ray tube) TVs slipped only 14 percent in the quarter, the study found.

"We … Read more

Panasonic plasma TV streams YouTube, accesses Picasa photos

We detailed Panasonic's full plasma lineup earlier this year, but having just returned from a press event devoted to the flagship TH-PZ850U series, it feels incumbent to reiterate some of the cool new features of these expensive sets.

The coolest? A demo at the event proved that the 850Us can stream YouTube videos, right on the TV screen with no PC required. The TV's "Viera Cast" interface allows you to search YouTube by keyword, sort videos by popularity, or access your own list of favorite videos, for example. During the demo we were treated to a video of a laughing baby, the (no-surprise) current champ of the popularity list. According to Panasonic, the entire catalog of YouTube videos is available on the TV, although it may take a day or two for a new one on the site to appear on Viera Cast. The TV can also access Picasa, Google's photo sharing site, so you can view digital photos stored at your (or someone else's) Picasa account directly on the big screen.

When will Panasonic's huge plasmas ship?

You may have read about Panasonic's Neo PDP plasma technology, and even caught a glimpse of the prototypes at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. However, they could actually be coming to retail stores as early as June 2009 after initial May production from the Japanese company's P5 plant, Panasonic's latest plasma panel manufacturing facility currently undergoing construction in Amagasaki, Japan.

The lineup includes a petite 24.7-millimeter-thick 50-incher and its larger-than-life 150-inch sibling. The latter also offers four times better image details over standard full-HD TVs with a native 4,096 x 2,160-pixel … Read more

125-inch plasma throws a curve

NEC made a splash when it showed off its 42-inch curved display at CES earlier this year, but there are others in the works that make it seem downright puny. Take Shinoda Plasma, for example. The Japanese manufacturer has trotted out a 125-inch prototype that's not only flexible but just 1 millimeter thick and weighing only 8 pounds. It's reminiscent of that wraparound OLED screen we saw from Sony a year ago, though the plasma obviously uses different technology.

Shinoda's prototype falls a bit shy of a 142-inch promise it made last year, as Engadget notes, but … Read more