Philips looking to exit plasma biz in 2009

Recent activity is making 2009 look like the year when manufacturers will be leaving the plasma party en masse, for sure. Even if the number of brands on the shelves isn't greatly diminished, the number of independent manufacturers will be. Since Philips has continued to reduce its stake in the LCD production venture with LG and handed over North American production to Funai, it'd be no great surprise to see it exit the plasma biz. Just like every party, sometimes the really crazy stuff happens in the wee hours, after the initial exodus; we'll see next year if plasma goes out strong or sad.

[Via TGDaily]

[skinney23 Posted May 19th 2008 8:08PM]

LCD's suck. The top PDP's have better color, deeper blacks, better off angle viewing. I guess people are not interested in quality!

[(Unverified) Posted May 20th 2008 12:32PM]

I'm already looking forward to inexpensive Pioneer Kuro plasmas. ;)

[(Unverified) Posted May 23rd 2008 11:14AM]

Have you looked at LCDs lately? just this past week I was checking out LCDs and Plasmas side by side and I was shocked at how much better the LCD blacks looked on the Samsung LCD compared to the Pana's plasmas. Plasma is a dying technology..

[Hoot Posted May 20th 2008 12:13PM]

I agree that plasma's probably have the most 'accurate' picture., that is if you want to be all videophile about it. But the picture on the top notch LCD's is much more impressive, everything is much brighter and colors are more vibrant.

I would say that most consumers like the wow factor they get from the LCD picture better. Plasma can give you more bang for your buck though if you're price shopping.

The new Series 6 Sammy's have ridiculous pictures, when side by side with a nice Panasonic plasma they really shine. They make the technically more accurate plasma picture seem muted.