7/28 - SONY attacks Plasma TVs in Full-page Ads (Sonv LCD vs Plasma)

:o FYI... from the "like.no.other" company (Sony)

(Friday, July 28, 2006)
- In their latest LCD TV marketing, Sony has produced major full-page advertisements, seen in both Friday editions of USA TODAY and THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (and others?), attacking Plasma TVs [and suggested a Sunday 7/30 comparsion by consumers].

Here's is what the ad actually says (most of it in very large type)...

-SONY'S BASEBALL HD CHALLENGE-

SONY LCD vs. PLASMA this Sunday - July 30

ASK YOUR HDTV RETAILER TO TUNE ALL THE SCREENS TO BASEBALL

TWO SETS. NO MERCY.

(then in smaller type below) - This Sunday, July 30, head down to your local HDTV retailer and ask them to tune all their screens to baseball. You may notice something odd when you watch a game on a Sony LCD TV, and then on the plasma TVs. Fluorescent lights. Shelving. Maybe even yourself. This is because plasma televisions use glass components that cause reflections. Sony BRAVIA LCD TV controls reflections to give you HD as it was meant to be. Learn more at sony.com/HDTV

(end of adv.)

-Love Hendrix!

plasmas are inferior to lcds in a number of areas:

shorter life spans

high-pitch noises at certain altitudes

inflexibility (can only be made in very large screen sizes)

burn-in

All TV displays have their pros and cons, and for the most part Plasma owners really like their sets [even some of those non-HD "ED Plasmas", like the Panasonic and Samsung]. Cnet.com editors consistently find plasmas producing the best overall-quality HD image.

3 of the 4 things you mention above are no longer applicable to today's 8th and 9th generation Plasma displays [although yes, higher altitudes will affect Plasma operations], and as for saying plasmas can "only be made in very large screen sizes," remember that Panasonic has produced a "smaller size" 37-inch model; although (your right) in that usually almost every plasma ever produced has been 42 inches and above in size [at least for the USA market].

In posting this thread, I found it ironic that last year Sony attacked Texas Instruments "DLP" technology in their LCOS (LCD) marketing [dishing DLP's "spinning color wheel" etc], it being a technology Sony has never supported, and now this year they are attacking plasmas, a technology that Sony previously very much supported (until last year), and there are still some unsold 2004-model Sony plasma TVs at retailers [seen a few at Micro Center, for instance].

And since the last few years have seen even better-quality plasma displays being manufactured [especially from plasma-best-selling leader, Panasonic, along with Pioneer and others], what's apparent in the ad's content is the ONLY thing Sony publicly criticizes of plasmas is the "glass components that cause reflections".

I really don't think an educated, potential TV customer is going to mind this minor flaw - [occasional reflections; can depend on where one's sitting and time of day] - compared to the overall high-quality of the plasma image; although some plasmas do consume around 15-25% more energy than LCD [higher electric bill], and your "theater room" will have the temperature raised during viewing.

Finally, since Sony already sells CRT, Rear-Projection LCD, Front-Projection LCD, etc, I think they won't have another type of TV display "technology" to market against, until next year's SED models are released by the Toshiba/Canon partnership. Oh wait, SED is even superior to LCD, so Sony strikes out there.

-Love Hendrix!

I really don't know that much about this subject, but my husband has been searching for a flat-screen for the past few months. And, given that my father is in the TV business we got his input on the matter.

He told me that the plasmas aren't that great bc they are much more fragile than the LCDs. Don't plasmas have to be straight up all the time? They can never be flat, so this makes them a little more inconvenient- especially for consumers who may not know as much about them.

Just a thought...

Ah, dang, Millie! And here I was thinking of using a new plasma as a coffee table. Oh, well....

John

When I was at Panasonic Hollywood Labs, I and others observed that the telltale glare caused by dual layers of glass on the plasma sets was noticeable only from EXTREME angles to the side. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

I'm one of the ones who's been very happy with my plasma set, and am currently gravitating toward another one. I like the stronger black levels, and I like how plasma is more forgiving when you're watching things that AREN'T high-def, and how you can see it better from the sides. That said, I haven't gotten one yet because the LCDs look darned good and have things going for them too, like less glare and more apparent contrast in a bright room. But hey, both LCDs and plasma sets are looking pretty fantastic these days. So much so, that I'm waiting to be convinced that one particular set is the one to buy.

Oooooooh . . . Plaaaaaaasma . . .



[Post edited by Tim Raynor on Nov 7, 2007]

Quote:
inflexibility (can only be made in very large screen sizes)

Damn and I wanted a 19 Inch plasma as my Home Theater Centerpiece

Hey James,

I decided earlier this summer to upgrade from my Sharp Aquos to a discounted 50" plasma [over the Black Friday weekend probably], and will probably buy the 720p Panasonic PX75U plasma, for quality, reliability, and price-value.

It's the best name-brand plasma with a sale price (currently only $1400 at Fry's Electronics, and may be lower on B.F. weekend), about a $1000 less than the 1080p models (which also run at a much higher temperature [more energy], due to the 1080p plasma cell structure), and most expert opinion is that when viewing standard definition content, the images look better on a 720p panel rather than 1080p, due to less scaling-conversion.

This will be my first plasma, and should provide an excellent image, with great immersion (50" screen), and will satisfy me until OLED or SED gets develop in the coming years, and eventually at reasonable prices.

-Love Hendrix! (The Loverboy)