In March, Pioneer announced it was halting Plasma display production and today Vizio has made a similar announcement, putting another nail in the technology’s coffin.
The inexpensive HDTV maker has decided to move its focus to LCD sets, and will completely halt its plasma production by the end of the year.
With Vizio and Pioneer bowing out, three major manufacturers remain in the plasma business: LG, Panasonic, and Samsung.
Plasma TV shipments rose 28 percent for the Q4 2008 and were up over 10 percent for the entire year. Despite those statistics, LCD TVs control the market, selling about seven times the amount of plasma sets over a full year.
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According to a new email sent out yesterday, the bankrupt retailer Circuit City has dropped the price on many of their items, finally giving some good sales on items they must liquidate before March 31st.
The retailer is dropping the price of all plasma TVs by 25 percent, all LCD TVs by 20 percent, 20 percent off most digital cameras and 40 percent off “car audio” systems.
That of course does not mean that there are many good prices, with some still selling for higher prices than Amazon even with the discounts.
Some smaller sized TVs are selling for a good 20-30 percent discount compared to any online retailer, so it may finally be time to head over to your local Circuit City in search of a deal.
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LG has announced the development of the world’s first 480 Hz LCD TV panel. The TV is capable of a refresh rate of 480 images per second. In comparison, most commercially available LCD TVs currently have refresh rates of 120 Hz or 60 Hz.
The electronics company explained “that the technology is enabled by combining existing 240 Hz panels with “scanning backlight”, which repeatedly turns the backlight on and off to reduce motion blur. According to the company, the panel also posts a low motion picture response time of 4 ms, which should eliminate motion blur to provide a realistic out-of-the-window view.”
There are also “a few other new features in this panel, such as technologies to create more contrast and a greater brightness level, as well as the ability to adjust the backlight brightness to reduce the power consumption of the LCD panel.”
A prototype will be shown off at CES and the first consumer TVs will hit North American stores in the Q3 2009.
