Did anyone else know and find it unusual that Sony no longer make Plasma

[ikonia]

Doing some shopping for a large TV at the weekend I was pointed at some good models. One was a large LCD to which the sales persons suggested I lean towards plasmas at this size unless I planned to do a lot of gaiming. I suggested I was open to options please show me the plasmas made by the same good quality LCD's I was looking at.

To which he pulled at a ton of panasonics and no Sony's I asked why and he told me that Sony no longer make plasmas.

I was quite surprised. Is this common knowledge and I'm just out of it or is there a reason behind it that I'm not seeing.

[Funkstar]

Sony are a little strange if you ask me.

they stopped producing plasmas a while back, but they are also one of the few still making rear projection sets.

Im sure that LCD will completely take over from plasma over the next few years, but from the sets i've seen they aren't there quite yet. There is another current thread (started by TheAnimus) that has people saying the new 2007 LCDs are far far better than the previous generation.

If you want full HD, you are pretty much limited to LCD, there aren't many plasma screens doing that kind of resolution. Conversely, if you want a huge screen, like 50"+ plasma is your friend

[SiM]

I bet you they stop making bluray next

[Lee @ SCAN]

This pops up all the time.

A quick google for "sony stopping plasma" gets the same story reports from 2005, 2006 and some for 2007.

Seems to be a recurring theme doesn't it

[ikonia]

really, they stopped making them that long ago. I'm stunned. I must be very much out of the loop on this.

[TheAnimus]

In theory LCD will be able too beat plasma.... in theory communism works.

Problem is in the plasma market there was little margin for profit, so sony pulled the plug. Plasma's are expensive enough too make, but not as expensive (or as good) as LCD. Given that few would say you'd want plasma at 30-40" LCD has had hudge investment compared to plasma.

Plasma might give you a better bang for buck, but LCD better, the only difficulty is making them big enough.

[bigblue]

Yup, some high st. stores are still selling Sony Plasmas though! Costco still has some too.

I think it's quite a sensible business plan they have for TV's, at least in the States. LCD up to a certain size, then rear-pro for the really big sizes. No need for plasma if you believe how good they say their LCD's are

They've seemingly abandoned rear-pro for the UK market now though. Shame, since the new slim SXRD Deep Colour sets look phenomenal, and have a feature set to match. Price to match too though I'd imagine But they're wall mountable, which seems to be the most important thing in the UK market. I'd gladly pay the extra and get one of them over an LCD. Not getting the chance though

LCD's seem to suit the manufacturers as they're more profitable/easier to manufacture than plasma. Not sure it always suits the punter but more and more people are now saying they prefer LCD's so they must be getting something right with the current sets.

[neonplanet40]

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Sony-KDL32D3000/

Im getting that and i would suggest you look at AVForums for more info Ikonia. They wil be able to help you pick a different screen if you need help.

Sony always try and push some technology which usually involves them dropping others