The plasma may be a dying breed, but the ones that are left are undoubtedly some of the best the world has ever seen. Take
Panasonic's 54-inch
TC-P54Z1 for example, which wowed audiences (us included) when it was
first unveiled way back at CES. The
HD Guru recently had an opportunity to take this very screen into his abode for review, and after a labor-intensive (around "one hour") setup process, the gazing was officially on. Panny's engineers were able to slim the set down to an inch by requiring that a dedicated (wireless) set-top-box be used for tuning OTA channels and managing connections, and the result was nothing less than elegant. If you're wondering what north of five large really buys in an
HDTV these days, wonder no more -- the set was deemed darn near perfect, with "outstanding" color, contrast and deep black levels. Potentially best of all, there were no motion artifacts to speak of, and anyone with a 120Hz / 240Hz set can testify to just how annoying those things are. Hit the read link for a detailed unboxing, setup and review, but don't even bother if you're looking for someone to talk you out of what you're about to do.
posted Oct 22nd 2009 9:56AM
I am sure this would be LED, correct? I have a DELL LED monitor and it is so thin and produces no heat - love it.
No, It's a plasma.
It is a plasma. Plasma > LED
No, like the title says, it's a plasma.
Despite what the shill at HD Guru says, the picture is good, just not Kuro good.
No, it's plasma. An "LED" TV is an LCD with an LED instead of traditional fluorescent backlight. LCDs have an LCD/color panel that does not produce any light so it's very dark. The LCD panel requires light to be produced behind it (or, in some cases like watches or handheld GPS screens, require an outside light source like the sun to bounce through it) for you to actually see an image.
Plasma panels do not have a backlight, as the pixels themselves are what glow to produce the color.
Ohhh, good to know. Thanks ! I had that LCD was better than plasma. That plasma needs certain temperature and all that. You learn something everyday.
+ rank to you good sir for actually taking the knowledge in. (instead of arguing about it)
If you want black levels, plasma is the way to go.
+1 for ESPN....NOW THATS REAL FOOTBALL!
Please... your post has me rolling around on the floor faking an injury.
That is association football, depending on what variation of football is popular in your country is what gets called football so here in the states that is soccer. Rugby is even considerd football as is Aussie football and Gaelic football. Just depends on where your from.
yes, that is truly the real football. I'm American and grew up on American football and think they should switch the name to commercialball. After getting into proper football it's made American football hard to watch. I used to say the same things about soccer, but then I actually watched it instead of hating on it and am now obsessed with it.
No, that's soccer. I don't understand how soccer is exciting in the least. For the majority of the game, nothing happens, and very little scoring or strategy is involved. The ball gets kicked up and down the field, and a little bit of ball handling is required. Anyone can play soccer. Real football (you know, the American version) requires a lot of strategy and a lot of skill to play. On offense, the quarterback has to be able to recognize the defensive scheme and make adjustments, receivers have to run complex routes and have good timing with the quarterback, the offensive line and quarterback have to be able to pick up blitzes, etc. On defense, the players have to figure out what sort of play the offense is running to make sure that receivers are covered or that the defensive line holds against a running play. It's a very complex and strategic game. Real football brings opportunities for real excitement and entertainment. Have you noticed that the majority of television audience records were set by Super Bowls?
That's my two cents.
@ Spartan_458
You're so right spartan, American "Football" is definitely real football. Please just real quick tell me aside from punting or field goals what does this game have to do with feet? Real football, the football every other country in the world loves except for America, is soccer. And if you really think there's no strategy involved in soccer, you've obviously never watched a game. I lol'ed at the "complex routes the offensive line has to run," that's hilarious. American football relies on one person to do all the work (quarterback), whereas soccer is a real team game. Watch a game then maybe you wouldn't be talking out of your ass so much.
@spartan
I grew up playing American football and now play proper football and can't disagree with you more. Try doing anything with your feet, it takes a lot more skill, and you have to actually run for 45 minutes at a time, not 15 seconds at a time like American football, and that's only if you're in a certain position.
Plus, you have no idea what you're talking about. BILLIONS watch the World Cup, millions watch the Superbowl, and most admittedly for the commercials. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Steelers and Penn State, but it pale's in comparison to proper football, especially when they play for 2 minutes and then commercial break for 5.
Commercialball is the right name for America's version. All I see is commerce in American so-called "football". Plus they don't even use their feet except to run and inflict injury and you call that fun?
Yes, you're all right - it's entirely impossible for there to be more than one good sport in the world. Or for different sports to have different attributes of interest to both players and spectators. That would be crazy talk. Clearly the true way is for all sports fans to spend the rest of time arguing about which sport is best, that will be good for all of us.
Plasma is da shnizelll !!!
I wish people would STOP saying that plasma is a dying breed.... you're just feeding the trolls by doing that.
But, if it is true I might have to take a second and cry a little.
PS: is it me, or is that silver bezel butt-ugly and totally unflattering?
There are very few TV's around that ship with a silver bezel and i know many older people like it because they feel it looks more 'expensive' personally i like the black.
Plasma is definatly not a dying breed. It gives much better color range and a MUCH faster refresh rate than LCD's. Most people shy away from plasmas because they still think you have to recharge them once every few years. Or there to irresponsible and are afraid of leaving a video game paused and getting an image burned in.
It's not just you. Black bezel has always made more sense to me for TVs.
I think plasma may only be a 'dying breed' because LCD/LED is winning by sheer numbers of models available. I certainly expect my next TV to be plasma (currently on 50" Panasonic 1080p model, much fatter than an inch tho!)
The silver is a little crappy, but I believe you can take the side speakers off, so the bezel is less intrusive.
I would probably pay up to £2.5k for this plasma, as it is big and obviously a good performer. It's hard to justify any more, even for the thin premium.
Plasma is not dying Panasonic has made 60% more Plasma panels this year than last and has just about sold out of stock they are also building a new plant to make more panels
Every Friday in the San Jose paper, Fry's runs an 8 page insert. Occasionally I count the ratio of Plasma to LCD TVs listed. The ratio has been steadily declining. Last week it was 1-to-10. I'm sorry, but that's called "dying".
I was waiting to buy an LED-backlit LCD, but they were too expensive and my budget shrank...so I got a plasma. The gamut is superior and football is excellent on it...just dammit it's so freaking heavy.
The plasma display is 1" think. That's great. Can we then find another term than "set-top-box" for its accompanying unit? This wireless unit, Roku and other similar products no longer fit on top of the tv set like they used to.
Or is set-top-box going to be like "clicker"? Newer generations will use the term but have no idea where it came from.
I've seen the Elite Kuro in action and it blows my mind that the picture quality is so good, but that series came out almost 3+ years ago now. Sure LCD is dominating the market because of price point and the average consumer doesn't care about the benefits of plasma, but why hasn't anyone been able to duplicate the Kuro Elites yet? Was Pioneer really that far ahead of the competition?
If the whole point of this screen is its thickness, why show it head-on? Kind of misses the point.
exactly what i was thinking. in the review there is one side profile shot and it's up too close to get any idea of scale...
Another reminder of how I missed the Brazil x South Africa game :-/
I'll also comment that plasma is not and should not be a dying breed. Look at the price points for panels 42 inches and up. Plasma is significantly less expensive, yet it provides a superior picture and similar power consumption.
I like plasma as much as the next geek, but it is indisputable that LCDs have better power consumption and as a result heat dissipation.
Better heat dissipation? Please. My old 32" LCD was just as much of a space heater as my current 42" plasma... go into any retail outlet and feel the back vents (near the top) on, say a Panny plasma, and then a similar sized Samsung or Sony LCD, then tell me about heat dissipation.
I'm perfectly happy with the two LG 47LH90 LED-backlit LCD TVs that I got on sale at Sears for $1260 each. My other choice was the Panasonic 50V10 which sucks up at least 400 watts at max vs 250 for the LG. The LG weighs 60 lbs with the base. Plasma TVs are also great if you need a year-round room heater.
Plasma a dying breed? Where in the world are you getting your facts Engadget?
Plasma isn't dying right now because the largest plasmas are larger than the largest affordable LCDs. As soon as LCD makes another size jump and is more cost-effective than plasma in the larger sizes, LCD sill push plasma's market share down again. It's as simple as that.
Personally, I'm open to both in concept, but my eyes don't get along with the inherent flickeriness of plasma (well, every one I've seen), so I own an LCD.
"The plasma may be a dying breed"
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
This is most sad statement I've ever read. OLED better hurry up. I refuse to buy LCD.
Funny looking grass.
I'm getting tired of all the plasma is dying crap. Well, it probably is because it's not as flexible as LCD when it comes to application. But the thing is plasmas look freaking awesome. I just got a Panny 720p plasma this year and it completely destroys even the 1080p Samsungs and Bravias my friends have. And SD picture quality simply looks stunning on a plasma. It's like watching on a CRT, except it's a lot thinner.
I hope they still continue making plasmas even if it's just for TVs. I'd like to get a 1080p plasma when we finally have HD broadcasts here. So far I'm quite happy with how my 720p Panny plasma displays broadcast SD content and it's definitely no slouch when it comes to HD either. Only thing I don't like about it is the glare, but it's easily fixable by closing the blinds and making the room dark. This is where it truly shines.
I'm still odded out by the people who complain that it's not thick enough, it's too heavy, etc. For christ's sake, it's going to be sitting there for a considerable amount of time, unless you move the TV every week or so. Other people are still scared though with the burn-in and stuff like that and I think it's reasonable to fear that. But the problem is that consumers aren't being educated enough and that this fear-mongering should stop. Yes, burn-in is still a plasma problem and it's inherent. But manufacturers have gone to great lengths to make sure this isn't a problem. Yet there are many people who remain clueless, or at least appear to remain clueless as "ignorance is bliss". I've seen a lot of people complain about "WTF burn in! I thought I don't have to worry about this no more!" yet in the freaking manual it states that people should try to avoid leaving a still image for more than 2 hours. Many people expect products to perform flawlessly regardless of how they use it. It's absurd. Can't they take a little time to check their TV for problems once in a while? Or just remember that it's a plasma and that they should be taking some safety precautions? People are just too lazy sometimes. They want it always switch on and forget, and they start whining when something's wrong that should already be accounted for by the buyer when he/she makes his purchase.
Totally agree. Burn in definitely isn't as big of a deal nowadays as say, several years ago. As long as some precautions are taken when the set is purchased burn in or image retention is highly unlikely. Panasonic G10 is high up on my Christmas list =D
You'll find you can sway others opinions more once you stop lying to yourself.
Just in time for the World Cup.
:3
Commercialball is the right name for America's version. All I see is commerce in American so-called "football". Plus they don't even use their feet except to run and inflict injury and you call that fun?
http://tsn.pstc.panasonic.com/viewing/ALL/TC-P54Z1/SVC/ITD0904035CE_PRINTDB/tc_p54z1.pdf
Thank me later