April 1, 2008

Are We Nearing The End Of Plasma TV?

Has Plasma TV Reached Its Breaking Point?

As 2007 wrapped up we wondered if 2008 could be the beginning of the end of plasma TV as the last quarter of the year saw a whole load of corporate restructuring and new partnerships on the part of flat-panel manufacturers centering around the LCD market. Through the first quarter of this year, we began to see more evidence of plasma's struggles as Pioneer, the producer of the famed Kuro series, first announced it was killing off its 42-inch plasma model production, followed by an industry-shocking revelation that the company would be exiting the plasma business altogether. This started a short-lived panic as consumers thought that the Kuro series, the best plasma TV's on the market, would be dead. Pioneer revealed soon after that the Kuro series would live on, but with the exception of some internal hardware would be produced elsewhere.

We knew once Pioneer decided to bail on plasma production, our predictions had a fairly strong base to stand on. Now, industry sources have stated that a failure on the part of manufacturers to reach their PDP shipment goals this year could result in plasma going bye-bye for good. They've stated that behind closed doors, plasma suppliers are unsure whether industry expansion should continue, but the leading suppliers such as Samsung and LG agree that falling of short of shipment goals in 2008 will halt expansion in the plasma industry altogether. Once expansion halts, manufacturers will have to accept that they've reached the beginning of a period that will see the plasma TV phased out for good.

What do you think the future holds? Will LCD emerge as the king of HDTV flat-panel formats?