2 part question: Why did my TVs price drop so fast? / Why some prefer LCDs > Plasma ?

[Member-38928]

Hi,
I bought my first flat panel in September, a Sony KDL-46Z4100 .
With a sale and a coupon I paid ~ $2055...which seemed good
considering the MSRP was $2799.99.

Yes the MSRP dropped to $2499.99 but
gee , now its $1499 already!!

Seems like a very fast price drop, if I was one who just went in and bought
it while it was not on sale. $2799.99 Id be pissed!!

Circuit City's price protection is only 30 days but I am tempted to go
in and try to get a few bucks back.

Sure the $2055 I paid was good back then but its not like 6-8 months ago
, more like just 2!

Why in the heck did this price drop so fast? Is Samsung killing Sony or what?

>>>>>>>>>>>>.

Second question, ok im already having second thoughts on my TV ,
yes I love it but I went in and saw a Panasonic Plasma 50" that I could have
gotten for about what I paid for my Sony LCD.
Yes it is not that much bigger, 4" but it is 2x the weight and my Sony is only
3" thick. I do like the look of my Sony over the plasma for sure.
Picture quality wise, the Panasonic is incredible but so is my Sony
, id need to a/b them more and take a good 1/2 hour or better to be able
to really decide which I prefer. But I did not do this so I want to hear
from LCD fans here at blu-ray.com as to why our LCDs are better.

Im just trying to justify my purchase.

thanks alot guys.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by bentvalve

But I did not do this so I want to hear
from LCD fans here at blu-ray.com as to why our LCDs are better.

Im just trying to justify my purchase.

thanks alot guys.

All you need to do is search the dozens of threads (including the sticky on top of this forum) to hear comments from folks comparing LCD's and plasmas. There are very few reasons to consider an LCD "better" than a plasma, but you will see this as you read the threads. If you are happy with your purchase, then that is all that matters. Personally, you'd be gatting a much better (picture quality) set with the 50" Pany plasma, but read through the posts yourself, and pay particular attention to the posters who back-up their comments with links and facts, not just opinion.

[blu_snipe]

I have been watching the 52 XBR6, on sonystyle and amazon, it has dropped a lot. Originally it was 3499 on sony, and about 2900 on amazon. Now Amazon has it for 2349, and sony has it for 2699. I think the amazon price is amazing price, but I am sure it will even drop more. It really sucks, because if you pull the trigger too early you are taking the risk that it will be 3,4, or maybe even 500 cheaper. Also this time of year, you are going to see more bargains than ever.

[Member-38928]

Thanks guys , but why are Sony's prices dropping so fast? Samsung's
do not drop as deep as Sony's have been.

[MoPe]

A lot of people have ambient light in their room(s) which makes it a more obvious choice to get a LCD because most of them have matte finishes, unlike plasma's which have a reflective finish.

Also, plasma's tend to look best in a dark room, where as when you go looking for a TV, most are under thousands of watts of florescent lighting. LCD's tend to look better in this condition, because well, that's what they were made for.

And if you watch lots of movies, a plasma is usually the way to go.

[JJ]

Heck, in January, my TV was $1,899 MSRP. I got it on sale for $1,499. Now it sells for $1,199. If even. It happens.

[Hammie]

I think its funny that when you look at the threads for plasmas everyone is talking about how awesome it is and sharing tweaks, while in the LCD forums, everyone is complaining about clouding, flashlighting, color issues, remote control issues, etc.

What is this saying?

I have a Samsung LCD but due to some of the above mentioned issues and my light controlled dark viewing environment, I am exchanging it for a Panny plasma.

Should be here either Monday or Thursday.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

All you need to do is search the dozens of threads (including the sticky on top of this forum) so hear comments from folks comparing LCD's and plasmas. There are very few reasons to consider an LCD "better" than a plasma, but you will see this as you read the threads. If you are happy with your purchase, then that is all that matters. Personally, you'd be gatting a much better (picture quality) set with the 50" Pany plasma, but read through the posts yourself, and pay particular attention to the posters who back-up their comments with links and facts, not just opinion.

Smartass.......

What rischoe is saying is that if you want the best picture, right now it is still Plasma. The difference is closing but the best picture is still plasma.

Look, you have to be happy with whatever you end up with. Sony and Samsung make the best LCD's on the market with accurate colors and deep blacks. Plasma's have still slightly better blacks, and the contrast is better.

Many LCD's have a grayish tint to their blacks, I noticed this most with a sharp and on my vizios. Also, if you have your TV set up correctly then you shouldn't see motion blur, I have never seen motion blur on my samsung.


Lou, your arguement about viewing in a dark setting is BS, I always watch my LCD in the dark, at night with all but one light around a corner past the refridgerator, over the stove, on, just so I don't kick something going into the kitchen. My eyes aren't hurting the next day, I don't have head aches... bla bla bla. On the reverse, I have watched a plasma in the day and was able to watch TV just fine with a window right behind my head.

Also, there are problems with both technologies, not all TV's have issue, some do, some LCDs have clouding, plasma's can get IR, both can have dead pixels, unfortunately even in a controlled environment sometimes circuit boards don't all get made the same.

[MoPe]

Originally Posted by callas01

plasma's can get IR

They can, but now-a-days the technology is so fine that it is an extreme case. At least it is with Panasonic and Pioneer plasmas.

[SDBlu]

I dont think Vizio introduced the color black to their color spectrum on their products...Gray is the darkest color they can achieve

[callas01]

Originally Posted by MoPe

They can, but now-a-days the technology is so fine that it is an extreme case. At least it is with Panasonic and Pioneer plasmas.

Right, I understand you want to defend your plasma, I was being neutral, not instigating a fight. Besides, I think you are refering to Burn-In, which is hard to acheive now-a-days, IR can be a somewhat common thing, if it wasn't then there wouldn't be so many threads on it. Just like there are a lot of threads on clouding.

I was simply pointing out that there are technical problems with both technologies.

[MoPe]

Originally Posted by callas01

Right, I understand you want to defend your plasma, I was being neutral, not instigating a fight. Besides, I think you are refering to Burn-In, which is hard to acheive now-a-days, IR can be a somewhat common thing, if it wasn't then there wouldn't be so many threads on it. Just like there are a lot of threads on clouding.

I was simply pointing out that there are technical problems with both technologies.

Actually, no, I wasn't defending my plasma.

Burn-in and IR are nearly non-existent on the model plasma I have. At least according to the thousands of owners on AVS.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by louhamilton

I think its funny that when you look at the threads for plasmas everyone is talking about how awesome it is and sharing tweaks, while in the LCD forums, everyone is complaining about clouding, flashlighting, color issues, remote control issues, etc.

What is this saying?

I have a Samsung LCD but due to some of the above mentioned issues and my light controlled dark viewing environment, I am exchanging it for a Panny plasma.

Should be here either Monday or Thursday.

It's saying that people are buying displays with unrealistic expectations, evaluating them in unrealistic environments and not choosing from the outset the display that fulfills their needs. In LCD forums, there is also the group of Sony haters that just show up to stir the pot. I have an XBR2 and an XBR8 from Sony, and I am completely happy.

[slaizer2000]

Originally Posted by MarcosG

I dont think Vizio introduced the color black to their color spectrum on their products...Gray is the darkest color they can achieve

Guess again. I just purchased one of the 32" 1080P vizio TV for my nephew. The black on that thing are black. Much blacker than the previous 720P Vizio models.

[slaizer2000]

You might be seeing fallout from the price fixing scandal by LCD companies. They have kept LCD panels artificially high to increase profits.there are plenty of website out there with more details

http://www.computerworld.com.au/arti...es_agree_fines

[William H Pratt]

TVs or any other product drops in price because of something you may have heard of called "Supply & Demand"!

I'm saving to buy a Pioneer Elite Plasma. When I started saving the cost was $5000. It now costs $3699.