Are Plasma TVs on the Way Out? Hitachi Seems to Think So

Hitachi recently announced that it will stop production of plasma panels and instead buy them from Matsushita. Hitachi is the world's number 4 plasma maker, but has been losing money from an increasingly competitive LCD flat panel market. Pioneer has already announced that they too will be buying their panels from Matsushita as well, which is a shame since Pioneer made some of the finest flat panel displays out there.



What this shows is the increasing popularity of LCD TVs and the decreasing interest in plasma screens. It wasn't long ago that the biggest LCD sets were 32 inches and cost much more than even larger plasmas. This has all changed and LCD TVs are topping 65 inches at very competitive prices. LCDs have gone from the new kid on the block to the neighborhood bully in a very short time.

Is it surprising? Sure LCDs had a tough time early on, not much different than their plasma cousins. Early LCDs suffered from poor response times, black levels that were sub-par, and were limited in the range of colors they were able to reproduce. Recently, LCD TVs have been beating plasmas in contrast ratio and response time. It's no wonder these TVs are so popular now.

But like all good things, LCDs reign might be even shorter lived than plasma's. With new technologies coming out, like OLED, it might not be too long before I am writing another blog about LCD's demise. One thing's for sure, whatever does end up over taking LCD will definitely be worth the wait.

To find out how LCD TVs stack up against each other, check out TopTenREVIEWS' LCD TV review site. Or take a look at a few other interesting blog posts:

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