If you want a Panny plasma, you better budget it by 2014...

[jayn_j]

I would see this as time to upgrade as well. The trusty 50S1 has served me well for 5 years now. Time to move it to the bedroom and let the crappy 32" LCD set find a new home. I'd also look for a V model in the largest size that was affordable. The retail difference between 60 and 65" doesn't seem worth it.

 

[Gregg Loewen]

The trusty 50S1 has served me well for 5 years now.

Well past time for an upgrade. Pretty much anything that isnt bottom tier would blow the image away from a s1 series.

 

[jayn_j]

Well past time for an upgrade. Pretty much anything that isnt bottom tier would blow the image away from a s1 series.

Understood. I've had different priorities. I also tend to buy and keep instead of trading up every cycle. An S1 is still better than 90% of what I se in other households.

 

[teachsac]

Well past time for an upgrade. Pretty much anything that isnt bottom tier would blow the image away from a s1 series.

Been a long time Gregg. Welcome back.

S~

 

[Jimbo]

I was informed today by my High End electronics guys that Panasonic is done with Plasma at the years end (model wise).

They apparently got the info recently as well.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Plenty of stores and HiFi people said that last year too. I'd wait on the CES outlook for Panasonic, which people will be breaking soon enough.

Everyone thought it was dead last year because they shut down R&D, but that wasn't exactly what Panasonic meant, they just werent spending more money on developing the tech further. I do firmly believe 2014 is the last, but not 2013. We will see soon enough, and I'll be curious to see what Samsung does now.

 

[gadgtfreek]

But, here is a comment yesterday from a Panasonic employee on another forum

I'll echo what I said not long ago. Jump all over the pricing you're seeing on these st vt zt if you want a tv. There will be limited inventory for all tvs come holiday you may miss out as we transition to 2014 line of tvs

He is a source of reliable info and hints, so you could read that as they have tightened up more this year on production, or thats it!

Im not too worried. If Im stuck with the VT50, Im happy, if there is a 2014 for one last upgrade, Im happy

 

[navychop]

I'd say when they shut down R&D, Plasma was dead dead dead. The only thing we've been waiting for is the funeral arrangements.

And I hardly think they'll be putting any significant money into model changes for 2014. Either just continue to sell off 2013 stock, or make very minor, low cost changes.

 

[riffjim4069]

I'm very tempted to pull-the-trigger on a Panny TC-P60VT60 which is on sale for $1800: http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/104...-wifi-plasma-smart-hdtv-2-pairs-of-3d-glasses

 

[gadgtfreek]

Great deal. I dont expect the inventory to last into 2014 very long.

 

[gadgtfreek]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/31/panasonic-quits-plasma/?ncid=rss_truncated

Ending production in Dec, factories go dark in March. Nice knowing ya Panny plasma.

 

[gadgtfreek]

One more note. Now that it is out, the insider was able to post and tell a little more. It came down to the fact that engineering PDP for 4K was going to be a great cost, and they had a 2014 line planned (1080p), but the 4K conundrum ultimately killed it. Spending the R&D when the company is hurting would have been a bad move. Good news is, their focus is now on large screen 4K LED LCD's, so hopefully we will see great things. I always thought Panasonic made good products.

 

[mike123abc]

OLED probably factored in too...

 

[navychop]

Yep. Panasonic is claiming advances in "ink jet" style OLED production. We'll see if they ever get it to market. I expect to see OLED TVs widely available but still expensive by the end of 2015.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[gadgtfreek]

According to the guy at panasonic, the next few years will see OLED 1080p. but the 4K push is going to be LED LCD. I think many companies dont have the money to do both, or venture into 4K OLED yet.

Im more interested in 4K, and I think we will see nice LCD's in large screens/good prices more soon than we will see reliable/moderately priced/not curved 4K OLEDs. Its almost like some companies wont even consider anything OLED, it may be a Samsung LG thing for the most part. Im starting to question how widely OLED will actually be used in the future display market. Sounds like to me its going to be a 4K LED LCD world for now.

Ill be in my 2 year upgrade window next year, so I guess ill be watching samsung plasma to see what they do.

 

[jayn_j]

This is all sort of depressing. I expect many don't remember when Sony entered the market with the Trinitrons back in the late 60s. They quickly displaced the traditional US manufacturers with that tube because they had a much better price/performance ratio. The downside was that they didn't use the more expensive phosphor mix that companies like Admiral and RCA used. The TVs took on a definite blue tint and reds were either muted or over saturated. We lost that skin tone and didn't get it back until the late 90s.

I am hoping the same doesn't happen here. I am going to miss the flesh tones from a well adjusted plasma, and have yet to see an LCD/LED set that comes close.

 

[mike123abc]

They have to get the yields up on 2k OLED before they can move to 4k.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Yepp. R&D that several companies dont have. My personal opinion from reading between the lines is that 4K LED LCD is big, and 1080p OLED will be niche right now. Highly expensive for consumers to buy (same battle vs LCD plasma had), hard to make, reliability concerns, and people wont see that lovely 4K sticker on them.

Im hoping someone makes a nice full array back lit LCD next year in a 70", that would be my target. Im not concerned about 4K at this moment, I see another 2-3 years before I get on that wagon. At that point, I hope to have a HT room with a projector, so 4K would be a perfect move for it.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Out of curiosity, I have a warranty on my VT50 that lasts until Mar 2016. Panny doesnt sell their own branded warranty anymore, its square trade. Say Im sitting here in 2015 and the VT50 dies and cant be fixed, what the hell happens?

 

[jayn_j]

Out of curiosity, I have a warranty on my VT50 that lasts until Mar 2016. Panny doesnt sell their own branded warranty anymore, its square trade. Say Im sitting here in 2015 and the VT50 dies and cant be fixed, what the hell happens?

Read the warranty. Generally you get offered "the equivalent" unit, which would be considered to be a 50" LED.