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Samsung makes it official

7K views 102 replies 33 participants last post by  PlasmaPZ80U 
#1 · (Edited)
#2 ·
in all fairness. the idea of using anything other than a front projector for a 'theater' seems crazy to me too.


I just like the plasmas for all the casual viewing I do. cheap LCD's are just way too much of a step down, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to HAVE to spend a lot of money for high end dimming lcd's just so you can watch some tv shows without being annoyed about the black levels.


guess there's still LG, for now.
 
#4 · (Edited)
The firm plans to end all plasma display operations by November 30. So, when will prices start to rise? I believe Panasonic was quoted to end production in March 2014, and sets were hard to find starting in December; gone in January. Speculation on Samsung? Similar trend would mean last month to purchase safely would be July. And probably the end of any discounts within the next couple weeks.
 
#10 ·
The firm plans to end all plasma display operations by November 30. So, when will prices start to rise. I believe Panasonic was quoted to end production in March 2014, and sets were hard to find starting in December; gone in January. Speculation on Samsung? Similar trend would mean last month to purchase safely would be July. And probably the end of any discounts within the next couple weeks.
does that actually happen at the retail level?
the Panasonics never went up in price in stores here. the st60, vt60, and zt60 were all heavily discounted until they were sold out
 
#12 ·
maybe. do you think satisfaction level is higher with plasma? I mean, is somebody more likely to buy lcd's more often than plasma?


unfortunately, the market doesn't seem to be able to support quality products that last for several years anymore. not enough consumers are willing to buy one awesome tv for 5k ever 10yrs instead of buy one crappy $500 tv every year.


but to your point. I do feel I personally am in a stagnant state with regards to TV's. my bedroom lcd is 'good enough', plasma in the living room will likely last another 10yrs, plasma in the basement is the f8500 and I hope it'll last until I 'must have oled'(at which point it'll likely replace that living room plasma, which might replace my bedroom lcd...). basically, every tv I own right now is 'good enough' for it's purpose and working well. if/when I replace one, everything else will just get shifted down the line, so unless something major happens, i'll probably buy another tv in 4-5yrs, and only if it's much better than my f8500.
 
#8 ·
it was always a question of when.
the f8500 being carried over untouched was another sign of the end.


I guess we just all hoped, naively, that they'd keep making the f8500 (and h5000 as well i guess) as long as it kept selling




I'm sure LG will stop right away too, hopefully to put more into their oled line, the ONLY suitable replacement for plasma on the horizon. but if they could manufacture panels efficiently enough, it would be interesting if LG had a 'monopoly' on both plasma and oled. if you wanted a good value tv, go buy LG plasma. if you wanted the best pq on the market, go buy an lg oled. if every single plasma owner turned to LG, that might be enough demand to support one company...
 
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#15 ·
Man oh man that sucks. Im not a videophile, but I am a dabbler and a gaming/technology geek. The 51" F4500 is the hands down the best TV I've personally watched a movie on, and its even better for gaming. This $400 set outperforms $1000+ LCDs. I have a 51" F5300 coming from BB tomorrow. Plasma is so superior to LCD for home viewing its not even funny, and its cheaper to boot.

Meanwhile crappy/useless 4K LCD displays are all the rage. Unbelievable.

Its such a shame most plasmas look like CRAP on brightly lit showroom floors side by side with LCDs, but look so stunning in a home setting. Even I was skeptical when I "took a chance" on the 4500 after seeing how dim it looked compared to LCDs. People just dont know.

Showrooms killed plasma. Myths about burn in didnt help either.:(
 
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#20 ·
Like Panasonic previously, such sad and frustrating news to hear of the end of Samsung plasma. Anticipating this demise, I have just purchased 3 Samsung plasmas in the past month, all at bargain prices. I got a 51F4500 for $399, a 51F5300 for $529, and a 60F5300 for $679. Worked some overtime and the first two were paid for in cash. All models are excellent in their own distinctive style. I also have a 51E7000 and a 50ST60 from previous purchases. Currently I am actively using the 4500, 7000, and ST60 in 3 different rooms. The other 2 5300's are on hold for future use. And my mother has a 43F4500 in her bedroom. I am a plasma man all the way, and sorry to see the end coming near. But I am at least prepared to make it last for a while. And believe it or not, the lowest priced, entry level F4500 just may be my favorite out of them all, as the pic quality is excellent for local antenna and cable TV. Although the E7000 and ST60 are awesome for Blu-Ray movies.
 
#23 ·
Very unfortunate, if not surprising. The writing was on the wall at CES when Samsung didn't display any plasmas. Guess 4K and curved screens rule the day now.

The F8500 was a fantastic display, grab em while you can! I'd go to Magnolia this weekend and try to get a nice July 4th holiday deal.
 
#26 ·
Business 101 - make more money. What is sad in this case is that the market itself usually won't allow such moves but they are largely kept ignorant in how to evaluate displays.

This has been going on forever (turn up brightness on the tube TV you want to sell) but I think it's even more integral to the business model these days. Bottom line, new display technology is losing the "wow" factor for the average buyer because we are approaching the capability of the human eye. The performance of top/bottom models are converging and your dollar goes a lot further. They have to constantly sell the "new thing" whether that's 3D, curved screens, smart TV, 4K, whatever.

Example with 4K is that within most normal viewing distances and screen sizes - it really won't matter. This is why you see them on the end caps at Best Buy so people are within a couple feet of them being fed the highest quality native 4k feeds. They definitely don't want these on the wall with people sitting back 10-12 feet and side-by-side evaluating against far cheaper models. Not that more resolution is bad, merely that the average person likely won't see it at average distance/screen size.

That said, plasma was around for a long time. If you missed the Kuro there was the most recent Panasonics, if you missed those there is still the 8500. If despite years of plasma popularity decline you didn't notice and missed all of these - probably wasn't that important to you anyway. Time will settle things out and while there may be a dip in quality today, OLED or something else will bring us back into glide path.
 
#27 ·
This is really sad to read. I knew I should have grabbed a Panasonic about a year or so ago when I had the chance at Costco, but I had a damned wedding to pay for. Now I'm back in the market for a 65"ish display and there really isn't anything that appeals to me. Should I just wait it out a few years for OLED and stick with my good ol' TH-50PX60U ?
 
#30 · (Edited)
^^^
First off, plasma ain't dead yet. If that's what you want, there are still plenty of sources for a Sammy 64F8500 that would meet your needs.

That said, if you're building a dedicated home theater, why choose a TV as your display? Samsung's largest plasma at 64" occupies too small an angle of view at any normal seating distance for a truly cinematic HT experience. For that you need front projection!

As I posted to your identical lament in the Samsung Pulls Plug on Plasma Production thread, you can get a good front projector (Optoma HD25-LV) & screen (Elite ER120WH1) for around $1200. If your display budget is ~ $5K, then JVC's X35 and a Da-Lite Cinema Contour 133" diag. High Power screen (Model #87175V) are within reach. Watching movies on a 133" screen would provide a far better HT experience than you'll get from even the best 64" plasma.

AV Science (Mike Garrett) has been very helpful with my pj & screen purchases. Their prices are great and Mike was able to help me order a High Power screen even though Da-Lite had yanked that material from their website while they work through some manufacturing difficulties. Anyway, best of luck with your new home theater, whichever way you decide to go!
 
#33 ·
^^^
I suggested a $2K LED/Laser ViewSonic projector to your similar post in the Samsung Pulls Plug on Plasma Production thread, so I won't regurgitate that here. Based on your additional comments in this thread about being satisfied viewing a 60" TV from 10', it sounds like projectors just aren't of interest to you. Your current viewing angle, which you're apparently satisfied with, is 25 degrees. My home theater, in comparison, has a 126" screen at an 11' viewing distance which results in a viewing angle of 45 degrees. To me, a 45 degree viewing angle provides an immersive & cinematic home theater experience. I just received a 64F8500 for casual TV watching (10' distance - 26 degrees). There's no comparison as to which display I prefer when watching movies, especially since many were filmed in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which reduces the viewable area by nearly a third.

You also mention having a second tier of seating in your new HT which would mean a viewing angle of less than 20 degrees for those poor folks if you go with a TV. This is just my personal preference, but it seems like a waste to build a dedicated home theater and then use a small display.
 
#34 ·
I appreciate your suggestion. I even mentioned it in the email I sent off to the AVS store (which I had no idea existed until yesterday) asking for help with the issue. I actually do like large screens and an immersive experience. the 60" from 10' nearly fills my vision (but not quite). Moving back to 12-13, I figure the 85"- 110" will likely retain that same feeling. I have no horse in the race of projector vs plasma vs LCD. It's just been my experience to this point that the plasma has performed best across the board. I was looking forward to OLED because I expected it to beat all of them. If I can find a projector that can hang in there versus the Panasonic VT, I'd be more than happy to give it a whirl. I just need to make sure I'm going the right direction, because this is likely the last display I will buy for the next 5-7 years, and if I'm lucky, the next display I buy after that time will be the last one I need to buy ever.
 
#35 ·
The PQ of the ViewSonic Pro9000 isn't up to your VT60, but it would be under budget and it's light engine should have a long life. Given a choice between watching movies on a small, accurate display or an image that's quadruple the size but not as accurate, I'd go large. Image size is a significant part of the home theater experience. Sitting 10' away from a 60" display is just watching TV.

Anyway, your preferences are all that matter for your HT. Just throwing out some food for thought. I'm very pleased with the PQ of my 64F8500, so if that size is sufficient for you then I'm sure you'd be happy with that display.
 
#37 ·
Got to step up my plans to buy a Samsung 51F5300.
 
#41 ·
60f5300 here that's the real TV in the house the rest are LCD I'm sure you will enjoy the 51 lot of folks like it !
OTOH if you can swing the 60 and the pentile screen is not an issue for you ( no prob. here ) nothing wrong with going bigger if you have the room !
 
#43 ·
I don't know how much difference there is between a low budget plasma and a 8500,but the low budget I've here has a few too many quirks,from low voltage discoloration which really damages the image,lack of light filter,extremely difficult for everyday person too adjust.Those are just 3 things but they're huge for image quality.I'm fairly satisfied with it but it's been endless adjusting.A lot of people don't have $2000 for an 8500 which will have at least some of the same problems,the cablebox,the high monthly cable tv cost.
 
#57 ·
The Sharp Elite has the cyan bug that was never fixed. DSE and poor off axis viewing on both the Elite and Sony X950B. So the Elite could match the F8500 in blacks, but nothing else. Obviously the future is not with plasma, so my point is moot. Hopefully in the near future these inherent issues with LED will be solved. Chad has a good review of the X950B and comparison with the Sharp Elite.
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...ony-x950b-owner-s-thread-26.html#post25318457
as I thought...so better black levels and brighter than the F8500

I thought some of the color issues were solved with updates from Sharp?...then there is that 70" size capability

The Sharp Elite had the best off angle viewing capability I have ever seen on an LED,virtually no blooming and the active 3D was very good as well
In fact as I recall better 3D capability than my Panasonic Plasmas...thought not as good as either Samsung plasmas.C8000, F8500 that I own
Though, any of them are better than the passive 3D on the LG LM7600....
I came VERY close to buying a Sharp Elite LED...and I am a plasma guy. That is how good I thought it was

Interesting how Chad didn't use the last Sony FALD..HX950 in his comparison. He used the older HX929


Warren
 
#62 · (Edited)
fierce_gt wrote ,

But hey, if somebody wants to pay me 5k for my f8500 in a couple years, and I can get a new oled for that much, I'd almost definitely do that. that's why I don't think the prices will get that crazy. this time around, the replacement isn't drastically inferior, it's actually better in many ways already, and it's just beginning. I mean, kuro owners have been turning their noses up at the 'greys' that have been passing for black for years, but already oled has casually beaten that without even trying. if oled succeeds, the kuros, vt/zt, and f8500's won't skyrocket in value like they would if edgelit LED's were the only option on the market

Re tubtwister

TBH your logic is very sound and overall a very good argument regarding OLED you pretty much have the options covered. +1

IF Sammy Sony and Panasonic can't move the Plasma buyers into LCD either they will cede the OLED market to LG as they have now or possibly with the exception of Samsung (they can make them ) will buy LGD OLED panels .

I Think read Sony and maybe Panasonic might buy LGD OLED panels but don't count on my memory much longer than between the last meal and the next one ..............or was it the next one and the last one ?☺
 
#72 · (Edited)
Thanks I thought I remembered reading that ! .

The problem is now .......... I can't remember what I had for lunch (or was it breakfast ?) and I don't want to have the same thing for dinner :D

I wonder when we will be Seeing that 85" $75,000 4K 3D Sony OLED ! :D
 
#71 ·
I'm not worried about it in the least ..................................... haven't learned how to print my own money yet :D
 
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