It appears that Panasonic is abandoning plasma panel production for good. According to Japan's Nikkei business outlet—and reported by Engadget—the company will not produce any more plasma televisions after the end of the company's current fiscal year, which ends in March 2014.
Panasonic's VT60 plasma was very highly rated, but there will be no sequel
About six months ago, Panasonic denied it was exiting the plasma business . The official word from the company was that plasma production would continue, even if R&D on new panels would not. The company's 2013 plasma models were among the all-time best-reviewed HDTVs, finally achieving (or beating) the image quality benchmark set by Pioneer's defunct Kuro line.
Quote:
"Sales will then continue until inventory runs out. The paper states that Panasonic has suffered losses exceeding 750 billion yen through fiscal 2012 thanks to the waning product line and is in talks to transfer tenancy rights or sell off its remaining plasma factory." source: Engadget
It looks like the curse of the Kuro has struck again; when a plasma panel's image quality gets too close to perfect, the whole line gets cancelled—and now the future truly belongs to LCD and OLED. I am curious how long Samsung and LG will continue building and selling plasma HDTVS, considering this development.
Update: Reuters has an article that is now cited by numerous national publications as a primary source for this news.
Quote:
"The move also signals the demise in Japan of a technology in which TV makers once invested heavily but has now been overtaken by advances in the liquid crystal display (LCD) business. Plasma display TVs accounted for less than 6 percent of global shipments in 2012, compared with 87 percent for LCD TVs" source: Reuters
A sad day if this is accurate. That means no 2014 models. Without Panasonic, there would also be little incentive for Samsung to improve/produce another 8500 series for 2014...and then we'll all be left with is Edge-lit LED and first generation OLED. TV Y2K approaches!
We been through this before with Nikkei, don't believe anything you read that Panasonic does not verify. Eventually Panasonic will leave the plasma business, but right now I put this with all the Apple rumors that never amount to anything.
In this case "garbage" is what you call the statement from six months ago, in which Panasonic's head marketing honcho denied this inevitable and unsurprising news.
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Originally Posted by imagic /t/1494093/panasonic-to-end-plasma-panel-production-by-april-2014#post_23817758
In this case "garbage" is what you call the statement from six months ago, in which Panasonic's head marketing honcho denied this inevitable and unsurprising news.
As a company, I don't think Panasonic is going anywhere so your warranty from them is safe. Also, hopefully this means they have made progress on their printed OLED method and think they can overcome the yield problems in the near future.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sytech /t/1494093/panasonic-to-end-plasma-panel-production-by-april-2014#post_23817788
As a company, I don't think Panasonic is going anywhere so your warranty from them is safe. Also, hopefully this means they have made progress on their printed OLED method and think they can overcome the yield problems in the near future.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sytech /t/1494093/panasonic-to-end-plasma-panel-production-by-april-2014#post_23817788
As a company, I don't think Panasonic is going anywhere so your warranty from them is safe. Also, hopefully this means they have made progress on their printed OLED method and think they can overcome the yield problems in the near future.
It's a fair bet that Panasonic does not want to cannibalize future OLED sales by offering far less expensive (and lower profit margin) plasmas.
I believe this decision will also hasten the demise of plasma at Samsung, and shortly thereafter you will see flat OLED hit the market. With high-end plasma put out to pasture, OLED will no longer need to be curved in order to differentiate itself.
I think Panasonic will continue to make great TVs—although there certainly is no guarantee it will—but those TVs will just happen to be LCD and OLED-based. There is a huge opportunity for any company that can bring a 65" or 70" flat OLED 4K/UHD TV with true HDMI 2.0 to market for under ten grand. Huge. Panasonic could be that company, but not if it kept nursing a money-losing plasma division.
So while I agree that the company will (ultimately) always be looking at the bottom line, I do think that Panasonic takes pride in making great TVs, and I hope it finds a way to do so profitably.
I also think CES 2014 is going to be a blockbuster show, when it comes to flat panel technology.
Quote:
Originally Posted by imagic /t/1494093/panasonic-to-end-plasma-panel-production-by-april-2014#post_23817758
In this case "garbage" is what you call the statement from six months ago, in which Panasonic's head marketing honcho denied this inevitable and unsurprising news.
US merchandizing VP =/= "Panasonic's head marketing honcho"
Until there's an official press release, nothing is official. The only official statement I read out of Japan back in February not long after the Nikkei story (can't seem to find a link to it right now) said that "no decision has been made on the future status of its TV business operations." This report, if it's true, does it contradict that statement?
Very sad to see this technology come to an end. Let's hope the future of LED LCD and OLED bring us better TVs than the great VT/ZT 60 and our beloved Kuro plasmas.
Looking on the bright side, there will likely be some hellacious deals available over the next couple of years. On the down side, I just bought one, before the really deep discounting happens! I'm good with it though - just got a 65" Panasonic, (to add to my 42" and 50" Panasonics), so I'm set for the next several years. Who knows what awesome TVs will be available by then?
On the contrary, prices should fall significantly, bringing that ZT60 within your reach. They'll still be selling them for probably a year or more before all the inventory runs out. Production doesn't stop until April next year, and there is probably a 3-4 month leadtime to get those units on a boat and into stores in the US. Then there will be availability through amazon, Newegg, etc for a while after that, when you'll see much lower prices. Just because they announced an end-of-life date, doesn't mean they won't be available, and still great TVs after that date.
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