1080P Plasmas - When commonly available?  

"Commonly available"? That could spawn a semantics debate. My uneducated guess is maybe by the end of '07, but probably not until the '08 models. That's based on the fact that's mid '06 now, and we haven't seen the *first* 1920x1080 plasma at the stores in the USA yet. The first few models will be expensive toys for the early adopter crowd - I don't consider anything about a $10K display as "common", so even if I can walk into any store and order one of those in Q1'07, I still wouldn't say they were "commonly available"... ;)

I have a 42" Plasma and I used a "Kill A Watt" meter on it the wattage draw went from 150w to as high as 265, the rating on the panel is 350w, I would guess my avg. is about 190w, don't know how that would compare to a frig, but I do believe that a DLP as well as LCD draw a constant wattage, with plasma wattage draw varys with the brightness of the content being shown.

Right, Pioneer has released the 50" 1080p PRO-FHD1 "monitor" with an MSRP of $10,000 :eek: and it is anticipated that Panasonic will release the 65" TH-65PX600 TV, also MSRP priced at ~$10,000 :eek: this fall. 1080p PDPs may not become "commonly available" or be reasonably priced until 2009.

Last CES in Las Vegas had all the upcoming 1080p displays, and I can easily guess that the next CES in 2007 will have nothing BUT 1080p displays. This is the future for displays, and it does not take rocket science to figure it out...just a normal progression of the video tech that has taken years to develop. At this time frame, we are at the very early stages of this progression, and if you want it be prepared to pay. It's the price we all pay to be "early adopters". You're right, this will be the "standard" in the next few years, and my guess is that this standard will be around for at least the next decade, so you would be "future proofing" if you purchased 1080p now. You will need to wait a few months for the first 1080p Plasma models to roll out, but after that the flood gates will open up in 2007 w/many models & choices. BTW, think "BIG SCREEN" for 1080p and you'll be a happy camper!:D

Others might replace "future proofing" with "wasting your money".

Then "others" might not not wish to post on a site that is for "A/V Enthusiasts", whereby "others" spend money to achieve optimum audio/video quality rather than what's the cheapest thing I can buy to feast my eyeballs.

If one buys a Pioneer PRO-FHD1 now, they will be married to their Cable/Satellite/FiOS providers STB for "life!" :eek: What kind of "future" is that? :rolleyes:

Again... that would be your content provider's STB... some A/V enthusiast... ;)

I know it sucks, but we have to play the cards that are dealt...otherwise, we don't play at all...it's the way of the world as we know it. My best hope is for satellite to mature & be a refuge for HD Purists! Any suggestions or remedies or solutions are welcomed.

Yeah, because the ONLY people who frequent AVS are elitists who have 10k to throw around.

Get real here. This is a site about people who love AV, not necessarily those who have unlimited funds to WASTE on frivolous purchases.

If you think otherwise, take a look around and see what kinds of questions are being asked. I see more "what can I get for 2-3k?" than "money is no object, what's the Best?".

If you want to create your own AV$forum, feel free. But don't slander those who think that price is important.

Exactly. I would agree with you 99.9%. When purchasing a set, making sure it is 1080p should be one of the last things that you should look at. It shouldn't be the deciding factor. Other things such as Contrast and Black Levels should weigh more heavily on your purchase. And in the world of electronics the phrase future proofing cannot be used. There is a difference between an a person who is an AV Enthusiast and somebody who will keep spending money because he needs the latest technology.

Hopefully for those who purchase now... some sort of high quality HD tuner or TiVo like device can be used to front-end their 1080p PDP monitor later on. Having grown up during the Watergate era, my impression is Bill Gates, Time Warner/Comcast, Panasonic/Pioneer and Hollywood :eek: all conspire to "roll-out" these features/capabilities in dribs & drabs which keep "A/V enthusiasts" coming back again & again. Thats a wee bit harsh dude... for those who have the money to "WASTE on frivolous purchases" good for them.

I'm all for the early adopters with deep pockets. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be able to buy the same technology 2 years later for half the price! :)

Well said. I'm all for trying to achieve the best A/V quality possible, but sometimes the "elitist" attitude around here is enough to make me want to puke.

Calling the current displays "720p" overstates the situation. Very few of them display exactly 1280 x 720 pixels.

I think if the current displays truly did display 720p unmodified, instead of scaling it into something "sort-of close", there would be less pressing need for 1080p.

My TV fully resolves 720p (1366 * 768 pixels), well sort of. By RacerChris' post... shouldn't we be "rid of" those nasty little EDTVs by now? :D

If they can justify those prices for plasma TV's, well price should no longer be a reason to delay SED. If plasma marketers still see a market for high priced plasmas in the 50 to 55 inch range, I see no reason why the same market would choose the spend the same amount of money for a superior technology like SED.

If not for the "promise" of vaporware, I mean SED technology and increasing LCD screen sizes I believe PDP makers would be happy to stay confined to their current 480p/720p platforms. Of course by taking the lead in 1080p PDP technology they may eliminate SED from that market too. Just how many $10,000 TVs will "Joe consumer" buy during his lifetime?

Only competition spurs technology.

There is a sucker born everyday !


or so they say :D

I was at Tweeter today and they have the Pioneer in their system. It's set to be in their warehouse in 2 weeks. We'll see.

I don't understand this statement? Did I miss something or some implied sarcasm??

Yes :D

Not so much sarcasm on my part as just pure amazement that any "A/V enthusiast" who participates in this Forum would even consider spending $10,000 for a monitor that relies on the ATSC tuner of a SA8300.

Well we all know there's no such thing as "future-proofing". We'll get our 1080p panels, pay $10,000, and of course they'll have HDMI 1.3. So we'll all be happy....for about 6 months. At about that time we'll start to hear the rumors of HDMI 1.4. Of course there will be HDMI 1.4 peripherals that will do FABULOUS things, but won't be able to do these great things with HDMI 1.3....oh they'll work OK, you just won't get any of the 'new features' with your 1.3 display. And so it goes! :D

Ah. Well there is always HD DVD and BD as high(er) quality 1080p source. If I had $10k to blow on a new display there is no way it wouldn't be a 1080p display.

Next year at this time there will be the next years model--some 1080p and mostly 1366X768.

Anybody have a guess as to what will be sold in 2008? What percentage will be 1080p? Will the summer of 2007 Panasonics be 10th generation and the summer of 2008 Panasonics be the LAST 11th generation of 1366X768?

Something tells me that most of the manufacturers such as Panasonic, Fujitsu, Pioneer, NEC, and Samsung will still sell maybe 1 budget 1366X768 plasma in their lines in 2009 but everything else will be 1080p.

I really believe in 2010 that only 1080p will remain from Pioneer and Panasonic. Anyone agree or disagree?

[quote=Artwood]Next year at this time there will be the next years model--some 1080p and mostly 1366X768.

Anybody have a guess as to what will be sold in 2008? What percentage will be 1080p? Will the summer of 2007 Panasonics be 10th generation and the summer of 2008 Panasonics be the LAST 11th generation of 1366X768?

Something tells me that most of the manufacturers such as Panasonic, Fujitsu, Pioneer, NEC, and Samsung will still sell maybe 1 budget 1366X768 plasma in their lines in 2009 but everything else will be 1080p.

I really believe in 2010 that only 1080p will remain from Pioneer and Panasonic. Anyone agree or disagree?

Well, look at it this way - Panny is still selling ED panels today, years after 1365x768 panels came to market. IMHO they will evaluate several factors to decide when to EOL a product:

Production cost - they can't just keep lowering the prices of the panels, even if they are "old" technology there is still a cost that needs to be covered. The computer market is the king of this - they just lop off the bottom models on a regular basis as the prices drop.

Manufacturing line usage - if they can use the line for a product that generates a higher margin, it makes sense to kill the old product. OTOH, as long as the line is available, and the margin is still positive, it may make sense to keep it running.

Supportability - continuing to sell a product means you have to continue to provide warranty support and spares. If they kill the product, the clock starts on how long they have to continue to support it.

Distribution & Supply Chain - the more models they keep in the line, the more product must be in the supply chain and carried by the distributors and dealers. Inventory is a liability on the balance sheet.

I'm sure there are other factors...