Quote:
Originally Posted by R Harkness
The 3rd Generation ("3UY") Panasonic plasmas is when plasma TVs took the leap to "excellent."
...But PQ-wise I don't believe there was any real difference between the 3 and four generation, and I see little difference between my 4th gen Panny and the 7th gen. Haven't seen the 8th gen yet. |
Ah, the sweet voice of reason.
With so many posts about how one generation "blows away" its predecessor, it good to see one of AVS's most respected voices point out the emperor has no clothes.
Not that progress isn't being made, but for some time the annual improvements have been subtle or largely cosmetic, a little like with automobiles, sometimes two steps forward and one step back.
Recent efforts have concentrated on improving longevity and reducing manufacturing costs, worthy goals to be sure, but not resulting in dramatic improvements in PQ. Shadow detail and false contouring continue to improve, too, although not all viewers have been bothered by either. Other changes, like (apparently) tweaking the color decoder to increase saturation, are largely marketing driven. Whether they are improvements or not is a matter of taste.
The original question was not brand specific. To my knowledge, only Panasonic has seen fit to introduce 8 "generations" of plasma panels. The next highest, I believe, is Pioneer with 6. Everyone else seems to be in the 3-5 range.