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Hi folks,
I'm still putting my pennies away for (I hope) a 42" plasma screen - probably Panasonic.
Since prices have been dropping, I phoned an AV dealer who sells items to our company at just above dealer cost - he has the Panasonic 42" in his store. I was curious if he'd dropped his price down, following the price drops for the Panny and other plasmas over the last year. His price had dropped a little for the Panny. But then he went on to offer some "friendly advice" regarding buying a plasma.
He said the reason plasma prices are dropping is that it's becoming common knowledge just how defective and short-lived many PDPs are. PDPs were manufactured for industrial use. The public saw them, began clamoring for PDPs, which weren't really a consumer-ready device, but the plasma manufacturers said "hookay, if you want 'em, we'll start selling them to you."
The dealer said, what nobody is telling consumers is that Plasmas are known to have what amounts to a five year life-span ("average use"). He said that a Fujitsu PDP was installed in a local hotel and run 24 hours a day. After 8 months the panel is already dead and must be replaced.
I know people on this forum are quite aware of the
controversies surrounding PDPs, but I thought I'd throw this guy's warning into the ring, just to see what people here have to say about it.
I take it those who have bought plasmas have no regrets (?).
(I admit that even this scare-mongering barely dilutes the pull of a PDP for me...).
Thanks,
Rich
I'm still putting my pennies away for (I hope) a 42" plasma screen - probably Panasonic.
Since prices have been dropping, I phoned an AV dealer who sells items to our company at just above dealer cost - he has the Panasonic 42" in his store. I was curious if he'd dropped his price down, following the price drops for the Panny and other plasmas over the last year. His price had dropped a little for the Panny. But then he went on to offer some "friendly advice" regarding buying a plasma.
He said the reason plasma prices are dropping is that it's becoming common knowledge just how defective and short-lived many PDPs are. PDPs were manufactured for industrial use. The public saw them, began clamoring for PDPs, which weren't really a consumer-ready device, but the plasma manufacturers said "hookay, if you want 'em, we'll start selling them to you."
The dealer said, what nobody is telling consumers is that Plasmas are known to have what amounts to a five year life-span ("average use"). He said that a Fujitsu PDP was installed in a local hotel and run 24 hours a day. After 8 months the panel is already dead and must be replaced.
I know people on this forum are quite aware of the
controversies surrounding PDPs, but I thought I'd throw this guy's warning into the ring, just to see what people here have to say about it.
I take it those who have bought plasmas have no regrets (?).
(I admit that even this scare-mongering barely dilutes the pull of a PDP for me...).
Thanks,
Rich