[Mark Henninger]

Panasonic will no longer develop plasma technology. In a fate that is eerily reminiscent of Pioneer's exit from the plasma business after the Kuro line amazed the press with never-before seen quality, Panasonic has confirmed its inevitable exit from the category. News of the latest development in the saga surrounding the fate of the venerable technology comes directly from display VP Kiyoshi Okamoto, as disclosed in an interview with The Verge.


Panasonic's New York Press Event - Photo © by Mark Henninger


It turns out that the new ZT60, demonstrated over the past couple of days in NYC—I was there to see the demo—will be the final statement from a company that, until yesterday, denied it was exiting the plasma category. In fact is was denied at length, with charts and numbers explaining how 11% of the market is actually not bad. Now the exit is inevitable, and official.


Panasonic sees OLED technology as the future of high-fidelity display, it is also reacting to a market that has overwhelmingly opted for LED-based LCD televisions, regardless of the technical merits of plasma HDTV panels. Thankfully the IPS LED panels I saw at the same event looked very good.


Ending research on another new panel does not translate to an end in production, but the " rumor " that Panasonic will be closing its primary remaining plasma production facilities next year no longer seems very far-fetched. It also explains the description of the ZT60s availability as "limited".

Quote:
"Panasonic will never make a higher-quality plasma television."


"When asked if plasma R&D may ever start back up, Okamoto said that isn't the plan. The company has shifted at least some of its plasma engineers to OLED development, with which Panasonic plans to eventually replace its plasma lineup." source: theverge.com

 

[Vishwa Somayaji]

Very sad news. indeed. I read your earlier article showing Panasonic and Kuro Plasmas and was very excited. Now, does this mean we will still see ZT60 in the retail market and there will not be a next year's model, or has the plug already been pulled?

Edit: OK. I got the answer in the other thread. We can buy it for another year

 

[macfan]

Just another example of the public willing to accept lower priced mediocrity over quality.

 

[Chise]

What a bummer,Like any television it has pros and cons,the pros it best color and skin tones and the price the cons they run out and prone for burn in the screen,will I buy another one I don't know right now.

 

[Nighthawk68]



Quote:
Originally Posted by macfan  /t/1467860/panasonic-pulls-plug-on-plasma-progress-zt60-marks-end-of-era#post_23193768


Just another example of the public willing to accept lower priced mediocrity over quality.

Its killing everything in the electronics industry. Interesting article in Widescreen Review on this cheapening issue called "The Future" January 2013 #173 issue.

 

[wattheF]

this stinks

 

[Philip Frederick]

WTF

Was really hoping Panasonic would continue Plasma production until OLED became affordable... Cuz LCD tech (LED back-lit or not) just doesn't cut it.

 

[w1retap]

OLED phosphor lifespan FTL.

 

[Bukley]

Samsung is gonna pick up the slack - damn shame, love my panny plasma, the end of an era for sure

 

[igreg]

Is this going to bump up the price of the ZT60? I have been contemplating getting a new plasma, so this could be a decison maker for me.

 

[Mark Henninger]



Quote:
Originally Posted by igreg  /t/1467860/panasonic-pulls-plug-on-plasma-progress-zt60-marks-end-of-era#post_23194332


Is this going to bump up the price of the ZT60? I have been contemplating getting a new plasma, so this could be a decison maker for me.

The pricing of the ZT60 series is not set yet.

 

[Chris5028]

Sad day, I just purchased an ST 50 last year and was looking forward to another Panasonic plasma in the future.

 

[JukeBox360]

It's about time. This is good news for everyone.

 

[cronuskronos]

Nice marketing trick, i guess they feel that this will create one of those "grab em before the stocks get over" scenario.Panasonic will never end plasma production at-least for another couple of years, because they sell more plasma than their mediocre LCD's, although they only sell half as much as Samsung in the plasma department.

 

[vinnie97]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JukeBox360  /t/1467860/panasonic-pulls-plug-on-plasma-progress-zt60-marks-end-of-era#post_23194563


It's about time. This is good news for everyone.

Wha? For the off-chance of affordable OLED by 2017? In the near-term, there is far more bad than good in these developments.

 

[jjkusaf1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JukeBox360  /t/1467860/panasonic-pulls-plug-on-plasma-progress-zt60-marks-end-of-era#post_23194563


It's about time. This is good news for everyone.

What is good for "everyone". Having to settle with a inferior LCD/LED display now or setting aside resources for OLED technology? If the later...I can agree but if not the whole heartedly disagree. As vinnie mentioned, either way, for the near term this isn't "good news for everyone".

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chise  /t/1467860/panasonic-pulls-plug-on-plasma-progress-zt60-marks-end-of-era#post_23193912


What a bummer,Like any television it has pros and cons,the pros it best color and skin tones and the price the cons they run out and prone for burn in the screen,will I buy another one I don't know right now.

Welcome to 10 years ago?

 

[KidHorn]

The bright side is Panasonic thinks OLED has a future and is willing to focus their attention on it.

 

[jproy13]

it sucks as plasma can give you very close to OLED (that for the most part a common user would not noticed when calibrated properly), but at a fraction of the price.

 

[mike65535]



Quote:
prone for burn in the screen

Welcome to 10 years ago?

Plasmas dimmed badly relatively quickly (several thousand hours) when they were first sold... and were absolutely TERRIBLE with radiated RF noise - probably illegally so, but the FCC turned a blind eye.


Now, it appears most, if not all, of these problems have been solved. But its hard to shake the plasma's stigma.


Panasonic is in this to make money, not appease high-end home theater enthusiasts. If the sales suck for plasma, and it appears to them that other technologies (ones without the aforementioned baggage) are to be the way of the future, it makes sense for them to pull out. I think if plasma technology was considered "worth it" by Panasonic, they could have rebranded it somehow.

 

[Sibuna]

So it looks like I am buying a new TV this year


here is the important question i did not see, Are they just going to continue selling the xx60 models until they totally stop selling them outright? or will they rebrand the 2013 models as xx70 models in 2014?