Page 1 of Predictions please for the cost of a plasma by next Xmas.

Just thought this would make an interesting debate, as myself and some others at work were discussing this on a night shift recently (we`re all avid Home Cinema bods). I threw the cat amongst the pigeons when I stated that it isn`t impossible that there will be a £999 42" model out by then, or, at the very least, one for about £1,200-£1,300. Why? well look at the price only 12-18 months ago, most models were £7,000-£12,000, and now Richer Sounds are selling a brand new model for £1,999! The other reason I think it may happen is that apparently quite a few of the lower priced TV manufacturers` are entering the market, and are working on lower cost models as we speak. So how about some predictions for Xmas and/or the January sales. Could be an interesting debate. Roger.

I want to know when the technology will improve as well as the cost coming down.
I read a report stating that 5K`s worth of plasma TV can be knackered as quickly as 6 months after purchase.
Something about images burning into the screen.The red dots on interactive TV and the logo on SKY news for example.
Sounds like a nightmare scenario to me.

Interesting point Bowf, but one that has been well documented in the past and is still ongoing. However, i`d rather people answer the topic of the debate, rather than go off on too much of a tangent. Roger.

I don`t know if they will be down to that sort of price by xmas. However I think it is only a matter of time before they start really chipping into the sales of crt tv`s.
Personally as soon as they are down to that sort of price I`m buying one!
I think you will see a couple of brand names around the 2k mark by christmas though! (decent ones that is-panasonic,toshiba,hitachi)

Slightly tangential, but I personally have feeling that LCD might be the dark horse on large screen.

Hi,

I think £999 is a bit optimistic as a 36" CRT still costs more than that. As do rear projections. I think maybe a basic all in plasma (inc tuner) package will be available for £2k for a 42" and maybe less for smaller sizes.

I have a Samsung PS42 Plasma which I paid £3k for. This includes tuner, table stand, speakers and speaker stands etc and I am very happy with it.

You have to remember that if everyone holds onto their wad of cash then prices won`t fall too sharply as manufacturers need to recoup their R&D and production costs. They need people paying a bit extra until mainstream production becomes cheaper to the masses!

This item was edited on Tuesday, 18th February 2003, 18:22

I read in Stuf (or was it T3?) recently that Plasma`s may be overtaken by LCD screens in the not too distant future. Apparently LCD has a much sharper picture, is lighter (weight) and lasts longer that Plasma. The stumbling block has been getting a large screen made, but Samsung have releaseda 29" (£6K I think) and they are going to start getting bigger.

There low shelf life was one of the reasons I went for a Tosh 36ZP18 instead, well that and the cash :-).

I reckon you may be right about a £1000 42" tho`.

The problem with plasma screens is that parts of the screen can burn out.

Read an article that some manufactures are using a line at full brightness with the next line at half brightness and on the next scan, its vice versa.

This is supposed to increase the overall life span of the TV without reducing picture quality!

Plasma screens have an expected life of around 30,000 hrs before they lose some of the brightness.

This is good for around 14 years at 6-8 hours a day.

So do not be put of with stories that they only last 6 months, this is absolute rubbish.

You can get screen burn if you leave a picture on pause for 3 hours or more, but all vcrs and dvd and plasma monitors have screen savers or in the case of vcr`s a paused picture will stop or resume playing after several minutes. Also LCD`s are just as prone to screen burn as plasma`s are.

The only concern is digital broadcasters logo`s but most people refresh their screen by changing channels etc, so this isn`t really too much of a problem.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 18th February 2003, 23:00

If a digital broadcasters logo damages my plasma eg through watching the same channel all evening is this a tort (legal term) and can I sue. Answers from lawyers especially welcome.