It was the end of an era in 2014…
Samsung, LG, and Panasonic have discontinued all their plasma TV production.
They were the last to produce this type of TV.
And since then, they haven’t looked back.
Now, why would they do that?
Continue reading to find out:
- 9 simple reasons why Plasma TVs died off.
- Whether Plasma TVs will make a comeback in the future.
- The 3 types of flat panel displays that competed with Plasma TVs.
- And many more…
Why are Plasma TVs not made anymore?
Plasma TVs aren’t made anymore because of the high production cost it takes. And they weren’t performing well in the market against their competitors: LCD, LED, and OLED. Moreover, their size, weight, and energy usage led to poor customer preferences and to even lower market performance.
9 reasons why Plasma TVs died off
#1: High production cost, cheap sale retail price
To understand how much it costs to produce a Plasma TV…
It’s best to explain first:
What is Plasma?
In school, we’re taught that there are 3 states of matter. Those are solid, liquid, and gas.
However, there’s a poor fella that most teachers forget to mention: Plasma.
It’s another fundamental state of matter.
Fun fact: According to MIT, so much of everything is made out of it.
All that needs to be done is to energize certain gases.
Then, there we have it:
Plasma.
Okay. I know you didn’t come here for a physics lesson. But you’ll see all of the relevance of these further in the article.
For now, let’s move on to:
Plasma Display Panel (PDP)
In a plasma TV, there are 2 sheets of glass. Between them is a mixture of gas: xenon and neon.
Now, these gasses are inside tiny cells. And those cells are covered with phosphor that produces visible light. Namely red, blue, and green.
Altogether, when the TV is plugged in, they react to the electricity. This creates plasma.
And with the colored phosphor cells, your display of images or videos comes to life.
Now, I tried very hard to say everything simply. But it still sounds a little bit complicated, right?
Alright. How about a helpful “How it was made” video:
Now, despite that many efforts that go through production…
Plasma TVs sell for cheap prices
Due to serious competition (which I’ll talk more about later)…
As well as efficient mass production of a product that isn’t in demand…
Plasma TVs’ prices are forced to decrease.
And in 2009 news, it was announced that Plasma TV prices have plummeted. Together with its number of buyers.
Interesting fact: In 2008, there are 10 million 40 to 50-inch LCD TVs sold. While Plasma TVs sold that year were merely 3.8 million.
Now factor all of that…
Why won’t Plasma TVs be driven down to discontinuation?
And if it doesn’t sound enough…
There are more reasons in the following sections.
#2: Consumer perception
When Plasma TVs are displayed in the store…
They don’t look as appealing to the customers.
To understand, imagine the last time that you walked into Target or Walmart.
The place is well-lit, right?
Now let’s go back to Plasma TVs, which are specifically made for dark-room viewing.
And since the stores are so bright…
The Plasma TV screens appear to be too dim.
With that, customers would hardly see images on the screen. What they’ll see more are glares from other light sources.
But it doesn’t end there…
Here comes 1 of Plasma TV’s direct rivals: LED TVs. Despite being more expensive than Plasma TVs, they thrived.
How?
Because of the on-floor salespeople.
They preyed on the Plasma TVs’ underperformance in the store.
They’d show the customers how much glare there is in Plasma TVs. Then, they’d unveil that LED TVs have fewer reflections.
And what would the customers pick?
None other than the LED TVs that appeared to be better.
Hence, this contributes to the already-low demand for Plasma TVs.
#3: Rising competitions
So far, I’ve mentioned 2 competitions of Plasma TVs.
There’s LCD TVs or liquid-crystal-display television. Up to the day of writing, they’re the most produced and sold type of TV display.
Customers opted for LCD TVs because they’re cheaper than Plasma TVs. Plus, they show a little bit of similarity in picture quality.
Another competition is LED TVs or light-emitting diodes television.
When compared to Plasma TVs, LED TVs have a brighter display.
And the 3rd one that I’m adding to the mix is:
OLED TVs or organic light-emitting diodes television. Although they’re more expensive, they still did better than Plasma TVs.
Now the rise of these 3 competitions put down Plasma TVs performance in the market.
Little by little, Plasma TVs were no longer the cutting edge of televisions.
Thus, pushing them further to decline.
#4: Size and weight
This comes as a surprise to many…
Yes. Business was booming for large TVs in the mid-2000s.
So how did size doom Plasma TVs?
The answer is simple:
There are no small Plasma TVs at all.
The time that Plasma TVs were born, they were considered large TVs. We’re talking 32 inches.
But as time goes by…
Technology developed. TVs got even bigger.
And sure, Plasma TVs can keep up with the big TV demand.
After all, manufacturers can’t make Plasma TVs smaller.
But it’s also time to take note…
Plasma TVs aren’t that thin.
They have to be 1.2 inches in minimu