I honestly dont have alot of experience with Plasmas but I did look at alot of different models before finally purchasing my Pioneer PDP5060 and went with the Pioneer because of the picture quality. I have now had my Pasma for about 8 months and it is quite simply put a stunning picture in my opinion. I dont know where the Pioneer PDP 5060 stacks up when compared to other HDTV's but if most of the other plasmas out there have a picture quality similar to mine then I have a hard time believing that people arent impressed by them. I find myself being impressed time and time again with the picture quality I get with mine even after owning it for almost a year.

Again I dont know where my HDTV falls when compared to the average Plasma but the picture quality is stunning and I would continue to purchase TV's till the end of my days that had picture quality equal to this one so at least in my book Plasma is no where near being dead. Will something better come along? Absolutly and anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. While we are very close to reaching the limit of the eye in terms of lines of resolution, we still have a ways to go when dealing with color rendition and other aspects of picture quality. So while we will most likly only have one more advance in terms of dvd technology we should have multiple steps left in the actual production of higher quality TV's. That doesnt mean that Plasma technology in TV's wont be around for quite awhile longer. I absolutly think it will be here for at least another 10 years.

PS..

Pioneer is usually at the top end for most CE products. I would hazard a guess that very plasmas look as good as a Pioneer. The problem with plasma is the cost. For the money, I'd rather get a DLP that's $1,000 but 10" bigger. Or even better, a CRT that's 1/5 of the cost and twice as big.

Plasmas are expensive for a reason: they rock. I have a Panny and I know that it's better than most rear proj. LCD/DLP (b/c I almost bought those). As for HDTV CRTs, I don't know. But those are far too heavy/bulky for my taste.

Plasmas are like any other electronics product. If you buy a cheap one, you'll get a cheap looking picture. But if you do some research and spend a little $$$, you can get one hell of a display.

Maybe they put crap into flat panels, I haven't studied them as well. But LCD has kept up amazingly well with DLP in projectors. I've had both, and both are good. All the black level talk has really become FUD against LCD. And DLP has its own problems, notably RBE.

I'm not saying it's horrible. It just isn't that much better, if at all, than LCD or plasma. I don't like the RPTVs in either DLP or LCD format. They are the cheapest for a reason.

illini_fan,
Plasma has actually come way down in price. It is cheaper than LCD flat panels right now.

every tv type has its problems. its whatever works best for the one purchasing it.

LCDs have poor black levels
DLPs have Rainbow effect
Plasmas suffer burn-in and the fact that 1080 isnt native on most.
RP CRTs have bad viewing angles and are HUGE and heavy.

CRTs have great picture quality and I would get one if I had the footprint for it.

I am getting a plasma cause it suits my situation best.

Excellent way to sum it up.

I'll be completely honest, I know next to nothing about front projectors. I've never had one, nor really looked into them that much. So all of my comments are about integrated televisions.

Viewing angles on the RP CRTs are a thing of the past. It is huge and heavy but still the best pic out there, hands down!

SXRD (LCos) will probably be my next purchase, unless something better comes out between now and next summer.

Although I love my plasma, I want to go 1080p with my next set. So I'm looking at the new DLPs (getting awesome reviews) and the SXRDs. It's a tough call.

My problem with SXRD is the green blob effect which is very apparent to my eyes.

I thought I had read that the next gen SXRD fixes this issue.

Laser TV unveiled

By Adam Bennett

October 10, 2006 04:04pm
Article from: AAP

IT'S being hailed by its developers as the next revolution in visual technology - a laser television that will make plasma screens obsolete.

Soon-to-be-listed Australian company Arasor International and its US partner Novalux unveiled what they claimed to be the world's first laser television in Sydney today, with a pitch that it would be half the price, twice as good, and use a quarter of the electricity of conventional plasma and LCD TVs.

Manufacturing company Arasor produces the unique optoelectronic chip central to the laser projection device being developed by Silicon Valley-based Novalux, which is being used by a number of television manufacturers.

And displayed beside a conventional 50 inch plasma TV this afternoon, the Mitsubishi-built prototype does appear brighter and clearer than its “older” rival.

With a worldwide launch date scheduled for Christmas 2007, under recognisable brands like Mitsubishi and Samsung, Novalux chief executive Jean-Michel Pelaprat is so bold as to predict the death of plasma.

“If you look at any screen today, the colour content is roughly about 30-35 per cent of what the eye can see,” he said.

“But for the very first time with a laser TV we'll be able to see 90 per cent of what the eye can see.

“All of a sudden what you see is a lifelike image on display.”

Combine that with energy efficiency, price advantage and the fact that the laser TVs will be half the weight and depth of plasma TVS, and Mr Pelaprat says “plasma is now something of the past”.

Mr Pelaprat predicted LCD TVs would come to dominate the market below 40 inches, and laser television the market above that screen size, displacing plasma.

The optoelectronic chip-laser technology won't be confined to TVs.

The technology is also being trialled in mobile phones, where it will be used to project images onto any surface, and in home theatres and cinemas.

The unveiling of the laser TV prototype was held on the eve of Arasor's public float on the Australian Stock Exchange next week."

Link to article

Have any of you seen this? I did a search and came up with nothing.

Sometimes, the search doesn't work so well. Merging your thread with an existing one.

Here's a counter article

http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/19/l...plasma-killer/

Laser TV, no plasma killer
Posted Oct 19th 2006 9:29AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Not that it should come as any surprise, but most manufacturers don't give a shiznit 'bout those laser TVs. Yeah, despite all the blow-harding by Novalux's C-levels about laser TVs supplanting plasmas, most big panel manufacturers have no plans to bring laser TV technology to market anytime soon. See, much of the laser TV hype is coming from Australia's own Arasor -- the company behind the optoelectronic chip central to the laser projection device -- so the Sydney Morning Herald went ahead and contacted Fujitsu, Pioneer, Samsung and Philips to get the poop. Just like we expected, none of them have any immediate plans to incorporate laser TV into their product lines, having already made significant investments in plasma and LCD. In fact, when asked if laser was a plasma killer, Samsung, who along with Mitsubishi are supposed to launch actual product before the close of 2007, stated that "Laser TV is one of a number of competing, next generation formats. At this stage, it is too early to say more." Still, Arasor's co-director Larry Marshall, continues boasting that by January's CES, "eight different manufacturers, including the major ones" will show-up with laser TVs on display. Maybe, but first-prototypes are miles away from mass production, eh Larry. Still, with Arasor set to list on the Australian Stock Exchange today in a few days, well, what do you expect.

He actually wrote "shiznit" and we're supposed to take him seriously?

That's just how the editors of the site write. It doesn't make the information any less relevant.

And I'm not talking to you. You refuse to use what is clearly the best idea for the name of your new column. That idea being mine. How dare you sir.

This sounds like an interesting technology, especially if it can produce black levels on a par with CRT sets.

It really ticks me off that the big manufacuters have abandoned CRT sets. My calibrated Pioneer CRT, like others here, produces stunning HD picture quality. The problem I run into is the fact that I only have the option of inputting via component or RGB. That sucks for things like SD DVD upconversion...

Yeah, it kind of does.

"HD Shiznit" it is, then.

Come on J-man, you can't believe that. Discounting valid and factual argument based on presentation (and presentation in keeping with the theme of the site) would not become a journalist like yourself. For shame.