Panasonic, the former plasma king, will no longer make its own TVs
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
Still rockin' my 50" Panasonic plasma from 2012!
No burn in on it after 14 years?
Upvote
12
(17
/
-5)
My Panasonic from 2013 doesn't have burn-in but I only use it for media. No news or games that have static elements.
Upvote
109
(109
/
0)
Couldn't afford a Panny plasma at the time. Got the psychotically heavy, seemingly last Sony Trinitron flat front screen tube TV. And even that was stupid expensive in 2004.
Upvote
74
(74
/
0)
I didn't realize all those other Japanese brands had called it quits on TVs. With Sony and Panasonic out, are there any major Japanese brands left producing their own panels?
Upvote
77
(83
/
-6)
There's an element of attachment here. We're all still attached to the idea that a large flatpanel TV is somehow a luxury item.
They're not. They've become commodities. Compared to their early iterations and their CRT ancestors, they're cheap and ubiquitous.
So this shouldn't be a surprise. This is what happens in most markets. It was always inevitable.
We need to update our mental model of the world to accept this.
They're not. They've become commodities. Compared to their early iterations and their CRT ancestors, they're cheap and ubiquitous.
So this shouldn't be a surprise. This is what happens in most markets. It was always inevitable.
We need to update our mental model of the world to accept this.
Upvote
117
(128
/
-11)
Still rockin' my 50" Panasonic plasma from 2012!
I've got a similar one from 2009! (And no burn in to answer the other question!)
Upvote
53
(54
/
-1)
We had a 60" Samsung plasma for ~10 years. It was mostly used for gaming / media. When I sold it there wasn't any noticeable burn-in.
Upvote
53
(53
/
0)
Like ChronoReverse, I'm not a console gamer or a news watcher (I read the news), so no burn in. Use it almost daily.
Edit: A word.
Upvote
17
(17
/
0)
Still using my 37" 2009 Panasonic LCD TV. It must have 25,000hr on it. My partner says "DON'T BUY A NEW TV". Panasonic was my go-to electronics brand for years if I wanted good quality at a good price.
Upvote
52
(52
/
0)
It's been stunning to watch the stagnation and retreat of the major japanese electronics firms. Panasonic is retreating into industrial, Sony into PlayStation and media, Toshiba and Sharp have just kind of fallen apart, and the contractors like Funai and Orion that underpinned them in the quest for cheaper products have both gone out of business.
Upvote
154
(154
/
0)
The very largest flat panel displays are still luxury goods because of the technical difficulties in producing them.
But they will eventually become commodities once the production problems are overcome.
I’m a bit sad that screens like the LG W-series wallpaper OLED models quietly went out of production. They were sufficiently different from other products that they were interesting (and novelty is a key dimension of luxury).
Upvote
33
(34
/
-1)
Maybe controversial, but I stopped by a Best Buy recently and found it difficult to tell which were the $300 TVs and which were $3,000. I'm sure there's differences, but they seem a lot more similar than when I was shopping a decade ago.
Upvote
75
(83
/
-8)
Yep, amazing how often it phones home and how many of its smart features require you to sign away rights to your use data.
Upvote
21
(37
/
-16)
Upvote
29
(29
/
0)
Keep in mind that in the store they have the settings jacked all to hell and are in a terrible environment to judge quality. an OLED will look better than a basic LED LCD every time, but in the store they may look similar since they just want you to buy something (they don't really make a lot more on a $3000 TV compared to an $800 TV, the markups are somewhat similar in most cases).
Upvote
85
(87
/
-2)
Sharp is mostly owned by Foxconn and Toshiba is owned by a Japanese private equity firm.
Most of the Japanese comsumer electronics firms have just transitioned to being B2B or B2G businesses.
Sony is really the only one that has gone more towards consumer stuff with entertainment media.
Upvote
81
(81
/
0)
I have an ST30 from 2011 that was my main TV that I replaced with an OLED late 2022. It found a new home in my in-law’s den, where it only sees occasional use. Still works and looks great. If you display a solid gray picture, you can totally notice the burn-in but it’s not noticeable when viewing ordinary content.
Upvote
13
(13
/
0)
ReadandShare
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
It doesn't pay to make things that other companies can make for much cheaper - and either just as good or almost as good. Better invest time and talents creating the next frontier. If only Trump and MAGA can figure this out. Dumb to be tariffing shoes and textiles.
Upvote
34
(37
/
-3)
More things to hand to China on a platter. The amount of economic leverage they have on the rest of the world now must be enormous...
Upvote
60
(65
/
-5)
Upvote
27
(33
/
-6)
Checking in with my 42“ Panasonic plasma from 2007. That thing just won't die!Still rockin' my 50" Panasonic plasma from 2012!
Upvote
28
(29
/
-1)
It can be a hard adaptation to make, though. For example -- expectations of longevity need to change too. When you bought a CRT, you could expect a 30-year lifespan. Nothing today even approaches that, but people still aim for something that might last over a decade, and won't just go onto the e-waste pile after a few years. But as things get commoditized, prices aren't the only things that go down. Lifespans go down as well, support, warranties, service options, all go down. We're basically entering the land where "a TV is disposable -- if it breaks, throw it out and get a new one" is the expectation from the get-go, not something to be disappointed by.
I'm not saying that anything you wrote isn't true, but that this can be a bitter pill to swallow.
Upvote
72
(74
/
-2)
I had a 2012 GT50 until last year, when all the HDMI ports died. Replaced it with a used ST50. The GT had some burn in, the ST has almost nothing. Will keep it for as long as I can. If I could find a 2013 VT or ZT, I might be tempted to upgrade.
Upvote
10
(10
/
0)
Yes, one caveat about what I said is that the idea of "large" has definitely changed over time. If you watch something like Columbo, you see these "huge" CRT screens or even small rear projection units that these days would just be a large LCD screen.
The high end will have its quirks and oddities, but the mid-range and low end are now commodities. And somewhat strangely the humble HDMI port, allowing us to connect alternative input sources easily, removes any easy means of differentiation for the manufacturer. I'm not sure I'd bother to tune a modern TV, I'd just plug the cable box/chromecast/firestick/whatever into it and go. If I still watched much TV, that is...
I can absolutely believe that. It started happening in the 90s when all the CRT TVs went to black plastic and tried to minimise the bezels or just have speakers at the side. It's not gotten any better over the years. I think if you took the logos off most TVs produced in the last 30 years and then quizzed people on the manufacturer, most people would get dismal results.
Upvote
13
(13
/
0)
Ha ya I had the 36” one. I had this smart idea to lift it off floor onto the stand by myself and my back was sore for months.
Upvote
14
(14
/
0)
Last CRT I had was a 32" Toshiba I got at Fry's. It weighed 130 lbs.
I do have to argue with the "lasts 30 years" assertion though. I'm old AF and never had a CRT TV last that long. 10 years at the outside, less back in the vacuum tube days. I changed plenty of tubes on my parents' Sears console. It ate HV rectifiers. The tube was in a metal box so you wouldn't get X-rayed but that made it run really hot.
The 19” console cost $300 in 1971 dollars.
I do have to argue with the "lasts 30 years" assertion though. I'm old AF and never had a CRT TV last that long. 10 years at the outside, less back in the vacuum tube days. I changed plenty of tubes on my parents' Sears console. It ate HV rectifiers. The tube was in a metal box so you wouldn't get X-rayed but that made it run really hot.
The 19” console cost $300 in 1971 dollars.
Upvote
24
(25
/
-1)
Upvote
1
(1
/
0)
Me too! Sorta, gave it to my sister a few years back but it's still working great for her. That TV is amazing! Had some burn-in due to a video game I was playing. Ran the built in tool to fix it a couple of times and that cleared it up.Still rockin' my 50" Panasonic plasma from 2012!
Upvote
0
(2
/
-2)
I am still rocking my 2011 Panasonic. And it works perfectly.
Though, looking at the comments, it sounds like Panasonic was perhaps a victim of its own good quality, since we are all using older TVs that continue to work, rather than buying new ones.
Bummed that will likely come to an end.
Though, looking at the comments, it sounds like Panasonic was perhaps a victim of its own good quality, since we are all using older TVs that continue to work, rather than buying new ones.
Bummed that will likely come to an end.
Upvote
50
(50
/
0)
My 50" Panny plasma dates back to 2008 (and answer to question above, no burn-in). I was grudgingly leaning towards biting the bullet and going with LCD because they were the first to go to 1080p resolution. But, then Panny came out with their 1080p plasma line, and that was exactly what I was looking for.
Rock solid reliability, with no network connection (and thus, no spyware and other consumer-hostile IOT features interrupting the viewing experience).
It's a dumb panel, and I mean that in the best way. Running all my sources through a home theater receiver, I don't want any "smart" features on the TV itself. Streaming apps and screen mirroring are fed by an AppleTV. I use a 4k Blu-ray player for disc media, a Playstation and Switch for games, and I even keep a VCR hooked into the receiver (along with a turntable and USB phono preamp for creating digital files).
We also have a Samsung LCD TV that's about 9 years newer, but nearly all of the smart features on that set have been obsolete for years.
Picture quality remains excellent, because I periodically check the calibration with a test disc. Still no color shifting from off-center viewing, and no visible motion blur.
Whenever I get around to replacing this set, it will likely be an OLED. But, my mom's OLED was a 2nd generation LG, and she had to replace it after 5 years because it got horribly burned in from on-screen graphics. Coupled with all the spyware and ads that TV makers now force feed to buyers, I plan to hold onto that Panny for a while longer.
Maybe the problem here is that Panny's TVs were too reliable.
Rock solid reliability, with no network connection (and thus, no spyware and other consumer-hostile IOT features interrupting the viewing experience).
It's a dumb panel, and I mean that in the best way. Running all my sources through a home theater receiver, I don't want any "smart" features on the TV itself. Streaming apps and screen mirroring are fed by an AppleTV. I use a 4k Blu-ray player for disc media, a Playstation and Switch for games, and I even keep a VCR hooked into the receiver (along with a turntable and USB phono preamp for creating digital files).
We also have a Samsung LCD TV that's about 9 years newer, but nearly all of the smart features on that set have been obsolete for years.
Picture quality remains excellent, because I periodically check the calibration with a test disc. Still no color shifting from off-center viewing, and no visible motion blur.
Whenever I get around to replacing this set, it will likely be an OLED. But, my mom's OLED was a 2nd generation LG, and she had to replace it after 5 years because it got horribly burned in from on-screen graphics. Coupled with all the spyware and ads that TV makers now force feed to buyers, I plan to hold onto that Panny for a while longer.
Maybe the problem here is that Panny's TVs were too reliable.
Last edited:
Upvote
42
(42
/
0)
Best Buy might be worst environment to compare TV, because they're all set for demo mode, which cranks the sharpness and bright levels way up. One of the big reasons why LCD beat out plasma was because the TVs had a higher maximum light output, which looks good in a bright retail showroom demo wall.
With any TV, you will still need to calibrate it to maximize the actual picture quality (which almost always entails tuning down the sharpness and setting the levels at more reasonable levels).
Upvote
19
(21
/
-2)
Total nothingburger, really. Skyworth gets access to a brand with some perceived value to help build their NA business, and Panasonic can pull in some money from co-branding.
Not sure if there's any real value here for consumers, but I'm not familiar with Skyworth so who knows, maybe they become the next TLC and take off.
Not sure if there's any real value here for consumers, but I'm not familiar with Skyworth so who knows, maybe they become the next TLC and take off.
Upvote
-10
(2
/
-12)
I still have my Panasonic 50" plasma from 2010. It's now been relegated to rarely used office duty but even the Sony 55" LCD we replaced it with is from 2015. Neither TV gets much use anymore since my household consumes the significant majority of media on phones and tablets now.
From the service menu the Panasonic only has a touch over 3300 hours used and less than 2500 cycles on it (and more than 90% of that was in its first 5 years of use).
From the service menu the Panasonic only has a touch over 3300 hours used and less than 2500 cycles on it (and more than 90% of that was in its first 5 years of use).
Upvote
0
(0
/
0)