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Dear Mr. Poor:

As President of the Plasma Display Coalition (PDC), I read with interest your submission to GigaOMPRO expressing your opinion on the future of Plasma television. Active members of our Coalition include LG Electronics, Panasonic, and Pioneer – each of whom also market big-screen LCD products.

While you are entitled to an opinion, I believe you should have considered common, well-known facts when writing your analysis of big-screen TV sales. Most importantly, it’s a fact that plasma HDTV products are only available in large-screen sizes. Communicating that plasma has a 7% market share is misleading to consumers and readers, as plasma only competes in the larger screen sizes.

Looking only at the large screen category, the market share for plasma jumps from what you reported in your piece to 45% to 50%. Mainstream Plasma manufacturers start at 42-inches, unlike LCD screens that are common in virtually all sizes – including handheld models. Thus, to claim that Plasma “technology holds onto about 7 percent market share” is misleading and a gross oversight of the facts. In the 42”+ category, plasma share is not only well represented at half the market – it’s GROWING and will record it best year approaching 4 million units in the United States. Your readers, unfortunately, are none the wiser if they only rely on your opinions.

We also take issue with your assertion that “plasma has lost on the field of battle – the retail showroom.” In fact, in addition to the popular “big box” stores, thousands of CE specialty retailers and installers throughout the country (the most discerning home entertainment specialists) are big plasma supporters and are dependent on the high-end performance of plasma HDTV and the related sales of accessories and installation services.

There is little dispute that plasma screens are best for fast motion, most accurate color reproduction, and the widest possible viewing angle. And, inch-for-inch, plasma HDTV is also less expensive than LCD. While the costs may change over time, the outstanding picture performance of plasma HDTV, among other attributes, will keep plasma at the forefront of the home entertainment community. Additionally, manufacturers continue to invest in plasma R&D and manufacturing facilities throughout the world. You should also note, full line plasma and LCD manufactures often choose to place and introduce their cutting edge technology, features and advantages first in their plasma lineup. A great example is cutting-edge Internet connectivity, appearing first in the most full-featured plasma HDTV models from LG and Panasonic.

At the Plasma Display Coalition, we’d be delighted to serve as a resource for you and other GigaOmPRO analysts regarding the HDTV market. We look forward to seeing a correction to reflect the market facts and not merely opinions.

Regards,

James M. Palumbo

President,

Plasma Display Coalition

As for the altitude problem, it is actually another one of those hang-over problems suffered by plasma. It is true that this was a problem for earlier models, and you had to get one that was specially rated for high altitude use. This is no longer the case; all of Panasonic’s plasma models are rated for use at altitudes up to 8,400 feet. Still, “conventional wisdom” is likely to make salespeople steer customers to LCD models instead.

One thing I noticed that was missing was discussion around the high-altitude limit that most plasma TVs have. Living in Colorado, a lot of people do live in 8000+ foot mountains and were always directed towards the LCDs. You like won’t find many plasmas in Vail and Aspen…