Plasma Sales Show Growth, Pointing To Bright Future

 Well, we don't want to say we told you so but... On Ocotber 2, 2010 we posted a story entitiled "Plasma: The Myths Are Still Alive". It addressed mistaken beliefs about plasma flat panel performance. And now, we find out the following:

Following the success of last years popular Cash for Clunker TV program, home theater retailer Diamond Case Designs, Inc. of Anaheim, CA., has organized another e-waste recycling event just in time for the holidays. This environmentally friendly program provides cash discounts toward the purchase of new eligible model Energystar TVs.

As flat panel TVs come down in price, Diamond Case has seen an increase in the number of customers replacing in their old analog TVs for new digital TVs. Rather than discarding the old TVs, which contain hazardous materials such as lead and phosphorus, into local landfills, Diamond Case has partnered with All Green Electronics Recycling to recycle and re-purpose the old TVs.  All Green guarantees that all items to be recycled will be done in accordance with their ZERO landfill policy. According to Arman Sadeghi, CEO of All Green, "All types of e-waste (electronic waste), including cell phones, laptops, computer monitors, and televisions can be recycled responsibly so their hazardous products do not end up in landfills. 

In the competitive plasma market, Runco's new Vistage Series (pronounced "Vistahhhge") offers unique aesthetic and performance features. According to Caster Communications, Runco's Public Relations firm, the entire fronts of the V-50HD, V-58HD and V-63HD ultra-thin displays (1.7 inches) are comprised of solid glass, avoiding any surface anomalies common to the acrylic or plastic surfaces used on many televisions. The Emissive Cell Structure design modulates each sub-pixel to turn on / off based on the content, which creates exceptional brightness, contrast and black levels. As videophiles will tell you, black level and grey-scale are where fine image details reside. 


Russound’s Collage Powerline Media and Intercom System sets a new standard for retrofit multiroom audio systems.

If Twitter-synched pet collars and Wi-Fi at 30,000 feet aren’t enough to convince you that we’re living in the future, consider this: I just installed two zones of distributed audio at opposite ends of the house in one fairly laid back Saturday afternoon.

The best gear of the year, as picked by the editors of Home Entertainment.

The King is dead. Long live the King!

No one at Panasonic seemed to care that Pioneer left the plasma TV market. Then again, maybe they did. It would have been easy, perhaps expected, for Panasonic to put out a gussied-up version of their last generation plasma now that the direct picture quality competition has fled the market. But that's not how it played out.

The G10 is a significant step forward in picture quality for the company best known for value and consistency more than outright picture quality.

Premiere Plasma

Looking to carve out a piece out of the high-end custom market for themselves, Panasonic launched the Premiere line, with 50 and a 65-inch models.

Sporting many custom features aimed at the custom market, does the Premiere have what it takes to compete with the KUROs of the world?