Vizio drops plasma TVs

Erica Ogg | Feb 12, 2009

Vizio says goodbye to plasma.
(Credit: CNET Networks)

Yet another one bites the plasma TV dust. Barely has Pioneer officially announced its departure from the plasma TV business when Vizio, a US-centric brand which turned the HDTV market on its head with its low-priced sets, is now set to concentrate all of its TV efforts on LCD. While Vizio doesn't impact Asia so much, the slow exodus of brands out of plasma could spell eventual doom for the segment.

The California-based flat-panel maker will no longer produce plasma TVs, according to a recent report in The New York Times. It was the third-largest plasma TV maker in the US as of the end of the third quarter of 2008, with 13 percent of all shipments, according to DisplaySearch.

Vizio co-founder Laynie Newsome told the Times the reasons for the move away from plasma TVs were that they didn't sell as well in big-box stores due to the harsh lighting and Vizio would rather use its established retail presence to push LCD TVs instead. Vizio is also the third-largest LCD TV maker in the US, with 8.4 percent of shipments.

Manufacturers can charge more for LCD TVs, which generally bring in higher revenue than TVs based on plasma technology. Plasma TVs are also regarded by some as less environmentally friendly for the amount of energy they consume.

As a result, the plasma ranks are getting thin. Just last week a report surfaced that Pioneer, currently the fifth-largest plasma TV vendor, would also cease production of its plasma sets.

Without Vizio and Pioneer, that would leave only Panasonic, Samsung, and LG Electronics as the major vendors of plasma.

Via CNET.com

Filed under: Home AV
Leave a comment | Bookmark | Share