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Lower-Priced Projection TV Outshines Plasma Hype

Sun February 22, 2004 09:24 AM ET

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By Franklin Paul

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Paul Bulmash decided to treat his family to a new giant-screen television, he was faced with a dilemma: Is a big, flat TV worth the price of a used car or a luxury vacation?

Bulmash, like many others, decided against buying a plasma TV -- the holiday season's hot, but pricey, device-du-jour -- and opted instead for a 48-inch rear projection TV.

"I looked at both, but the plasma was so expensive, and I heard they are not that reliable yet," Bulmash, a retired mechanic, said from his home in Skokie, Illinois. "Projection TV has been around for a while and looked like the best value for the dollar."

In fact, while plasma TVs are aggressively advertised by retailers and a staple in shopping-list chatter, they remain largely the object of window-shopping by consumers, who choose to purchase projection TVs, a surprisingly mature technology.

Some 2.3 million digital projection TVs were shipped in the United States in 2003, and 2.6 million are expected this year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. That compares with 315,000 plasmas last year, and 515,000 seen in 2004, it said.

It's easy to understand consumer excitement about plasma. The gee-whiz technology based on supercharged gases made its debut only about 4 years ago, and combined with high-definition digital video, it produces images that appear real enough to touch.

But at an average price in 2003 of $4,600 -- enough for a Hawaiian vacation or a 1997 Toyota Camry -- consumers often think twice. That second thought brings them to projection TVs, which also have high-resolution images, but at a more earthbound price of $1,400, on average.

A SAVINGS OF $8,000

In a recent Manhattan store ad, the price of a 52-inch RCA high-definition projection TV was about $1,300, while a more jazzy 55-inch Philips (PHG.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) model was being sold for $1,800. By comparison, a 32-inch Hitachi(6501.T: Quote, Profile, Research) plasma was priced at $4,000, and a 50-inch Pioneer Corp. (6773.T: Quote, Profile, Research) plasma, $10,000.

"The looks of plasma may drive people in, but at the end of the day, they have to write a check," said Stephen Baker, director of industry analysis at research firm NPD TechWorld. "Projection TV has come down in price and gone up in quality. It's affordable and it's big, and people want big TVs."

While projection TVs have been around for decades, older versions are ugly and cumbersome, often resembling an old-fashioned home movie screen. Most rear-projection TVs contain three small cathode-ray tubes (CRT) that beam images onto a screen

Lower-Priced Projection TV Outshines Plasma Hype

Sun February 22, 2004 09:24 AM ET

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Projection screens also require more maintenance than plasma, as their lamps need to be recalibrated or replaced periodically.

Plasma TVs' chief selling point is the thin screen, but they also produce a picture that is bright even in a well-lit room, and can be seen from wider angles than rear-projection.

Some plasma owners, however, complain of "burn-in," which occurs when a frequently viewed image, such as the "CNN" logo, leaves a lingering shadow imprint on the screen.

Many new projection sets employ advanced technology including digital light processing, or DLP, under which a device reflects light on a pixel-by-pixel basis to create a projected image.

"DLP is getting the lion's share of attention at this point," said IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell. "(New) digital technology offers true high-resolution capability, a smaller -- though not smallest -- form factor, and more reasonable price.

Consumer Reports, a magazine that independently tests products, in a recent issue gave top grades to projection TVs made by Toshiba Corp.(6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) , Hitachi, and Sony Corp.(6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Prices are expected to go down for projection as well as plasma TVs this year, as manufacturers step up production to meet demand. With more homes wired for high-definition TV, and DVD sales still strong, more consumers like Bulmash must face their next conundrum: Where to put this giant TV, which instantly becomes one of the largest pieces of furniture in the home.

"We had to move it from the place where we had our (previous) TV," Bulmash said. "It takes up more space, but that wasn't a problem here." Previous 1| 2