Panasonic The Biggest Plasmatv Ever

The plasma video display was invented in 1964 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Donald L. Bitzer, H. Gene Slottow, and graduate student Robert Willson for the PLATO Computer System. The original monochrome (orange, green, yellow) video display panels were very popular in the early 1970s because they were rugged and needed neither memory nor circuitry to refresh the images. A long period of sales decline occurred in the late 1970s as semiconductor memory made CRT displays cheaper than plasma displays[history source needed]. Nonetheless, the plasma display's relatively large screen size and narrow body made them suitable for high-profile placement in lobbies and stock exchanges.

Until quite recently, the superior brightness, faster response time, greater color spectrum, and wider viewing angle of color plasma video displays, when compared with LCD televisions, made them one of the most popular forms of display for HDTV flat panel displays. For a long time it was widely believed that LCD technology was suited only to smaller sized televisions, and could not compete with plasma technology at larger sizes, particularly 40 inches (100 cm) and above.


However, since then, improvements in LCD technology have narrowed the technological gap. The lower weight, falling prices, higher available resolution, which is important for HDTV, and often lower electrical power consumption of LCDs make them competitive against plasma displays in the television set market. As of late 2006, analysts note that LCDs are overtaking plasmas, particularly in the important 40-inch (1.0 m) and above segment where plasma had previously enjoyed strong dominance a couple of years before. Another industry trend is the consolidation of manufacturers of plasma displays, with around fifty brands available but only five manufacturers.