Poll: Waiting for new display tech, or more of the same?

by Richard Lawler posted May 9th 2009 at 12:00PM

With the news that OLED will finally be arriving in decent sizes as soon as next year, but is anyone still waiting? When you think about your next TV, are you planning on purchasing a bigger/faster/cheaper version of the same old LCD/Plasma, or still looking forward to the promise of tomorrow, whether it's SED, OLED or something else?

Filed under: Polls, Displays, LCD, Plasma, OLED

Tags: lcd, oled, plasma, polls

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highest Ranked

Philip S @ May 9th 2009 12:13PM

My plasma is pretty new so hopefully OLED is cheaper when I upgrade next time.

Neutral

PuBeLeSs @ May 9th 2009 4:17PM

Ya i agree. i bought mine this past November. i wont be buying another tv till oled tv's are around the prices of plasmas.

Highest Ranked

HDpurist @ May 9th 2009 5:24PM

I own a plasma Kuro - love it...will wait till OLED becomes affordable and then upgrade.

I will completley avoid any LCD garbage as long as I can....what a waste....and as for LED LCD, what a farce.

Highly Ranked

AisforAwesome @ May 9th 2009 12:17PM

okay, so a few companies claim they'll have OLED in a usable size in a year or two

does anybody actually think that these TVs are going to be AFFORDABLE in a year or two?

Neutral

Josh @ May 9th 2009 12:18PM

I'm still satisfied with my Samsung 4665 LCD. While some of the newer LED backlit Samsung and Sony LCD TVs are tempting, I'll probably wait another 2-3 years to upgrade at which point OLED should hopefully be here at consumer prices.

Highly Ranked

Charles @ May 9th 2009 12:38PM

I just bought a Panasonic Plasma and am loving it so any new purchase is at least 4 or 5 years down the road for me. But I wouldn't hold my breath on OLED being as affordable as current Plasma/LCD models for a long, long time. Plus, as someone who was holding out for the supercool SED TV's teased back in the late 90's that never materialized I'll believe mass market OLED when I see it.

Neutral

Rob @ May 9th 2009 12:54PM

Considering I want my next TV to be in the 58" - 60" range, I highly doubt we'll be seeing affordable OLED TVs of that size within the next 2 years! Combine the desired size with a need for wide viewing angles and plasma becomes the obvious choice for me.

Highest Ranked

JR @ May 9th 2009 1:03PM

Well, from what they have said is that the manufacturing costs of OLED are a fraction of what it cost for Plasma or LCD so once they start producing OLED in quantity then yes I could see them being much cheaper....eventually. I think to start though they will be expensive to recoup all the R&D and set-up costs so don't hold your breath for cheap OLED TVs when they first come out, in large sizes that it.

Also, next year? I have my doubts about that but we'll see. Personally on all I've read is that they are probably at least 2-3 years away from a real consumer production line of large (40+) OLED TV's.

These are the future though and it does look good. Once OLED hits the mainstream say goodby to LCD and Plasma, not because they are bad technologies, OLED is just better AND much cheaper to manufacture. That means larger profit margins.

Highly Ranked

Dez @ May 9th 2009 1:16PM

i love that the poll shows that people here still have some favor for plasma. I want plasma to be my next purchase, as OLED will not be near cheap enough, and you can't beat plasma's PQ. It's nice that LCD's are getting cheaper, using LED lights, and are actually almost worth it, but plasma is still the superior tech. Just a shame its on the way out the door.

Neutral

thedankone @ May 9th 2009 2:14PM

F oled I want Dolby HDR vision.

Neutral

HowardLive @ May 9th 2009 3:03PM

For now I'm a plasma advocate; I got a Panasonic last year and figure it'll do me for five more years. But if OLED panels have dropped to real-world prices by then, you can be damn sure I will buy one if I can get at least a 46-inch set within my budget.

Time will tell. But I'm definitely rooting for OLED.

Neutral

Garst @ May 9th 2009 3:04PM

My TV is pretty new, so when I chose "Something else" this time, it's because I'm hoping something better out than OLED when I need or want a new TV. For once there is a good reason I chose that instead of some arbitrary, irrational "I don't think it's good enough."

Neutral

squiggleslash @ May 9th 2009 3:22PM

I plan to replace the old CRT-based analog SDTVs in my home in the next year or so, so it's fair to say my next HDTVs will be LCD. I'm surprised most people are answering something different, is it fair to say most of EngadgetHD's readers only have one room and therefore only need one TV, which should be as huge as possible?

Highly Ranked

Brian @ May 9th 2009 3:34PM

Still using a 40 inch Sony tube hdtv bought in 2001. Even though it's only 1080i, I have yet to see any technology that looks this good. Plasmas are very nice, but certainly not better. I'd probably buy one and keep the crt around for another room if I had the money laying around, or better yet, a projector. It's nice not being under the gun right now. I bought the 19 inch Sony in my bedroom in 1988. So if that's any guide, the big Sony still has another 13+ years of life in it. So I guess what I'm saying is I'm in no rush to spend money on another TV.

Neutral

Itchy @ May 9th 2009 8:59PM

I have that same Sony TV, bought it in 2001, too, and I completely agree with you on it. But I upgraded to a 50" Pioneer Kuro last month, moved my Sony into the bedroom. And let me tell you, this Kuro gives CRT a good run for its money. Amazing viewing angles, contrast is GREAT (blacks are black!). Couldn't be happier with my purchase.

As for what's next, like others have said here, I've got at least 6 or 7 years before I'll need anything else. Though, depending on how it ages, this Kuro may be for life.

Neutral

David S @ May 9th 2009 4:07PM

Hopefully it'll be at least 5 years before I buy a new main TV. If I need something sooner, it'll probably be something for the bedroom or some ancillary room, and value will trump all else. Who knows what it will be.

Neutral

shuref00t @ May 9th 2009 6:34PM

I too am interested in OLED, but doubt the prices will be comparable to LCDs and Plasmas anytime soon. Depending on the size of my living room (planning to move in a year or two), the next 40"+ screen will probably be a Plasma, hoping that Panasonic is still producing them.

Neutral

John @ May 9th 2009 7:21PM

Who the HE-double hockey sticks is voting for LCD in this poll? I mean, no way in HE-double hockey sticks is LCD going to look better than OLED, much less plasma...so what gives?

Highly Ranked

invisiblekid @ May 10th 2009 5:49AM

I dont think anyone is saying LCD is going to look better than OLED. The poll is asking what your next TV will be. Since it'll be ages before OLED will be affordable at 40"+ then it wont be many peoples next TV hence the LCD vote.

Me? I LCD is getting on a bit ( only 720p and broken HDMI socket ) so I am actually thinking of going over to plasma. The new V10 Panny's are amazing, but hoping I can afford to pick up a 5090 Kuro.

Neutral

RunningRetarius @ May 9th 2009 7:49PM

My Sony CRT is on its last legs. I don't have time to wait for OLED in a 50", so its Plasma for me.

Neutral

freighttrain2126 @ May 9th 2009 9:54PM

well, i said oled, but the next tv i will buy will be for the bedroom, and that will probably be an lcd. but i do plan on eventually replacing the living room rear projection sony with an oled.

Neutral

Darren @ May 9th 2009 10:29PM

Plasmas look good, but they've never really blown me away.

Trying my best to hold out for an OLED.

There's nothing wrong with my Sony CRT, it just doesn't do Blu-ray justice as it's not large enough.

Neutral

corey smith @ May 10th 2009 2:35AM

maybe if they fix the narrow viewing angle with OLEDs (and LED backlit lcds), i could get excited. would luv to see one of them new fangled laser tvs, though...

Neutral

DrXym @ May 10th 2009 7:56AM

OLED will be awesome eventually but I see no reason to pay through the nose for unproven technology when LCD and LED backlighting is perfectly adequate and affordable right now. Or plasma even. Let it prove itself in the market for a few years and hopefully by that time it will be cheaper too.

Neutral

Darren @ May 10th 2009 10:35AM

"if they fix the narrow viewing angle with OLEDs"

OLED doesn't have viewing angle issues as far as I'm aware.

Can someone definitively clarify this issue?

Neutral

Andy Sullivan @ May 10th 2009 1:40PM

I think you will indeed see OLED hit the market with a storm for one main reason. Right now everybody is competing for the same LCD $$$. That won't last long because the market will demand some serious technology competition and we will see tons of R&D money from the big four aimed at the next latest and greatest.

Neutral

Jim @ May 23rd 2009 11:02AM

LCD, but front projector for me!

I really liked the Pioneer Kuro plasma panels (RIP), but I was quite pleased to get a 1080p front projector for $1350. Sure, the black levels aren't as good with an LCD front projector as with a plasma display, but there's something good to be said for a >100" screen for less than half the price of a 60" Pioneer plasma.

Before purchasing that overpriced, under-performing LDC panel with the 12,000K color temperature, take a good look at what the best front projectors can offer. Sure, you need to replace the bulb every two years or so, but a big part of watching an epic movie is having a high quality image fill a large amount of your field of view. I wish I'd gone with front projection years ago, but today's projectors offer an amazing bang for the buck.

Neutral

Brian @ May 10th 2009 11:03PM

Let's stick with LCD's and 1080p for now, until we figure out how to get REAL 120hz down pat with 120hz input.

I want non-headache-inducing 3D HDTV, now!

I'm going to be disappointed if the next generation of game consoles aren't capable of this.

Highly Ranked

Raydeen @ May 11th 2009 12:58AM

I have a Sony KD 34XBR970 & Sanyo HT30746 both HD-CRT 1080i units and hopefully they will each last long enough until OLED sets are made available that are similar in size.

Neutral

Andrew @ May 11th 2009 6:25PM

How about laser TV?

Neutral

Lazarus Dark @ May 11th 2009 9:14PM

For the size and price, I'm looking at LED DLP.
If I decide to go bigger, then projector.
That's for the media room though. For the living room, bedroom, etc, I'll just stick with the cheapest lcd available for the appropriate size (37" I find is perfect for HDTV in the living room)

Neutral

The Best of Big Download: November 2 - 8 Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 26 - Nov. 1: Away we Go edition Final Fantasy XIII announcement possibly due on Nov. 13	HTML5 YouTube viewer: close, but not quite there Photoshop.com Mobile now available for Android devices Jailbroken iPhones in Australia getting Rickrolled by a worm
YouTube with all of the sizzle but none of the Flash Balloons! Sending out a mystery message on your iPhone Brenthaven: The best computer backpack I've ever seen	Sunday Funnies: Barron's predicting profits? Entrepreneur's Journal: Putting together a solid sales contract Walmart, Amazon now slash DVD prices: What's next?
Reminder: Watch the first episode of Halo Legends today [update: It's gone] Homemade Fallout 3 Shishkebab, make 'em now before the apocalypse Gears of War 2 celebrates first anniversary with triple XP	SEMA 2009 Worst of Show: This car stinks... The Tony Fox "Proud American" and "Bonneville Boss" Rocket Truck High Speed, High Fashion: Izod secures deal as IndyCar title sponsor
The Best of Big Download: November 2-8 BioWare's Neverwinter Nights downloadable modules no longer available PC Modern Warfare 2 can't be played until Tuesday, even if you get it early	Four 'Contenders' in Serious Trouble Reborn Bengals Shut Baltimore Up Philip Rivers Redeems Self in 'Eli Bowl'