Makers and other proponents of plasma HD units have not had much to cheer about in the past year as LCD’s share has climbed steadily. But PDP still managed to hold its own when it came to large screens (usually 50 inches and bigger). Part of the reason is that a lot of CE reviewers voiced their preferences for plasma over LCD for the larger sizes (reviews that seem to remain on the Internet for all eternity).
But more bad news for plasma fans: Based on the first quarter of 2009, large-screen plasma shipments in North America were outmatched by large LCD sets for the first time. Based on a new report of DTV sales of 40-inch and larger panels from Quixel Research, plasma volume in the 55 inch-and-larger category was flat quarter-to-quarter in a period that includes last winter’s holiday sales season.
But LCD HD shipments grew 137 percent in the same quarter-to-quarter period quarter-to-quarter—and a whopping nearly 500 percent on a year-to-year basis.
On the revenue side, LCD jumped nearly 200 percent since a year ago in North America, while plasma revenues fell 20 percent in the same period.
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