Proponents of plasma HD sets who may be thinking those obituary-type items popping up in the media these days declaring plasma HD near death must be cheering over the news that Samsung is using plasma technology to help showcase its new super-thin LED-backlit HD models.
While much of the media may be centering on some real setbacks for plasma in the past year or so (and in the case of HD Notebook, as recently as its April 29 edition), Samsung has committed to plasma with its new LED HD units (models 850 and 858 PAVV) in no uncertain terms.
The 1080p plasma screens are a mere 1 inch in depth (OK, 1.15 inches to be exact), weigh less than their comparably sized plasma predecessors—and for all the greenies out there, purportedly use 40 percent less energy than earlier models. Sizes for these Samsung's plasma screens are 50 and 58 inches.
Two potential competitors that Samsung will not have to worry about include Pioneer and Vizio, who recently announced plans to discontinue their plasma production to concentrate on LCD.
