Executive summary

With the availability of new TV formats, the switch to HD and digital technologies as well as aggressive promotion from vendors and occasional misinformation, there’s no doubt that purchasing a new flat panel display can be a confusing decision.

By canvassing consumers’ opinions about plasma and LCD, this research is intended to make the purchasing decision easier.

This report details the findings of research conducted in the UK, France and Germany into consumers’ attitudes toward the image qualities of flat panel TVs. In particular, the survey focused on plasma and LCD, the technologies that have been the main beneficiaries of the transition away from bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) screens to sleek flat panel displays.

Synovate conducted a comprehensive survey of consumer attitudes to plasma and LCD. It canvassed opinions among 603 randomly selected people in Paris, Cologne and London. Respondents were asked to enter a ‘comparison suite’ where a range of plasma and LCD TVs displayed the same content. The participants were then asked a series of questions based on the image performance of the displays.

The results reveal a strong preference for the contrast, black tone, resolution, image depth, sharpness, colour and response speed of plasma.

More importantly, opinions among those who had some prior knowledge of the two technologies swung dramatically toward plasma once they viewed the content side by side in an environment similar to their homes. This suggests that consumers, dealers and manufacturers interested in assessing or demonstrating image quality should consider the consumers’ home environment when evaluating the two technologies.

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