Looking back at 10 years of LCD TVs: How did they kill plasma?

For those born in the 1980s and even the 1990s, the first impression of television should be cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions, with spherical screens (later changed to pure flat screens), thick frames and big butts, which seem a bit "silly and cute" today. Interestingly, it is this age group that has relatively fully experienced the development of LCD TVs in the past 10 years.

Next, let’s review the “10-year development of LCD TVs”.

● The “silly and cute” cathode ray tube TV encountered a bottleneck

First, let's talk about why the "dumb and cute" CRT TV was eliminated. CRT TV is better than LCD TV (especially the early LCD TV) in terms of picture quality, and it was eliminated because of its limited display area. CRT needs a certain projection distance to display content, which is why the CRT body is so large. The larger the physical size, the more amazing the thickness. Therefore, when CRT TV developed to 34 inches, it was no longer able to keep up with the trend, and both power consumption and volume became a problem.

It is in this context that plasma TVs and LCD TVs have their opportunities.

● 2003-2004: Plasma is favored, LCD TV is aggressive

In 2003, Sony launched the MR series plasma TV worldwide, using the Guixiang engine technology. Due to the self-luminescence of plasma, the picture quality was recognized by consumers and the market. In 2004, LCD TVs competed head-on with plasma TVs, and plasma TVs also felt unprecedented pressure. On Labor Day, the price of a 42-inch plasma TV was 30,000 yuan, and it plummeted to 15,000 yuan during the National Day. By 2005, LCD TVs gradually showed an aggressive trend, setting the tone for the market in one fell swoop.

● 2005: Sony abandons plasma TV business and focuses on LCD TV

The year 2005 can be called the "first year" of LCD TVs. In that year, Sony abandoned the plasma TV business it had been working on for many years and turned its full support to LCD TVs. It formally established the "Bravia" LCD TV sub-brand strategy, and the Bravia brand has lasted for nearly 10 years.

However, the 1024×1024 resolution plasma TV launched by Hitachi in 2005 caused a sensation. The excellent picture quality made it impossible for people to ignore the existence of plasma TV. In fact, plasma TV still had many supporters in 2005, and Panasonic stated countless times that plasma is a better TV display technology.

● 2006: LCD TVs and plasma TVs advance in parallel, and HDMI interface becomes mainstream

LCD TVs and plasma TVs developed in parallel and both exploded. Most TVs were equipped with the latest HDMI multimedia interface. 52-inch LCD TVs were already available in 1080p full HD version, which was the biggest advantage of LCD TVs at the time (it was difficult for plasma panels to achieve high resolution). The listing price of full HD 1080p LCD TVs was as high as more than 30,000 yuan, while domestic TV brands quickly lowered their prices to around 17,000 yuan. At the time, the 47-inch size was already very impressive, and the price of 17,000 yuan was also very affordable.

In the second half of 2006, Sony launched five new series of Bravia TVs at once, targeting the high-end, mid-to-high-end, mainstream, mid-to-low-end and entry-level markets, which made it difficult for plasma TVs to cope. In the same year, LG launched the "XCANVAS" LCD TV sub-brand. Although IPS LCD panels were not as popular as Sharp LCD panels at the time, LG's step-by-step efforts have made IPS LCD panels well-known today, and their comprehensive evaluations are also very good.

● 2007: LCD TV exploded, plasma TV made its final counterattack

2007 can be regarded as one of the craziest years for LCD TVs. Countless classic LCD TVs appeared in this year, such as Sony's classic 1080p full HD LCD TV - X200A, which has become the "dream lover" of countless top players. Sharp G5 full HD TV quickly captured the hearts of the consumer market with its Sharp LCD panel and 1-bit audio system. Toshiba C3000C series uses 1080p full HD LCD panel and is quite competitive in price, which has also become a classic of the generation.

Faced with the collective explosion of LCD TVs, plasma TVs are not to be outdone. As the number one brand in the field of plasma TVs, Panasonic has demonstrated unprecedented strength and launched a 1080p full HD plasma TV, the classic PZ700C series, which has made plasma TVs, which have always been at a disadvantage in resolution, proud of themselves. Unfortunately, other plasma TV brands have failed to keep up with Panasonic, and two fists cannot beat four hands. The leading position of LCD TVs has been established.

● 2008: The last stage for technology geeks

After LCD TVs established their market position, TV manufacturers no longer had any concerns. Combined with the cost (profit) advantages, LCD TVs ushered in a second boom. High-end TVs, led by Toshiba's X3300 and ZF500C series, even had built-in terrestrial digital receiver functions, allowing them to watch HDTV signals through antennas, truly bringing out the advantages of HD resolution.

It is worth mentioning that in the same year, Sony and Sharp successively demonstrated RGB LED backlight TV products. Although they were not actually put on the market, the more stunning color expression and lower power consumption made high-end users overjoyed. Unfortunately, the cost of RGB LED backlight was amazing and it failed to become popular.

● 2009: Cheaper WLED backlights emerge

The high cost of RGB LED backlight system does not meet the market demand, while the cheap WLED (white light LED) backlight system is favored by TV manufacturers. Compared with the traditional CCFL backlight system, WLED backlight reduces power consumption by half at the same size, which meets the needs of the green environmental protection era, and therefore has received strong support from the country. However, in terms of image quality, the initial image quality of WLED backlight is very poor, far inferior to RGB LED and CCFL backlight.

TV manufacturers like to use LED backlight to confuse concepts, trying to spread the slogan "LED backlight not only consumes less power, but also has better picture quality." However, at that time, many classic CCFL backlight TVs were still hot-selling in the market, and many plasma TV models were also popular. The LED backlight picture quality scam was exposed, and many people eventually gave up the more power-saving LED models and continued to buy CCFL backlight TVs.

● 2010: WLED backlight gradually improves and is widely accepted by the market

Compared with CCFL backlight, WLED backlight has lower cost. TV manufacturers have improved the WLED backlight image quality through technical means. In addition, with the influence of national subsidy policies, 2010 was the year when WLED backlight completely invaded the market. Due to the lower cost, all TV manufacturers have embraced WLED backlight. Here, Sony should be praised for its flagship TVs that still insist on using the top RGB LED backlight system. The TV prices are very shocking, but there are still high-end players who pay for it.

● 2011: Internet TV models launched

After LCD TVs adopted the WLED backlight system, TV manufacturers needed new profit points. At this time, the concept of Internet TV was proposed. TCL launched the MiTV concept, Changhong launched the "Music Education" TV, Haier's "Moku" TV, Samsung's Fun Encyclopedia TV, etc. The TVs have built-in Wi-Fi wireless modules and built-in browsers, which can directly browse the web. The built-in online video platform is considered to be a very promising feature.

● 2012: Smart TVs hit the mainstream market

Internet TV is not an ideal form, but its value lies in telling the world that TV has diversified possibilities. In 2012, the emergence of smart TV changed people's usage habits, and it became possible to install APP applications, play games, browse Weibo, video chat, etc. through the TV. However, it was finally proved that all these were not as convenient as smartphones. As of the end of 2014, smart TV is still exploring and building the most ideal ecosystem.

Despite this, smart TVs are still very popular in the consumer market. Samsung's high-end ES8000/9000 series has led the development of smart TVs in the right direction. User interface, control methods, online video, voice commands, gesture recognition and other functions have also frequently appeared on TV products. However, this year, the overall experience of smart TVs is still not ideal, and the consumer market actively or passively accepts these semi-finished products.

● 2013: Smart systems gradually improved, OLED TVs were launched for the first time

There are basically no new plasma TVs, and LCD TVs dominate the market. TV manufacturers are working hard to improve the user experience of smart systems. While the performance of smart TVs has been improved, the overall smart experience has been comprehensively improved. Among them, the smart experience of Samsung F8000/F9000 and LG "Guanyun" series is particularly outstanding. The former has motion recognition technology, and the latter has innovatively launched a dynamic sensing remote control. Xiaomi launched Xiaomi TV, and Skyworth launched the Coocaa Internet brand strategy. After continuous efforts in the TV industry, the smart experience can basically meet user needs.

Of course, the more important thing in 2013 was the launch of OLED TVs. In September 2013, LG and Samsung successively released and launched 55-inch curved OLED TV products in China. The former was priced at 59,999 yuan and the latter was priced at 54,999 yuan. Both products adopted 1080p resolution design. The official commercialization of OLED TVs gave more high-end users the opportunity to experience the powerful technology of next-generation display technology.

● 2014: Ultra-high-definition 4K TVs penetrate the mainstream market, and curved LCD TVs are launched

Improving the smart experience of smart TVs is a huge project that requires a long time to improve. In order to avoid being "tangled" in this issue, TV manufacturers began to promote ultra-high-definition 4K TVs, focusing on 4K, and secretly optimizing the smart TV system. This is a very smart approach. Unexpectedly, 4K TVs are even more popular than expected. As the price of 4K TVs drops step by step, 39-inch 4K ultra-high-definition TV versions are already available. 1080p TVs are officially isolated from the word "high-end" this year, and the newly launched OLED TVs in 2014 have also adopted 4K resolution design.

Samsung launched the curved UHD HU9800 TV series. Many consumers were surprised that LCD TVs can also display curved screens. In fact, in August 2013, Sony launched the S990A curved LCD TV in Hangzhou for the first time in the world, but the resolution did not reach 4K. Under the leadership of Samsung, major brands have launched curved LCD TV products, but their attitudes are relatively cautious, and the future of curved TVs is still difficult to determine.

● 2015: QLED extends the life of LCD TVs

Although Samsung shelved its OLED TV plan, LG has been promoting its OLED strategy. This is fine for other TV brands, but for Samsung, once LG's OLED TV strategy is successfully implemented, its role as a market leader will inevitably be embarrassing. For this reason, Samsung will launch quantum screen QLED TV products in 2015. Simply put, the power consumption of QLED quantum screen is only about half of that of WLED backlight, and the picture quality is better. In this way, the cost gap between OLED and LCD products will become larger and larger, which seems to pose a problem for LG again.

Fortunately, LG has been pursuing a two-pronged strategy, and has not relaxed its LCD TV business. With the unparalleled market appeal of IPS, LG's LCD TVs have performed extremely well in the market. At the same time, LG is also striving to promote its OLED TV strategy, aiming to become a leader in OLED TVs. This strategy of "making money now and paving the way for the future" is undoubtedly correct.

● Last words:

Cathode picture tubes were limited by their size and were difficult to produce in large sizes, so they were eliminated by the market. Plasma TV technology was more advanced, but not open enough, and most of the patented technologies were in the hands of Panasonic, forcing TV manufacturers to focus on LCD TVs. In addition, LCD TVs had no risk of screen burn-in and had an advantage in resolution, so they easily won the war with plasma TVs.

LCD TVs have been on the market for about 10 years. After establishing a leading position in the market, they have experienced the development of WLED backlight upgrades, Internet TVs, smart TVs, 4K TVs, curved TVs, etc. In 2015, they will inevitably develop in the direction of quantum screen QLED (soon we will give you an in-depth analysis of what quantum screen QLED technology is, so stay tuned). The future is bright. Although OLED TV technology is more advanced, from a market perspective, LCD TVs may still dominate the next 10 years.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.