Audio Video News

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

Samsung and LG will end production of plasma TVs at the end of November signaling the death knell for a TV technology that has been the darling of video enthusiasts for more than a decade. Though plasma’s black-level performance has made it a perennial critic’s favorite, sales have dwindled in recent years.

We thought Samsung’s exit left LG as the only manufacturer making plasma sets for the U.S. until we received an official statement from LG announcing that it, too, would be wrapping up plasma production at the end of the month:

Effective November 30, 2014, production of plasma display panels (PDP) at LG Electronics will come to an end. Going forward, LG will focus on enhancing and expanding its OLED and LCD TV product portfolios.

The PDP assembly and modular lines located in the facility in Gumi, South Korea, are expected to be converted to manufacture OLED TVs, LCD TVs, and PC monitors. LG does not intend to sell off any of its commercial properties and the approximately 400 affected personnel will be reassigned to other areas within LG by the end of the year.

Sales of plasma TVs have been on a constant decline and in 2013, LG’s PDP business generated revenues of just $1.33 billion (USD)—only 2.35 percent of the company’s total revenues that year.

Manufacturers are redirecting their attention to making LCD sets cheaper, seeking growth in 4K/Ultra HD TV, experimenting with novelties like curved screens, and looking to OLED as the next-generation technology of choice in high-end video displays. What’s frustrating to videophiles is that mass-market OLED is not well developed enough to replace the best plasmas as the sweet spot in price/performance ratio.