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The
Synovate study, conducted in the UK, France
and Germany, asked consumers which screen
provided the best overall image quality
for the following criteria: sharpness, colour,
response speed, contrast, black quality
and resolution. The study was commissioned
by Panasonic and Pioneer.
Plasma
takes the lead The
results reveal a clear favour for plasma.
61 per cent of consumers felt plasma screens
provided the best sharpness experience,
compared to 21 per cent who preferred LCD.
When
it came to consumer perception of colour,
response speed and contrast, 65 per cent
of consumers deemed plasma screens to have
the best colour quality compared to 24 per
cent who favoured LCD.
Similarly,
plasma screens were voted as providing the
best quality for response speed by 62 per
cent of consumers, with LCD scoring 15 per
cent. Nearly a quarter of respondents believed
both technologies provided a similar performance.
Plasma
screens once again lead the way with contrast
quality. 61 per cent of consumers tested
believed plasma had the best contrast performance,
compared to 26 per cent for LCD.
The
reproduction of black is of pivotal importance
to the overall viewing experience. Before
seeing the video sequence, plasma was deemed
to have a slight lead (37 per cent to 30
per cent for LCD), while a third of people
felt that both formats provide similar black
performance. After seeing the comparison,
the majority of people who felt that the
’best black quality’ is created
by plasma shot up to 72 per cent.
Synovate
research director Yves Robeet says, "We
have been watching the television market
for some time and there is no doubt that
buying a new TV is a confusing decision
for consumers. This is partially due to
the arrival of new broadcast technologies
like HD and digital as well as the heavy
promotion of LCD and plasma by manufacturers
and the ongoing technical debate between
media and analysts about which is the best
technology. This research is designed to
make the process much easier by asking consumers
what they think."
Synovate
canvassed 603 consumers and executed the
study under certified home viewing conditions.
Two groups were established. The first,
with no prior knowledge of plasma and LCD,
were simply asked to express their preferences
after watching a 90 second video sequence
played side by side on LCD and plasma displays
(with their brand names covered) in three
presentation suites. All respondents rated
the experience using TVs in the 37-inch
(XGA PDP and XGA LCD), 42-inch (XGA PDP
and 1080p LCD) and 50-inch categories (both
1080p).
The
second group, who claimed to have knowledge
of plasma and LCD, were asked before the
comparison to reveal which format they believed
provided the ’best overall quality’
and to reveal their initial preferences
for plasma or LCD in several feature categories,
including resolution, image depth, colour
and black tone. These benchmarks were used
to track changes in perceptions after the
video sequence had been viewed.
Initially,
no preference was expressed in either Germany
or the UK for overall image quality though
French respondents expressed a preference
for plasma.
After
watching the content, however, the whole
group was asked the same question. Sentiment
swung sharply in favour of plasma: 73 per
cent of people rated plasma as the superior
performer in image quality compared to 27
per cent for LCD.
Robeet
adds, "The research replicated the
typical viewing conditions found in the
home and produced very clear results. This
suggests that retailers might consider researching
the conditions in which customers watch
their TVs to provide a similar environment
in-store to compare performance in a life-like
situation; after all, the viewing environment
and the type of content people watch should
dictate model choice more than any other
factor."
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