Comments on: Flat-panel TV shipments begin their decline

The third quarter of 2008 saw the weakest growth in LCD and plasma television shipments to retailers in almost two years.

[Thomas, David]

I think I'm a troll this morning.

But seriously, can you name something that's on the rise besides foreclosures?!

[bdaughtry]

Good point. Apparently the only thing rising now is Wal-mart sales. ;-)

[Zaunto]

Big surprise. I don't own a Plasma or LCD TV. None of my TV's are high def. Not buying into Blue Ray anytime soon. Until my TVs die, I won't be getting an LCD TV.

[byl01]

Amen to that! I'll take lower resolution over digital artifacts and lower contrast anytime. Besides, the healthiest viewing distance is 4 times the diagonal, so the advantage of HD is minimal.

Ignorance is bliss.

[rodduckworth]

I can't wait. Hopefully this means that prices will come down even more. With the change-over to digital TV, I'm already forced into buying that ugly box or a new TV. I'd love to be able to justify a big-screen.

And what's the big deal with this recession? I hate to say it, but things are just going back to the way they should have been for the last 10 years. Record-setting inflation is not normal. We're only falling back to a normal inflation path. For those of us that are victims, it's a pity, but we should have known better.

[cag4]

"Another interesting tidbit from DisplaySearch's numbers: TVs with screens smaller than 40 inches have now increased shipments for two consecutive quarters, after declining for the previous year. It's a sign that consumers are looking to save money when buying a new TV"

I suspect this analysis is off point... I suspect more likely is that most folks who were going to go out and get the 40+ incher have already done so... hence the falling sales growth... and are now starting to buy the smaller LCD for the bedroom, kitchen, whatever... hence the growth in that category. At least in our house that's the case -- we replaced the 36" CRT with a 48" LCD a while back, and now I'm thinking about some smaller LCDs scattered throughout the house.

[Foggy]

I agree 100% with Zaunto, I have six TVs in my house and barn ranging from 13" to 27" all cable ready all working just fine. I have three computer monitors ranging from 14" to 19" some are over 10 years old and are working just fine. I have ZERO plans to by a Plasma or LCD screen TV or Monitor until such time as I need to buy something new even if the prices drop down to CRT prices. I have watched these new HD TVs, but the picture quality isn't that significantly better that I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars more for a screen slightly bigger than what I have right now. With Circuit City filing for bankruptcy, I think sales are going to continue to slide as the majority of people realize their CRT TV is just fine for now.

[3bgl]

Good things can really come from this economic crisis.

Way before financial markets melt down we were in another deep, global crises: energy and food.

People are not realizing what a waste of electricity those new flat-panel TVs are. Example: the "old" Sony Wega 38" tube TV KV-38FS105 sucks 150 Watts from the outlet. To replace such a big TV set, most families are choosing huge 46" or 50" widescreen LCDs (which have just slightly taller image than the "square" tube TV) that swallow up to 300 Watts!!!

And most of the flat-panels in the market are not even 1080p with high 100/120Hz refresh rate yet.

If all tube TVs in America and around the world are replaced by the flat-panel technology that is been pushed on us today, we'll be in big trouble.

Bigger than the screen.

[yacahuma]

"CRT TV is just fine for now."
JAJAJA what a joke.

I am glad there are people like you not contributing to e-waste like me. My HDTV combine with my PS3 (blueray movies) is awesome.

Is good that you dont feel the need to change , but please dont try to cover the sky with one hand. These news TV are truly a generation above previous TV.

[fdunn3]

Sears still sells a couple of CRT models 3-4 aspect ratio in 22" and 27" and they still draw less power than their 16-9 LCD CCFL, and Plasma models.

Both sets have ATSC/QAM Tuners.