Digital TVs: More screen for less green

Prices of jumbo-screen digital televisions are finally getting into a range that will allow buyers to put one in the living room without cashing in on the kids' college funds.

What cost $25,000 just a few years ago can be had for a tenth of that, thanks to increased manufacturing capacity at factories devoted to building the whopper, high-tech TVs; improved manufacturing processes that are cutting down on mistakes; and cutthroat pricing from the likes of Dell.

While the $1,000 barrier may still be a way off, digital TVs that are 40 inches or larger when measured diagonally are expected to see the biggest price cuts in the near future. Some analysts estimate that costs for certain models could be down as much as 41 percent from last year by the holidays.

News.context

What's new:
Prices for digital televisions are expected to fall soon thanks to improved technology and less expensive components.

Bottom line:
These days, consumers are faced with lower prices--and more choices--when looking for digital televisions. Knowing where to shop and what to look for could save shoppers as much as 41 percent.

More stories on this topic

But the overabundance of TV types, technologies and terminologies has made it difficult for many consumers to decide between LCD (liquid crystal display), rear-projection DLP (digital light processing) and plasma televisions.

The good news is consumers can spend less green for more screen. But they should know what they're buying first.

Why are prices expected to fall noticeably in the next few months?
The short answer is "sports." More manufacturers and retailers drop their prices between August and November than any other time of the year, according to IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell.

Major League Baseball playoffs, the start of the National Football League season, the return of National Hockey League and other major sporting events are prompting sports fans to get to that purchase before next year's Super Bowl, and retailers are tying special sales to the sporting events. Look for additional price drops before the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, which are expected to be broadcast in high-definition.

Will other factors keep prices dropping after the holidays?
Definitely. Increased manufacturing capacity at factories is allowing vendors to make more TVs and lower their prices. Plasma TV shipments grew 24 percent from the first quarter of 2005 and 89 percent from a year ago to a record 1.13 million units, according to DisplaySearch, a digital-display market research firm.

Shipments of LCD TV panels are expected to reach 18.8 million worldwide this year, up 87 percent from the 10 million shipped last year, according to industry analysts at iSuppli.

And DLP projection televisions (a type of TV that uses a digital light-projector chip to put the image on-screen) are also on track to exceed the 20,000 units shipped in the second quarter of 2005, according to DisplaySearch.

What kinds of digital TVs are likely to see the biggest price drops?
While all kinds of digital TVs should see significant price reductions, a 42-inch LCD should bring the biggest bang for the buck, according to DisplaySearch. The research firm estimates that the average price could go as low as $2,800 by the end of the year. That represents a 41 percent savings over last year's prices. The price of 40-inch to 42-inch LCD panels, a key component of the TVs, fell to $950 last month--the first time such devices have cost less than $1,000.

DLP and plasma display prices have dropped at least 20 percent over the last year and will keep dropping in coming months. Prices for a projector television in the 50-inch category now go as low as $1,170, according to StreetPrices.com. Similarly, prices for plasma televisions could drop to $2,800. That could appeal to consumers who were looking at plasma television prices of more than $10,000 just a year ago.

[gdmaclew]

Not Low Enough Yet

Even prior to this gasoline fiasco, prices for HD TV's were already too high for the average consumer.
Now that consumers will have even less money leading up to Christmas, prices will have to drop by 50% or more to entice anyone other than the rabid sports fans.
I want a $500 HD TV and I'm waiting until it's offered.

Waiting for 50 inch plasma below 2500

500 is still a way off. But I would like to see a consumer model 50 inch plasma for below 2500 *including shipping and taxes*. This is the first true HDTV Plasma so it is the least you should get.

Contrary to popular belief the 42 inch (1024x768) is not HDTV because 720p is 1280x720... so it is a bit short on the horizontal.

Still overpriced

Someday these will be cheap enough to buy, but not yet.

[shadowself]

Be careful with apples versus oranges

The different technologies are definitely priced differently. That is a given.

However, what is often overlooked is the native on screen resolution.

Sure... they all CLAIM to support all four HDTV formats (720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) but most of them don't really. The vast majority of currently shipping systems have only 1280x720 pixels showing on the physical screen. Most claiming support for the 1080i and/or 1080p standard down sample any 1080i/1080p signal to 720p and display it at that resolution.

I'll wait for a decently priced system that can natively show all four standards on the screen. Show me a 50+ inch which does that and costs less than $2,000, and I'll open up my wallet.

And where are the sets that support the new digital cinema format ratified over a year ago(4096 x 2160)? (Just joking. I don't expect to see a consumer system supporting that standard for at least 10 more years. Yet a 72+ inch system with that resolution and 7.1 sound would mean I'd never have to go to the cinema again!)

[Christopher Hall]

I want nothing less...

...than IMAX.

140 foot screen... 45.7 surround sound... 14,000 Watt rear speakers (all eight of them)...

Until I can put that in my living room and completely demolish every house in a thirty mile radius, my wallet's closed.

:-)

Okay, maybe not.

[fredmenace]

"HD"

Of course, interlaced 1080i sets can't show 720p in all its glory either. While individual signals or displays are meant to be at least 720p or 1080i to be HD, it's pretty clear that an end result of 720i is acceptable as "HD", since that's essentially what you see when formats are displayed on the "wrong" type of set. (And of course many "720" sets are actually different resolutions, like 1024x1024, or 1366x768, with the 1280x720 image scaled to that resolution.)

(Also note that 1080i loses a significant amount of resolution due to interlace, and generally doesn't display 1920 across anyway, with 1440 much more common due to limitations of cameras, displays, or just the compression needed to get it into the channel, plus interlace doesn't compress as well in the first place. So just because it has a bigger number associated with it does not mean that it's actually better-looking than 720p.)

In that sense, the 1080p sets will give the best of both worlds.

But you have a good point: the article is talking about DLP, plasma and LCD, but then at one point appearantly quotes a price for a *CRT* rear projector, which are much cheaper. Not that there's anything wrong with CRT projectors, but without noting that fact it seems a bit deceptive.

[Razzl]

Story was obsolete before it got written...

I'm kind of surprised a CNET writer is so out of touch with the marketplace--major retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart.com, and Sam's Clubs have all had a 42-inch price-leader plasma for under $1600 since the beginning of this year; in fact, they are down to $1400 for a couple of models. To say now in September that people are waiting around for prices to fall to $2500 is to make yourself look ridiculous. (Maybe it's time to go on sabbatical and teach a few classes for those cops who are still learning how to find the cache on their IE browser).

As for the new projection tv's, they're only in the running until people actually see one in the store and realize that the picture quality still rots and you still can't hang them on the wall. If only 20,000 units are being shipped (instead of the 18 MILLION plasma/lcd units mentioned) then 80% of them must be floor models to fill up space in retail stores. They will stay there until they can be donated to Salvation Army next year...

[baggyguy1218]

Forget about it...

HD TVs will not go down (meaning cheaper than today) in price until all programming is delivered in digital/High Definition. Once a digital TV is the norm, then prices will drop considerablly. For all of you not willing to spend the money, they do offer CRT HiDef TVs for around 500 dollars. December 31 2006 at 11:59 pm, we will find out what HD has in store.