Picture tubes fading into the past

The standard television technology for more than 60 years is heading for obsolescence faster than anyone expected.
The New York Times

The story "Picture tubes fading into the past" published August 6, 2006 at 9:30 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from The New York Times expires after 7 days.

[Maccess]

The $50 LCD TV

...coming soon to a store near you!

[Earl Benser]

Imsignia?????

That's Best Buy's label for low quality junk products with very
limited useful life times.

[regulator1956]

Only 54% ??

I'm sorry. Why would any company ignore 54% of the market?

Even if the picture tube market drops to 33%, it's still 33% !!

A neighbor has a Sony 40" HD CRT. Was it difficult to get in the cabinet, yes. Is the picture twice as good as his 42" plasma? Absolutely.

My 2 year old Toshiba 36" HD CRT ($900 in 2004) has a much better picture than almost every LCD and plasma I've seen, though a new 50" Panasonic plasma is quite impressive, and costly.

Hopefully my 36" and 32" CRTs will last until 1080P 50" LCDs and plasmas are under $500.

[dogbertnc]

Follow the money

It's because the 54% of the market they are leaving behind accounts for a much smaller portion of the profits they make.

The margins are much higher for LCD, Plasma, and DLP (new tech), than for a CRT (old tech). And since these companies are trying to make money, not push quantity, economic forces start to really kick in.

On the one hand, the OEMs and retailers would make more money even if the margin percentage was the same between the old tech and the new tech (say 10% of $500 vs. 10% of $2000), but I can assure you that it isn't. The margin on these newer technologies is much higher because people _expect_ to pay more for it. Because they expect to pay more, the OEMs and retailers can charge more.

Also, there will probably be a profit bounce in the near future. As more people buy the new technology, it will become cheaper to make the new tech. Some of this saving, but not all, will be "passed" to the consumer. Because the new tech is cheaper it will drive even more demand (especially when the new tech costs only a couple hundred dollars more than the old tech). Until competition forces the price down (a result of more companies trying late to get into the game and from low end OEMs starting to make money with even cheaper goods), the OEMs will make a lot of money.

[zxocuteboy]

It's time for them to die

The latest LCD technology finally allow for better picture versus CRT.

http://www.infoblog.us/2006/06/new-lcd-screen-kicks-tube-tv-butt.html

[baswwe]

i think you need a high quality signal to get better plasma image

bluray and 50" sony dlp was pretty sweet..

but you need the signal.

[Joe Koskovics]

Evolution can be a mixed blessing

The demise of the picture tube is simply another migration from one technology to another. But there will be conditions for flat panel displays that will occasionally make us yearn for the old "Tube" days.

With a CRT box, you can move it around the room. To relocate a flat panel you'll be calling the home contractor to plaster up those huge holes left behind. But then you may like hanging a lot of paintings and portraits in your home too.

On the other hand, why take up space with a CRT based TV?

It will be interesting to see how consumer reports at CNet (and others) will go when everyone will need to adapt to the changes that flat panels will demand.