Yet another consumer electronics segment is bouncing back from the recession--demand for LCD TVs is showing new signs of life.
Third-quarter shipments of LCD TVs rose for the first time in a year, according to DisplaySearch's "Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report," released Wednesday. That upward motion suggests that TV sales for the first quarter of 2010 could surpass those of the first quarter of 2009, the first gain in six quarters.
Total TV shipments will climb 6 percent in 2010 to reach 218 million units, versus 205 million for 2009, according to DisplaySearch's forecast. LCD TV shipments specifically will account for around 170 million units in 2010 versus 140.5 million this year.
TV manufacturers and vendors can thank North America, Japan, and Western Europe, where consumer demand continues to grow. But emerging markets have also developed more of an appetite for flat-panel TVs.
"China is a hot growth engine for the global flat panel TV market as the transition from CRT to LCD and plasma TVs continues to drive market growth," said Hisakazu Torii, vice president of TV market research for DisplaySearch, in a statement. "Government stimulus activity is having a positive effect on demand for flat panel TVs in both China and Japan, while several upcoming analog-to-digital broadcast changes in 2010 are likely to increase demand in Western Europe for digital TVs. Meanwhile, large price declines in North America have been driving strong unit demand, especially for 19" to 32" sizes."
Price declines of 9 percent this year for all flavors of TVs have hurt revenue but boosted demand, with 2009 revenue likely to drop 10 percent to $101 billion from $112 billion last year. But prices will not fall as much in 2010, says DisplaySearch, and so continued consumer demand will reward the industry with some sales growth next year.
Around 14.6 million plasma TVs are expected to ship next year thanks to growing demand in China. Meanwhile, the older CRT (cathode ray tube) TV continues to hang in there, with 32 million units likely to ship in 2010, predicts DisplaySearch. But that forecast is lower than the company's previous estimate based on declining demand and a dwindling supply of key components.
Alternative technologies like LED-backlit LCDs and 3D TVs will play a role in driving growth for the industry. Demand for LED-backlit TVs will jump in 2010, according to DisplaySearch, with just about every TV manufacturer bringing a variety of models and sizes to the market.
LCDs with higher frame rates will catch on as manufacturers add higher performance features to their TVs, DisplaySearch said. TVs with 100/120 Hz frame rates will capture 26 percent of global sales in 2009, while those with rates of 200/240 Hz will soak up only about 5 percent. But by 2013, 100/120 Hz TVs will account for 31 percent of global revenue, with 200/240 Hz TVs winning nearly 20 percent.
(Credit:
DisplaySearch)
Best bang for your TV buck?
(Credit: Best Buy)It looks as if the obituary for CRT TVs will have to be postponed yet again. Sales of the bulky tube models bested the flat-panel and projection TV competition in the run up to the Super Bowl, according to data released by the NPD Group. Sales of tube TVs were up 61 percent the week before the big game (compared to the previous week), as opposed to a 40 percent jump for flat-panel LCD TVs, a 23 percent increase for plasmas, and a 25 percent rise for projection TVs (such as DLP and LCoS models).
While the sales figures may look surprising at first glance, they're really not. Millions of Americans simply refuse to spend more than $300 on a new TV. At that price, you can get either a 27-inch tube (with a built-in digital tuner) from an established name-brand manufacturer or a 19-inch flat-panel from an upstart brand. For most people, that's a no-brainer: Go with the bigger screen size, no matter what the form factor.
Found on CNET News.com.
Samsung CRTs
(Credit: David Katzmaier)Most CES announcements about new HDTVs pertain to products that cost more than anybody's grandpa would consider paying for a television, but traditional cathode ray tubes can provide high-def to even stingy old codgers. Samsung, along with Toshiba and no-names such as Insignia, markets a few wide-screen HDTVs that don't cost a fortune, and at CES 2007 it continues the tradition of models including the Samsung TX-S3082WH with an updated trio. The 30-inch TX-T3093WH and TX-T3092 (both April, $699 list) are identical but for speaker configuration; the first has side-mounted speakers, while the second saves width by placing the speakers below the screen. Each offers a pair of non-1.3 HDMI inputs and two component-video inputs, as well as a Nano Pigment Screen that makes use of very small pigs to produce "deeper colors, higher contrasts, and a wider range of color expression throughout the entire screen," according to the company (except for the pigs part). The sets are shallower than some other similarly sized CRTs at 16 inches deep, although still much bulkier than a 32-inch LCD, of course. If 600 bones is still too rich, the 27-inch TX-T2793 (April, $549) should be a better fit--its spec sheet is otherwise the same, although I assume the depth is even shallower.
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