Business News Holding

Tag: lcd

  • Sales advice steers consumers towards LCD HDTVs

    Survey shows retail electronics salespersons are recommending LCD HDTVs over plasma TVs at a rate of more than three to one

    A lack of knowledge among US retail salespersons regarding recent improvements in plasma technology is blamed for the high proportion of recommendations given for LCD sets.

    More than three times out of four, sales staff steer customers to a liquid-crystal display set rather than a plasma screen, according to a study by JD Power and Associates.

    Based on the results of a mystery-shopper survey it carried out, analysts suggest that shop assistants don’t really know much about the differences between LCD and plasma.

    Yet the report says that doesn’t stop them exhibiting a strong preference for LCD – a bias it suggests due to a lack of knowledge regarding recent improvements in plasma technology.

    It cites examples such as more than one-third (38%) of salespersons telling their customers that LCD sets last longer.
    Or the 37 per cent of salespersons who warned their customers that images may be permanently burned onto the screens of plasma TVs.

    Larry Wu, senior director of the technology practice at JD Power, said the longevity of plasma displays was now on par with LCDs.
    He added: “Although burn-in was once a problem with the first plasmas to hit the market, this has not been a serious issue for several years.”

    Salespeople often mentioned a plasma drawback that’s still relevant: their glossy front surface can create distracting reflections of lights and windows in the room.

    However, even with their preference for LCDs, the salespeople rarely mentioned those TVs’ advantages.
    Fewer than a quarter told customers that LCD sets are lighter and consume less power than plasma.

    The report was based on the experiences of more than 2,000 mystery shoppers during the last six months. It focused on sets 40 inches or larger, where plasmas are contenders.

    The recommendation rate for plasmas increased over the period, from 17 per cent in the first quarter to 23 per cent in the second quarter.

    “At most retail stores, large-screen television shoppers face an array of flat panel sets that all look essentially the same to the untrained eye, which is why recommendations from salespersons carry so much importance,” said Wu.

  • Number of LCD TVs being returned rises as viewers demand better quality for HDTV


    The refund rate on LCD TVs has increased to 25-30 per cent in North America despite a drop in prices by branded TV retailers.
    Many vendors reduced prices for 32-inch and 40-inch LCD TVs in May in an attempt to boost sales.
    However, the move has led to a rise in the number of products being returned as viewer expectations about the quality of high-definition images rises.
    The introduction of HD TV broadcasts in North America has made it much easier to compare the resolution of LCD TVs, according to a report in DigiTimes.
    It quotes industry sources who attribute the high refund rate for LCD to consumer dissatisfaction with low-priced products that did not meet their original expectations in terms of picture quality.

  • No mention of Olympic factor as US market for flat-panel HDTVs remains strong despite economic down-turn

    Sales of LCD and plasma TVs showed a 53 per cent year-on-year increase in the US for the first quarter of 2008, with more than 7.5 million units sold.
    This represents a 7 per cent increase over industry projections for the period.
    While analysts in Japan have attributed a 35 per cent increase in flat-panel TV sales during the first half of June to the upcoming Beijing Olympics, industry executives in the US are being more cagey.
    But what those attending the DisplaySearch TV Supply Chain Conference in San Diego did agree on was that despite the state of the US economy, the North America TV market remains robust – so far.
    Paul Gagnon director of North American TV research at DisplaySearch, said the data also highlighted consumer preference for smaller LCD and plasma TVs.
    “Smaller TV sizes are doing better than larger sizes, while the larger sizes seem to be under pressure from weakened consumer spending,” he said.
    “For example, global shipments of 32” TVs exceeded our forecasts by 10 per cent, while all screen size categories above 40” fell short of expectations by 3 per cent or more.”
    The summer holiday season is expected to present a major challenge for US retailers if the present economic trend continues, according to a majority of conference attendees.
    That could translate into better deals for consumers, and those deals could remain even if the economy recovers over the next few years because panel manufacturers are adding more TV assembly lines.

  • Japan's HD offerings boosted by launch of new VOD service

    The growing market for high definition television in Japan has received a further boost with the start of a VOD service by the country’s largest retail chain, Tsutaya.
    Users will be able to download titles from home using the acTVila portal that is popular on Japanese plasma and LCD HDTVs.
    They will have 48 hours to watch the films or TV shows as many times as they want.
    The new service from Tsutaya, which counts 27.2 million members at its 1,330 branches across Japan, is the latest sign of the growing popularity of HDTV in the country.
    The retailer plans to make deals with four Hollywood studios – Paramount, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and NBC Universal – to expand its available online library to 2,000 titles by the end of the year.
    It added that high-speed fiber-optic connections are required for use of the service – which are currently available in about a quarter of Japan’s 48 million homes.
    The service launched with downloads of the first season of hit US series “Heroes”, “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives”.
    Each full length movie will cost 735 yen (about $7 USD) with other prices still to be announced
    Tsutaya hopes that the new service will pull in more customers with higher disposable incomes in the 40-50 age range.
    AcTVila was developed by Japan’s major television makers – Sharp, Sony, Matsushita, Toshiba and Hitachi – and is compatible with several dozen models of plasma or liquid crystal display sets.

  • Australian market first to get recordable Blu-ray player outside of Japan


    Panasonic is to roll-out sales of a range of Blu-ray recorders in Australia, making it only the second country after Japan to receive the devices.
    A 500GB Twin High Definition Tuner and VIERA Link model is to go on sale this month as well as various lower-spec recorders, the first 46” plasma TV and new 37” Full HD LCD TV models.
    Paul Reid, Panasonic Australia’s Director for Consumer Electronics Group, described the move as a “significant breakthrough” for Blu-ray.
    “Panasonic has led the way in home entertainment products and continues to bring innovation to the market with Australia’s first Blu-ray recorder for the living room,” he said.
    Other overseas markets, including Europe and the US, are to receive the new model shortly.

  • Results shows global LCD TV sales outstripped plasma TV by 8:1 for Q1 of 2008

    Over 21 million LCD TVs were sold in the first three months of 2008 compared to 2.8 million plasma sets, according to a data compiled by research firm DisplaySearch.
    The total number of TVs sold during the period was 46.1 million, up only 1% compared to sales in 2007.
    The slow-down in sales is largely attributed to a weaker US economy.
    Overall revenue rose 8%, however, to $24.8 billion USD, thanks to increasing sales of larger, more expensive LCD and plasma displays.
    Aging CRT TVs were still the best selling, with 22.1 million sold, with LCD closely behind at 21.1 million.
    Plasma and rear projection televisions had sales of 2.8 million and 134,000 sold respectively.
    Year-over-year CRT sales were down 21%, LCD up 45%, plasma up 20% and RPTV down 79%.
    In terms of brands, Samsung led in revenue for the 9th straight quarter, with an impressive 39% year-over-year growth
    Flat panel TV demand is expected to be strong overall in 2008 and manufacturers are to use smaller screen sizes and low-cost models to stimulate demand among price conscious consumers.
    This strategy is also expected to be adopted to maintain growth in mature markets, particularly as many consumers look to buy their second or third flat panel TV.
    In terms of brand, Samsung was the global brand share leader in revenues for the ninth straight quarter, improving to more than 20% for the first time on robust 39% year-on-year growth.
    Samsung also had the top ranking on a unit basis. Sony was ranked second on a revenue basis for the third straight quarter, declining about a point to 13.2% revenue share after a very strong Q4 performance.
    LGE remained in third place, leveraging a second place unit share position to offset lower ASPs.

  • Consumers in emerging markets favour smaller-screen models or TV-viewing PC monitors over large flat-panel LCDs

    TV screens sized 32 inches or smaller and high-definition TV-viewing PC monitors are proving to be a popular option for many price-conscious consumers in emerging markets, such as China, India and Russia.
    This goes against the forecasts of LCD screen-makers who had expected premium 40-inch sets to be the biggest sellers and spent heavily in a race to build larger factories suited for larger panels.
    However, it is 32-inch TVs that have proved to be the most popular model for those replacing conventional cathode-ray tubes, whose market size was around 100 million units in 2007, according to Lehman Brothers.
    High-definition monitors adopting the wider TV screen format are increasingly sold for TV viewing, as new technology such as broadband TV has blurred the line between monitors and TVs.
    Champ Shin, vice president in charge of TV screen sales at LG Display,
    “As of now, 32-inch is almost one third of the market,” he told the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit.
    “Up to now most LCD makers had focused on large screens only. But the growth rate of larger screens seems to be a bit slow.
    “And there’s big demand for … TVs using monitor panels or smaller TV panels.”
    This has led LG Display to switch some of its TV panel capacity to computer screen production, building a new line for smaller panels and strengthening ties with Chinese TV makers.
    The company anticipates that the popularity of small-size TVs will continue for the next few quarters as the US economy stutters and the Chinese TV market takes off ahead of the Olympics.
    And HB Chen, CEOof Taiwan’s AU Optronics Corp, said sales of monitor panel TVs – so-called “moniTVs” – sales could more than double in 2009 to top 50 million units.
    “All these monitors can still provide very good TV performance. MoniTVs are a new segment to grow,” he said.
    The entry-level 15-inch models are for students or emerging market consumers, while 19-inch is becoming a mainstream in the moniTV market.
    However, Nigel Lee, a fund manager at Taiwan’s National Investment Trust, said he didn’t expect the popularity of the small-size TVs to last long.
    He said aggressive price-cutting by TV makers would soon spur up demand for larger sets.
    “Do you want to have that (a moni-TV) in your living room? I don’t think so. Large-size TVs will still be king in the future,” he said.
    A looming panel oversupply in 2009 will only help make bigger TVs affordable sooner than expected.
    After an industry-wide spending curb last year, new capacity from top makers such as Samsung and LG Display is set to hit the market early next year.
    Analysts expect prices of 40-inch grade TVs in the US to fall below $1,000 by the 2008 fourth quarter, boosting demand.
    Jeff Kim, analyst at Hyundai Securities, said: “Forty- and 42-inch TVs, along with the 32-inch model, will become the mainstream in the global market by 2010,” he said.
    The phase-out of analog broadcasting in the US in early 2009 is also expected to speed up TV replacement demand.
    ," Mike Splinter, CEO of Applied Materials Inc, said: “In the US, the sweet spot is quickly moving to 40 inches.
    “It (TV size) is going to continue to move up for the next few generations. I don’t know where the limit is.”
    Research firm iSuppli forecasts worldwide LCD TV sales volume to top 100 million this year and reach 194 million in 2012. LCD TV shipments were at 78.5 million units in 2007.