T E L E V I S I O N S

High Def, Low Cost: HDTV Prices Plunge FIERCE COMPETITION AND A SUPPLY BOOM SEND COSTS TUMBLING FOR LCD, PLASMA TVs. ,

THE MOST CASUAL of HDTV shoppers know that prices fall each year, but price cuts over the past 12 months have final- ly brought large LCD and plas- ma models within reach for mainstream shoppers as the holiday-buying season gets into full swing.

Prices for LCD TVs have de- clined in part because of heavy competition from such budget brands as Syntax and West- inghouse, says Riddhi Patel, senior analyst for market re- search company iSuppli. In addition, LCD panel manufac-

three-panel sheets previous- generation facilities produced.

This combination of effi- ciency and competition has roughly halved the avl ;e street prices of 32-inch L L ~ S

in the past year, according to DisplaySearch. Still, prices continue to vary a good deal between brand-name and bud- get offerings. For example, U.S. market leader Sharp's LC-32GA5U model has a street price of about $1700, while the Olevia LT32HVE from relative newcomer Syn- tax goes for about $1100.

turers are able to turn out more screens per day. David 800D STARTERS

Naranjo, vice president at T H E S E 3 2 - I N C H models research firm DisplaySearch, make good HD starter sets for says that new factories can U.S. customers, Naranjo says, output glass sheets large because images on theirwide, enough to make eight 32-inch 16:9-aspect-ratio screens are panels, c o ~ p a r e d with.t ghly-the same 4 e i

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ANELS DROP THE MOST; .CD AND PLASMA PRICES HAVE fallen furthest in the past year; '; jiqital rear-projection price declines are now predicted to flatten. -.

s! -.--- * $1000 digital rear-projection TV (DLP, LCD, LCOS)]

$500

LT32HVE LCD TV has

PRICE TAG: Syntax's 32-inch Olevia

eet price of approximately $1100.

those on a conventional 27- to. "I think they are getting inch, 4:3-aspect-ratio CRT- more attention now that value today's most popular TV type. brands in LCD have caught

As usual, shoppers willing on," says isuppli's Patel. to wait longer will likely save even more money. However, PLASMA CLOSES IM

DisplaySearch predicts a more modest 38 percent price drop for 32-inch LCD TVs in 2006.

While LCD vendors are up- ping production of 40-inch- plus panels, plasma displays remain far better deals in that size range, with average prices of 42-inch high-definition panels falling by about 35 per- cent in 2005, DisplaySearch reports. Some price cuts have been greater: In 2004 Pana- sonic's TH-42PX25 listed at $6000; its current successor, the TH-42PX50, has a list

MEANWHILE, prices for digi- tal rear-projection sets-DLP, LCD, and LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) models-haven't dropped as much as prices for flat panels. For example, 50- inch digital rear-projection sets have dropped just 27 per- cent over the last year. As a result, plasma sets are starting to attract people who in years past might have opted for a rear projection model.

LG Electronics spokesper- son John Taylor says that the company is focusing its rear-

price of $3000. In compari- son, LG's 42-inch LCD, the 42LPlD, sells for $4800.

As with LCDs, efficiency gains have contributed to falling plasma prices. Pana- sonic's newest plasma-glass factory produces six 42-inch panels per sheet, compared with two panels per sheet at the previous-generation facili- ty. Discount brands such as Akai, Maxx, and Norcent have

projection efforts on 50-inch or larger sets. But even here, rear projection is no longer markedly less expensive than plasma. For example, Pana- sonic's 56-inch DLP model, the PT-56DLX75, lists for $3300, while its 50-inch TH- 50PX50 plasma set sells for just $700 more. In contrast, Panasonic's 50-inch DLP set, the PT-50DLD64, last year sold for $400&half the list

SO not pushed prices down as price of the company's 50- '.

. ' i i . . much as their LCD counter- inch TH-50PX25 plasma set. , ',.,s; 'Projected. SOURCE: DISPLAYSEARCH

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