Americans spend up big on flat screen TVs

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Wednesday, 08 November 2006

Who wouldn’t want a shiny new flat screen TV to adorn their wall or take the prime spot in the living room? As LCD and plasma prices fall, more Americans than ever before are going flat. With their TVs, that is. How soon will you join them, if you haven’t already?

With incredible advances in flat screen plasma, LCD and other TV display technology over the past couple of years, and with prices steadily falling, the allure of the flat TV is stronger than ever before.

With an almost irresistible siren call of 21st century chic, ultra slim styling and more models capable of high definition than ever before, the price gap between CRT and modern plasma and LCD screen is shrinking faster every day, making consumers think twice before buying a big-screen CRT that’s as heavy as 50Kg or more and takes the space of an oven!

According to a ZDNet report, the average amount spent in the US on an LCD, plasma or other digital TV rose from US $909 to US $975 during early August to mid-September, 2006. The LCD TV category alone saw an increase from US $956 to $1020 from the year long period from September 2005 to September 2006, delivering bigger screens for the money, with more HD models than ever.

ZDNet’s report continues that “prices have dropped particularly fast in the 40- to 44-inch category because LCD manufacturers are trying to horn into a market traditionally dominated by plasma. Sharp has indicated it will aggressively cut prices to regain some lost market share”.

This comes at a time when plasma manufacturers such as Pioneer have launched full 1080p HD resolution plasma panels with 5 year warranties and free installation to counter the price drops seen in the LCD market.

It also comes at a time when a new technology, Laser TV, threatens to erupt and upstage plasma and LCD technology at the Las Vegas CES in January 2007, with models potentially available for the Christmas 2007 season. Read our previous article for more information on Laser TVs.

To counter the as-yet non existent threat of Laser TVs, at least at a retail level, and the efforts of plasma TV manufacturers, LCD manufacturers have embarked on an amazing program of expansion, with Sharp, LG/Philips, Sony/Samsung and others pouring billions into advanced LCD manufacturing plants, helping drop prices even further throughout 2007.

Clearly, if you aren’t seduced into buying a big-screen flat TV during the Christmas 2006 season, the temptation will be even greater all throughout 2007, meaning even better deals for consumers, with ever higher resolutions at ever more affordable price points.

With so much action happening in the flat screen TV space, it’s no wonder that retailers are devoting less space to CRT TVs, and less consumers are interested in them. As the prices get lower, you can get a bigger screen for the money, and that’s what consumers want: really affordable big-screen TVs capable of the full 1080p HD resolution.

Of course, some consumers already know that the high definition revolution does not stop at 1080p. Already in Japan at the recent CEATEC technology expo in Tokyo, Sharp and other companies demonstrated TVs with double the resolution of 1080p, having produced and demonstrated 2160p screens to astounded consumers.

The quality of flat screen LCD TVs has been dramatically improving as well. According to a report from the Consumer Reports Web site www.consumerreports.org, “With more consumers buying flat-panel TVs, there's a growing amount of data on reliability, and the news is good. During the first year or two of use, LCD TVs have been just as reliable overall as picture-tube TVs. Our latest product-reliability survey shows no repair issues for models from JVC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. LCDs from Dell, however, have had higher-than-average repairs”.

Going flat is fashionable, and there’s no question it’s cool. If a flat screen TV isn’t already in your home, how long will it be before you join the flat screen club?
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