April 24th, 2006
Boycott Flat Panel LCD TVs
By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Ok, this post is inspired by Brian L Clark of Gizmodo in his Tuning Fork blog.
I’ve bitched on several occasions about the high price of HDTV, particularly flat panel HD sets. Well, the tide finally seems to be shifting in consumers’ favor. Earlier this year, the price of flat panels for 32-inch LCD TVs dropped about 10 percent, from $540 to $485. For panels 42 inches and above, the price dropped a little further, from $1,040 to $925, or about 11 percent.
The good news is things are likely to get better. “TV makers are expected to increase their output of large screen LCD TVs in the next few years,” says David Narranjo, VP of consumer electronics research at DisplaySearch. “With recent announcements by Samsung, Sony, and Sharp to expand and build new panel production facilities, we do expect significant growth in the greater than 40-inch segments over the coming years.” Source: Gizmodo.
We Say: At the end of his post he calls for a boycott of flat panel LCD TVs until the prices come down even farther, he plans on holding out and promises not to buy the 32-inch LCD he wants for his bedroom till it drops below $750. That’s a little higher than the prices he quoted in his blog, so he must want a really good one. Sounds like a good idea to me. Lets all hold out and see how low the prices can go. 
Yan says:
I was planning to do exactly that. We keep hearing about new innovations that are suppose to bring the manufacturing price of LCD pannels down, but it seems that these changes do not affect the market price very much.
April 24th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Cheese Toast says:
I for one would like to know where he came up with a price of $485 for a 32″ LCD. I have never seen one for below $699, and that was for the absolute bottom barrel one Frys’ sells.
April 24th, 2006 at 10:23 am
Snopesman says:
Wah. I can’t buy a 32-inch TV for my bedroom at the price I like. Wah wah wah, my life is SOOOOOO hard. Let them eat cake, indeed. This isn’t a “boycott”, it’s “capitalism” — where goods change hands based on market forces, where the consumer and producer “agree” on a price.
April 24th, 2006 at 10:54 am
Dave Barnes says:
Cheese Toast,
Brain wrote: “the price of flat panels for 32-inch LCD TVs dropped about 10 percent, from $540 to $485.”
You read: “the price for 32-inch LCD TVs”.
Brian was referring to the price for naked panels which are then incorporated in TVs. If you want to keep up with what’s happening with flat panel displays, then spend time at: http://www.digitimes.com/
,dave
April 24th, 2006 at 11:58 am
Brad Brening says:
I think this call for a “boycott” misses the entire point as to how prices actually come down for consumer electronics. As demand increases - so does production - thereby lowering the price per unit. The more units a factory can produce, the lower per unit the price will be.
Calling for a boycott simply means that demand will remain stagnant. As a result, so will prices. But then I would suppose that this concept is too difficult for the blogger to grasp, or he assumes that just because he wants prices to come down - or if he pouts and complains enough - they will.
April 24th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
Cheese Toast says:
Thanks for clearing that up Dave, Now that I re-read it it makes MUCH more sense.
April 24th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Jimmy says:
Maybe I should’ve quoted more of the article, but he references manufacturers ramping up production and “major manufacturers are building plants like their feet are on fire”, including one in Korea that will be able to produce 50,000 LCD panels a month. And he goes on to say, “With a growing amount of panel capacity coming online optimized for the 32-inch and larger LCD TV market,” says Narranjo, “TV supply and demand should loosen, resulting in further price reductions for the larger screen segments.”
So he was just saying quit buying them now while they are ramping it up and prices will fall even further.
April 24th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Distant_guy says:
I just recently bought a Samsung 32 inch HDTV for $500! Granted, this was the floor model (in great shape) but these can be found for similar prices if you look. The reason? It is a TUBE TV! It’s heavy, and can’t be mounted on the wall, but we have it in a nice, closeable media center (armoire), so you can’t tell it’s a tube. In fact, people don’t believe me when then see it, and have to have me twist it around so they can see the depth!
Why buy a flat panel? If you HAVE TO mount it on the wall, then buy a flat panel. Otherwise, the latest tube TVs are flat on the front, have high resolution (mine goes to 1080i, the newest Samsung goes to 1080p), have all the high-end connectors on the back, AND they will last ALOT longer than LCDs or Plasmas. Oh, btw, they cost a lot less. If you can get over the heaviness and the depth, they are a WAY better buy, IMO.
April 24th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Alfred Poor says:
Boy, this has a familiar ring. “Should I buy a new 80386 computer now, or wait until the new 80486 models come out and the 386 price comes down?” Prices for the displays used in HDTVs will continue to come down. The real question is whether it’s worth $100 to you get what you want now, or wait another six months or a year. Time has value, even when we’re talking entertainment and not business.
Prices for rear-projection are probably more elastic than for plasma or direct-view LCD, and so those prices may drop even more. And look for rear-projection models to get thinner, even though they already are within a couple inches of the depth of a plasma or LCD table-top stand.
April 25th, 2006 at 5:20 am