On Monday, the flatscreen TV market stood up and watched with interest as LG introduced the world’s only 32-inch Plasma TV. Despite the fact that it doesn’t actually look very good, it’s interesting to see that plasma technology is now being downscaled into smaller panels – the opposite of what we’ve seen happening with LCD technology.
And while plasma televisions are typically sized above 42 inches, we could be about to see an influx of smaller ones to join LG’s 32-incher. The analysts at iSuppli predict that the global 34-inch and smaller PDP market will grow to 485,000 units by 2011.
Small plasmas on the march?
Small potatoes, maybe, but this is a trend worth watching. iSuppli says they there’s enough demand to justify the market reintroduction by LG and that other panel makers are likely to follow should LG succeed.
"LG, with support from numerous Chinese PDP set makers, sees an opportunity to re-enter the 32-inch panel segment after it was forced to exit the market," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli.
"The main factor forcing LG out was the fact that PDPs could not compete in terms of price with LCD panels at this size. They also could not compete with the superior resolutions delivered by LCDs. But with the tightness affecting the LCD market, and with demand continuing to increase at this size, LG appears to be willing to take on this challenge again."
The problem with these smaller plasma panels is that they can only manage very small resolutions. The new 32-incher from LG has a resolution of 852 x 480, which is five times lower than the 1920 x 1080 resolutions of full-HD screens.
Far cheaper
The plus side is that small plasma panels can be sold far cheaper. iSuppli says the average selling price for plasma panels sized 34-inches and smaller will decline to $124 (£60) by 2011, down from $215 (£105) in 2007.
"Affordable pricing and an attractive form factor also are reasons why PDP system sales are still growing in the consumer market, although at a far more moderate pace than LCDs," said Patel.
"The 50-inch PDPs are available for less than $2,000 and 42-inch models can be bought for a steal for $1,000 to $1,500. These prices are highly attractive to anyone who is looking at competing LCD technology. The pricing factor has bolstered PDP sales, despite the recent price reductions and higher resolutions for LCDs."
