HDTV-Reviews.co.uk

Thursday, 31 August, 2006

LCD TV price declines coming to an end

Consumers are currently benefiting from the fact that prices for LCD TVs have been falling for quite some time.

Research from WitsView Technology reveals that this is largely because the price of large-sized LCD panels fell by more than a fourth in the second quarter of this year.

Competition between key manufacturers has also driven prices downwards, but it is a trend that may be coming to an end, as reported by IDG News Service.

In the first place, many manufacturers were banking on the fact that demand would soar during the World Cup and so LCD panel manufacturers stepped up their game considerably. But too many people ultimately decided to head to the pub to watch the matches, leaving a glut of products in shops with no ready buyers.

But according to IDG News Service, LG.Philips LCD is now expecting LCD prices to stabilise, as sales begin to pick up in the second half of the year.

One of LG.Philips’ top rivals, AU Optronics, even predicted a further downside to LCD panel prices in the third quarter.

The company said the price of LCD panels used in TVs would likely fall by a few percentage points by the end of September, due to high inventories in the market.

“Prices are falling faster than we can reduce costs,” Hui Hsiung, an executive vice president at AU, said at a news conference, adding that a rebound isn’t likely until September.

For the average consumer, this could mean that now is a good time to snap up a new LCD TV, in anticipation of higher prices as demand accelerates in the approach to Christmas.