It seems that the plasma TV industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Sales of plasma display panels (PDP) rose to a record-breaking high during the third quarter of 2005.
In a report by Digitimes Taiwan, a total of 1.9 units were sold worldwide during the period. And figures from DisplaySearch show that this represents a 120 percent growth of the market over the 2004 third quarter period. And the expected number of plasma television sales by the end of 2005 is 6.8 million units. That sure is a lot of TVs!
Sales are being influenced by – you guessed it – lower prices. Although the large-screen TVs still command quite a high price, the 42-inch screens are becoming more and more affordable. High-definition programming is also posed to become more standard and the impending obsolescence of analog broadcasting is also contributing to PDP sales.
Last but not the least is the cachet that comes with owning a plasma TV. It’s still seen pretty much as a luxury item in most circles notwithstanding the lower prices, so owning one indicates a connection with the “high-life” – even if it’s not true.
Plasma TVs are in intense competition with liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, price-wise and technology-wise, but a number of polls and studies have been pointing in favor of plasma screens lately. Some time needs to pass before we can see who the real winner is in the flat panel television category – plasma or LCD. Or perhaps another technology altogether!
