Divining the Trends

A couple of weeks ago we shipped the October issue of our large-screen newsletter, Projection Monthly with Flat Panel Coverage. At a whopping 114 pages there is obviously a lot of coverage of the industry, including extensive coverage of the Korean IMID (International Meeting on Information Displays) conference and the US-based CEDIA trade show. So what did all this news and analysis tell us? A lot more than we can cover in this short note, but here are a couple of highlights.

In LCDs, backlights with LED sources created some buzz as Samsung Electro-Mechanical began production of a 40-inch version. There remains much debate about which architecture, direct or edge-lit, will dominate the large LCD-TV space. We saw a lot more action on this front at CEATEC and FPD International, both held after our publication deadline - but subscribers can read about develops here in the November issue of the newsletter.

From CEDIA, we also noticed a number of new 1080p LCD products are now entering the market. These range in price from $2,499 for a 42-inch model from Proton to $6,800 for a Sony 52-inch model. Pricing for these larger panels remains steep, but new fabs continue to come on line. We have a great report on Sharp's new Gen8 line for example, that illustrates the scope and commitment of Sharp to make LCDs competitive in almost every size range.

In PDPs, we saw evidence of one debate within the segment - is there a market for full HD PDP-TVs at 42 inches. Hitachi showed a demo at CEDIA and in a later company visit, we confirmed the company plans to go ahead and introduce the product. This is a risky proposition as price pressure is severe and all three technologies (LCD, PDP and rear projection) are fighting for market share. More on that later. We also heard a lot of behind the scenes news at IMID on where the PDP developers are headed in terms of technology development and price reduction efforts. Good stuff.

Meanwhile, makers of front projectors for the consumer home theater market made a big advancement in the price-performance metric. New 1080p resolution projectors were abundant at CEDIA and they reached below the $5K price point for the first time ever - with offerings from all three technology camps: DLP, LCOS and 3LCD.

Considering the fact that Sony's previous 1080p home theater LCOS projector was $10K, the new one priced at $5K, should really start to drive more sales. And, Sony is working with Stewart to promote the projector with a customized screen. Both actions indicate a new aggressiveness in the home theater market that will surely help sales.

Mitsubishi hit the lowest price point in the 1080p crop of new projectors coming in at $4,500. This one uses 3LCD technology and image quality was quite good. Other products were debuted by Cinetron, Digital Projection, Runco, Sharp, Sim2, Panasonic and others. Many of these products are pricier, but the market for higher-priced home theater systems remains robust. Consider the fact that Vidikron, the sister company of Runco, expects to see sales increase by 175% in 2006. They are clearly doing something right so there is gold to be mined in this segment.

We also noted that the mostly clandestine efforts to develop improved screen technologies, which we have been tracking for years, is finally start to bear some fruit as new light-rejecting screens were announced by several companies. This is a big deal as the ability to overcome the washed-out look of a front projection system in a room with ambient lighting will make these products much more competitive. The problem will be in overcoming the long-held beliefs that this is the only performance you can expect from a front projection screen. This will take some marketing dollars to overcome and a long time - plus the price of the screens needs to come down, but we are on the right path.

There is a lot more coverage that must be of interest to you, like analysis of market forecasts and competitive issues from the brands, OEMs and other market research firms. We include business and strategic news so you can track these types of developments. Interested in electronic signage, digital cinema or visualization/simulation systems? It's covered. We cover nano/pico projectors and alternative technologies, like SED this month. We also have good coverage of display electronics, standards developments and other display components.

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South San Francisco, California - November 16, 2006

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Insight Media (www.insightmedia.info) provides a full array of market research, news, analysis and consulting services for the microdisplay industry, with special attention to projection and near-to-eye products. Tracking the complete supply chain from finished products and distribution to components, microdisplay-based products, technologies, trends and analysis is delivered through newsletters, technology reports, forecasts, conferences and custom consulting activities. Insight Media has developed a world-class team of industry analysts and associates to provide the most comprehensive coverage and analysis of the microdisplay industry has to offer.

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