Global LCD TV sales overtake CRT
CRT who?
Global LCD TV sales have overtaken those of TVs based on Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) technology for the first time ever, according to statistics from market watcher DisplaySearch.
LCD TVs accounted for 47 per cent of all sets sold during the fourth quarter of 2007. CRT still raked in a 46 per cent share during the period, but the figure is far removed from the 77 per cent share the technology enjoyed in the first quarter of 2006.
DisplaySearch noted that LCD’s market share improved in every global region during the fourth quarter. For example, it accounted for 86 per cent of the market in Japan and 84 per cent in Western Europe. Developing regions, such as Latin America, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa, saw a combined rise of 106 per cent year-on-year for LCD.
However, DisplaySearch admitted that CRT’s demise is natural and that LCD is the obvious replacement because it’s “the only other technology that extends down in screen size to less than 20in”. Plasma TV displays, according to the market watcher, don’t currently extend below 32in.
Sony took pole position with a 19.5 per cent cut of the global LCD market during Q4 2007, but the electronics giant was closely followed by Samsung and Philips, which accounted for 19.3 per cent and 10.1 per cent shares respectively. HD 1080p resolution LCD TVs now account for 17 per cent of TVs overall, whilst 57 per cent are over 40in.
In 2006, DisplaySearch announced that such manufacturers made more money from LCD TVs than from CRT sets, during the fourth quarter of 2005, despite shipping more CRT TVs than LCD TVs overall.
COMMENTS
Another Spending American
I guess I am still not sure which LCD or plasma screens to get for my home. Actually, my wife is an uncontrollable “movie addict”! Any screen that I eventually purchase will need the prior approval of my wife! She has not a single clue as to what the hell a LCD, or plasma or CRT screen is! However, she does know how she likes her movies to look! Therefore, with this in mind, I’ll try to find her the screen that makes her eyes light up! Myself, I’ll need but a simple plasma screen, perhaps 32”, hanging on my bedroom wall, where all of my important TV watching occurs!
Nevertheless, there is another aspect to all of this, where I cannot help but feel a sharp twinge of pain, remembering a time when America built most of the best electronic devices. Today, Americans just buy the best electronics around. We have lost the ability to build or create anything of worth today. Now, just like the fading days of the Roman Empire, America spends away, it’s fading wealth and glory, while every 1st, 2nd, and 3rd World nation out produces the great American nation! It’s sad and pitiful, but excuse me, I think my new Toshiba screen has just arrived!
Liam O'Leary
New York
Power use
LCD/DLP/LCoS TVs are much more efficient than CRTs. My old 28" used 160w, the replacement 45" uses the same despite the screen area being over 2.5 times greater. Even more extreme with the computer monitor: 19" old beast was 150W, 22" LCD is 55W.
With modern sets the only ones to watch out for are plasmas, some of which can be quite greedy. For example, the Panasonic TH-50PZ700 takes 570W - admittedly it's a 50" set, and is one of the worst offenders, but it's worth checking especially for heavy users. At 4hrs/day, that's 65ish quid of electricity/year.
@Robert E Harvey
You didn't say what size the 200W flat screen was (I presume it was larger because if it was a 26" LCD you would have said it was the same) or whether it was LCD or plasma, which uses a lot more power than LCD?
My 26" LCD is rated at 110w, though I assume that's a peak figure. The 25" CRT it replaced drew more power than that and generated more heat! The space I have reclaimed, was worth it alone!
So what?
It's nothing to do with personal choice. I'd have a new CRT monitor tomorrow if one was available.
TV is the same. The distribution channel decides, often on non-techincal issues. Like how many fit in a lorry.
A friend of mine recently replaced a 26 inch CRT tellie with a similar flatscreen, and was horrified to discover his electricity usage had gone up from 60W to over 200W.
