How come LCD's are still so expensive?

[Triforceofcourage]

LCD's have been around for quite a while now. How come they are still pretty expensive? I would have thought all of these different companies making them would boost supply and drop prices alot so that the average joe would buy one. Whats going on?

 

[Feep]

obviously enough people are paying the prices that they are despite the competition.

 

[klah]

LCD Prices Fell More Than Expected in August

Large-sized LCD panel pricing fell faster than expected last month, due to disappointing demand, rising supply and swelling inventories that created a near-term headache for suppliers, but also paved the way for stronger sales during Q4, according to iSuppli Corp.

The average price of a 15-inch monitor panel declined to the $180 level, and some low-end average prices were reported at $173.

The average price of a 17-inch monitor panel reached $226 in August.

For the first time ever, the average panel price for 30/32-inch LCD TVs in August fell below the $900 price point to $876. They are expected to decline by another 10 percent to 15 percent during the next few months.

Overall panel price reductions in Q3 will enable system manufacturers to cut their rates in Q4, boosting holiday demand, iSuppli predicts. This could help the panel suppliers to achieve greater pricing power in Q4.

 

[thirdlegstump]

They are cheap now man what are you talking about? A 17" Sony costs only $450. I bought three of the SDM S73s last year and have been very happy with them. I remember a few years ago buying a 17" CRT for almost a grand.

 

[arod]

450 is alot to pay for 17 inches.... a 17 CRT costs half of that.

 

[thirdlegstump]

Yea but who the hell wants a big azz CRT on their desk when they can have a nice and thin elegant looking screen that takes up little desktop space? I personally think the $450 is nothing compared to the benefits of having more desktop realestate. Also I don't want my room looking like some ancient 80's computer room.

 

[peacemaker1ps]

Yea, LCD prices has been gone down ALOT.

 

[Zepper]

There is still quite a low yield on the screens, but there are a couple of new technologies out there that should up the yields dramatically as they will no longer need to use the transistor array technology.
.bh.

 

[DrMindbender]

LCD is still new technology and a lot of people are still buying regardless of the price.

 

[sharkeeper]

450 is alot to pay for 17 inches.... a 17 CRT costs half of that.

A 17" TFT has the same viewable area as a 19" CRT.

Cheers!

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: arod
450 is alot to pay for 17 inches.... a 17 CRT costs half of that.

And the 17" CRT costs a quarter of what it did a few years ago. So yes, both have fallen a lot.

 

[Slickone]

If they had 19"-20" LCD's that had no ghosting, where bright, vivid, and non reflective, they might sell more. Many people still seem to find LCD models needs improving.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...0&threadid=1370049
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...0&threadid=1369206
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...7&threadid=1381968

Originally posted by: deathkoba
Yea but who the hell wants a big azz CRT on their desk when they can have a nice and thin elegant looking screen that takes up little desktop space? I personally think the $450 is nothing compared to the benefits of having more desktop realestate. Also I don't want my room looking like some ancient 80's computer room.

Me. And many other people, since many think CRT's still look better than LCD.

 

[ectx]

There is a over-production problem so expect the price to go down more. However, since the production cost is much higher don't expect them to be cheaper than CRT of the same size.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Slickone
If they had 19"-20" LCD's that had no ghosting, where bright, vivid, and non reflective, they might sell more. Many people still seem to find LCD models needs improving.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...0&threadid=1370049
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...0&threadid=1369206
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...7&threadid=1381968

Originally posted by: deathkoba
Yea but who the hell wants a big azz CRT on their desk when they can have a nice and thin elegant looking screen that takes up little desktop space? I personally think the $450 is nothing compared to the benefits of having more desktop realestate. Also I don't want my room looking like some ancient 80's computer room.

Me. And many, other people, since many think CRT's still look better than LCD.

they do look better and are better for gameing because the res is scalable and image editing because they have better color reproduction

i refuse to but one untill i can get one the does 1600x1200 native res for less then 300$

 

[bdjohnson]

supply<demand

 

[thirdlegstump]

Well I understand the resolution issue but I'm talking about appearance of your room as a whole. I think CRT's look ridiculous in the modern apt/house.

 

[PliotronX]

Originally posted by: arod
450 is alot to pay for 17 inches.... a 17 CRT costs half of that.

The difference is that the 17" LCD has a native res of 12x10 whereas the 17" (16" viewable) CRT has an "optimal" resolution of 10x7 which is a lot less real estate. On top of that, as time goes on, the LCD will pay for itself in electricity savings (and moreso for areas that get hot like here in SoCal).

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: deathkoba
Well I understand the resolution issue but I'm talking about appearance of your room as a whole. I think CRT's look ridiculous in the modern apt/house.

unless your computer is sitting in the middle of your room they look fine, we have 4 computers adn 6 monitors in this house, 2 comps running dual, and they are all CRTs, 4 19in CRTs and 2 17in CRTs
if you have a desk that has any sort of alcove on it you hardly notice them, 1 is in a corner so that solves that issue, the others are in seperate rooms

 

[DrMindbender]

I thought I read somwhere that there are also only a few companies that produce the LCD panels for these monitors.

 

[OhHenry]

Well, my center channel is ontop of my CRT and I don't think an LCD could hold it. Although an LCD would be nice, but out of my price range.

 

[caivoma]

man, i really want the dell 20.1 but can't afford this,
/me go to hot deal forum

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: DrMindbender
I thought I read somewhere that there are also only a few companies that produce the LCD panels for these monitors.

Here is a breakdown of global market share

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20040902A5022.html

Samsung: 22.1%
LG Philips: 19.7%
AUO: 13.8%
CMO: 10.9%
CPT: 7.6%
Other: 26%

Sony missed the boat and had to go in with Samsung. The rest of the Japanese electronics companies (Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi) are forming a giant new joint venture to build a $$Billion TFT factory in Tokyo.

 

[Dave Perry]

I agree that CRT's have better color and image "realism". If you need sharp edges, less bulk, less radiation, brightness, LCD's win. I do computer art and I think CRT's are much, much, better for that.

 

[BZeto]

Paid $400 for my 17" NEC 1760V LCD about a year ago (or was it less?) now its up to $439 for some reason...

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: sharkeeper

450 is alot to pay for 17 inches.... a 17 CRT costs half of that.

A 17" TFT has the same viewable area as a 19" CRT.

Cheers!

No it doesn't.

And you can pick up a NICE 19" CRT for about 250...