Japanese electronics maker Hitachi will close a Czech plasma television manufacturing plant due to falling prices and demand in the economic slowdown, the local unit said on Friday.

Samsung has told European journalists at its 2009 European Forum that consumers expecting an OLED television from the company anytime soon shouldn't hold their breath.

Kansai Recycling Systems disclosed its recycling line for flat-panel TVs March 18, 2009. Kansai Recycling is a company of which Sharp Corp and Mitsubishi Materials Corp hold 43.3% and 40.0% shares, respectively.

Samsung Electronics, which employs VA (vertically-aligned) display technology, and LG Display, which adopts IPS (in-plane switching) display technology, are fiercely competing over share of the Chinese LCD TV market.

Flat-screen maker LG Display expects a more than 50 percent rise in shipments of LCD TV panels in China in 2009, Gyo-Young Song, sales chief in charge of south China, said on Wednesday.

GfK Marketing Services Japan (GfK Japan) announced the results of its survey on sales trends of home appliances and information technology (IT) devices in Japan in 2008.

Consumers in Australia are buying small screen HD flat panel TV's and 100Hz models in record numbers despite many vendors running out of stock over the peak December January period according to GFK sources. This coupled with an increase in global demand for small screen TV's has seen manufacturers in Taiwan and China increase production by up to 20%.

Vizio, a US-based TV manufacturer, took an unusual step Feb 20, 2009, presenting a petition to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the aim of settling its patent dispute with Funai Electric.

Philips has unveiled its 2009 LCD TV range with an emphasis on high-end models boasting internet access, new EPG and menu systems, and power-saving LED technology.

LG Electronics plans to keep spending to develop new products despite a "tough" 2009, unveiling a partnership with YouTube and a dozen new TVs in the midst of the severe economic downturn.

Japan-based electronics titan Hitachi is likely to scale back its TV business in Mainland China in a planned business reorganization, disclosed sources familiar with the matter on March 2.