Despite seeing a strong demand for LCD TVs, Ken Morita, vice president of Panasonic AVC Networks, delivered a positive outlook for PDP (plasma display panel) TVs in the next few years at FPD International 2006, saying PDP TV demand will amount to 30 million units in 2010, compared to ten million in 2006.
Picture quality is the top priority for consumers for the purchase of a flat-panel TV and PDP performs better in resolution and contrast ratio than LCD, according to Matsushita Electric Industrial.
Although customers may prefer LCD TVs to PDP TVs, according to a survey, about 70% of customers in the UK will choose to buy a PDP TV after comparing the picture quality between the two different flat-panel technologies, Morita pointed out.
Matsushita is ramping up its PDP capacity to meet rising demand. When the first-stage construction of its fourth plant (located in Amagasaki, Japan) is completed by July 2007, the company's overall monthly PDP capacity will reach 630,000 units, up from 460,000 when the expansion at its third plant is finished, added the company.
Souk Jun Hyung, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics’ LCD business, stressed that the competition between LCD and PDP technology will intensify in the future, as more and more eighth-generation (8G) TFT LCD plants will come on board in the next few years. The operation of 8G plants will help decrease the prices gap between panels for 40- and 52-inch LCD TVs by over 30%. The prices a 52-inch LCD panel is now around double the level of a 40-inch LCD panel, Hyung said.
Samsung's new 8G line will focus on panels for 50-inch class LCD TVs while its 7G lines already helped Samsung lead the 40-inch range LCD TV market, Souk added. Each 8G substrate can be cut into eight 46-inch panels or six 52-inch panels, he said.
In addition, TFT LCD technology can supply a full range of screen sizes from one to one hundred inches, Souk pointed out.
Both Souk and Morita were delivering speeches at FPD International 2006 (October 18-20).
| Global TV shipment forecast, 2006 and 2010 (m units) | ||
| Technology | 2006 (E) | 2010 (F) |
| PDP | 10 | 30 |
| LCD | 38 | 100 |
| CRT | 112 | - |
Source: Panasonic, compiled by DigiTimes, October 2006.
Comparison between PDP TV (left) and LCD TV (right)
Photo: Max Wang, DigiTimes
Article translated by Emily Chuang and edited by Carrie Yu
