Market for Color TVs Speeding Toward Technological Crossroads

摘要

The market for color TVs is approaching a period of transition for several reasons. First, prices are falling for plasma display panels (PDPs), one of the most promising technologies for color TVs. Second, manufacturers are coming out with less expensive and larger LCD panels, which also offer the potential to compete in the field of color TVs. Third, demand for thin TVs using these flat panels has been expanding rapidly. Thus, conventional CRT color TVs face more competitive pressures than ever. However, makers of CRT TVs have not been idle with these competitive threats looming. Most Japanese manufacturers of CRT TVs have shifted production of such TVs outside Japan to reduce costs related to this mature technology. This shift has pushed down prices for small and medium-size CRT TVs.