Digital TV prices to fall sharply

Jon · Korean Citizen Joined: Mar 19, 2004 Posts: 509

A surge in household demand for digital televisions is forecast for next year as electronic firms expect to cut prices as much as by half beginning at the end of the year.

Leading makers of digital televisions - Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. - said technological improvement will result in a sharp increase in digital television output and this should begin to affect prices toward the end of this year.

According to an industry forecast, the price of a 40-inch digital television with a liquid crystal display screen should almost halve from current levels by the end of next year and fall to the 5 million won range. Likewise, a 42-inch plasma display panel television is expected to fall to the 3 million won range by the end of the year.

Lower prices are certain to add fuel to the expansion of the digital television market, which is growing 40 percent annually. In the first quarter of this year, digital televisions accounted for more than 60 percent of television sales for Samsung and LG.

According to Samsung Electronics, its seventh-generation production line for 40-inch LCD modules has double the capacity of its previous production line. "Production output will increase sharply, leading to a decline in prices," an official said.

The electronics firm had recently predicted that LCD televisions with screens ranging between 32 inches and 40 inches should be 30 percent to 40 percent cheaper by the end of this year.

As for plasma display panel televisions, the price of a 42-inch standard-definition model could be as much as 40 percent less by the end of the year, ranging between $2,500 and $3,000, LG Electronics said.

For the more clear high-definition type, the electronics company forecast the price would decline to $3,500 to $4,000 from the current $6,000 to $6,500 range.

An LG official cited greater production capacity and a drop in raw materials and parts prices as major reasons for the expected drop in the price of PDP televisions. "Household demand will rise sharply throughout next year," said the official.

The decline in prices of PDP TV and LCD TV is also expected to lead to a drop in projection TV prices, particularly the more expensive digital lighting processing projection TV and LCD projection TV. A market researcher forecast that a 43-inch DLP projection TV could descend to 3 million won from the current 4 million won range.

(mhkim@heraldm.com)

By Kim Min-hee