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Slack LCD TV Market Means Cheaper Phones And Monitors

Shakrai writes "CNN and Business2 are running a story about the apparent failure of LCD TVs to make a major market impact and what it means for you. Specifically for us geeks it means cheaper cellular phones and laptops due to an oversupply of LCD manufacturing. Does this mean I can finally afford that 21" LCD monitor I've always wanted?"

3 of 478 comments (clear)

  1. The problem is... by NitroWolf · · Score: 5, Informative

    What the heck are they expecting when they sell LCD TV's for two to three times the cost of the SAME SIZE LCD monitor?

    I can walk into Best Buy, buy a cheap 17" monitor for $250 - $300 after rebate, and put a TV tuner box from Viewsonic on it for $150, that's $400 for a 17" TV. If I walk over to the TV sections, the CHEAPEST 15" TV is almost $500. The 17" LCD TV's are between $650 - $900... one is priced over $1000. So what's the deal? Why the hell would I EVER buy an LCD TV? There's absolutely no reason to pay as much as they want for an LCD TV. They are overcharging something fierce, when LCD monitors are cheaper, it's obviously not the LCD that's costing more for the TV... it's just plain corporate greed.

    So no... I sure as hell won't be buying an LCD TV anytime soon.

  2. The Next Wave: Optical Interference Displays by reporter · · Score: 5, Informative
    $389 for a 15" LCD screen can hardly be justified when 19" CRT's are half that price.

    You have captured the essence of the problem.

    Further, when you look closely at an LCD television, you notice that the image quality is no better than the image produced by a CRT television. So, why would anyone the premium price for the LCD television?

    People do want the convenience of an LCD, which uses much less space than a CRT. Yet, they also want improved picture quality in order to justify the price.

    The answer is just around the corner: optical interference displays (OIDs). They produce far sharper and brighter images than an LCD. The OID also consumes less power than an LCD.

  3. Re:You can't buy LCDs from newegg by mrsev · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ok, ehough speculation. The law is specific as to what contitutes a defective screen. The standard is ISO 13406-2. Toms hardware has a good review on the law. The link is:
    http://graphics.tomshardware.com/display/2003 0319/ index.html

    I suggest you go annd read it but if not...

    In summary: There are 4 grades of LCD.....if they do not meet this standard then you have not bought an "official LCD display" and then it is defective , the official sales policy of the shop is not relevant. Just go and exchage. the rest is toms hardware quotes:

    "Class 1, the highest, allows no defects at all. Class 4, the lowest, allows up to 262!"

    If they do not specify, the monitor is Class 1 by default and you can have it changed at the smallest pixel defect.

    The standard distinguishes four types of defective pixel.

    * Type 1: number of always-lit pixels.
    * Type 2: number of always-unlit pixels.
    * Type 3: other defects, particularly on sub-pixels and the RGB cells making up pixels (lit or unlit). This means red, green and blue pixels lit the whole time. Experience shows that this is undoubtedly the most common defect.

    For 15" LCD Panels
    Native resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels, a total of 786,432 pixels.

    Class 1 panels: this is the easiest - no pixel defects are allowed.

    Class 2 panels are more complicated.

    * Type 1: Lit pixels allowed = 2 x 786,432 / 1,000,000 = 1.57.
    * Type 2: Unlit pixels allowed = 2 x 786,432 / 1,000,000 = 1.57.
    * Type 3: Red, green or blue pixels allowed = 5 x 786,432 / 1,000,000 = 3.93.

    If you refer to the standard, 2 always-lit pixels is >1.57. So this is over the top and the warranty comes into play. 15" ISO 13406-2-compliant panels may not allow more than: Type 1 + Type 2 + Type 3 = 5 defective pixels altogether, with a maximum of one lit, one unlit and three red, green or blue pixels.

    17" Panels:

    This is calculated the same way as for the 15".
    Resolution = 1280 x 1024 = 1,310,720 pixels.

    Class 1 panels: no pixel defects are allowed.

    Class 2 panels:

    * Type 1: Unlit pixels allowed = 2 x 1,310,720 / 1,000,000 = 2.62.
    * Type 2: Lit pixels = 2 x 1,310,720 / 1,000,000 = 2.62.
    * Type 3: Red, green or blue pixels allowed = 5 x 1,310,720 / 1,000,000 = 6.55.

    If you refer to the standard, two always-lit pixels is 3>2.62. So, this is over the limit and the warranty comes into play.

    17" ISO 13406-2-compliant panels may not allow more than: Type 1 + Type 2 + Type 3 = 10 defective pixels altogether, with a maximum of two lit, two unlit and six red, green or blue pixels.