14 DAY TRIAL // We're no strangers to the bizarre, but when something strange happens, the consequences are far-reaching, most of the time, especially when they affect an important segment of the industry.
According to a report from Digitimes, something strange indeed, though not altogether unwelcome, has occurred on the Taiwan market.
More specifically, something amazing has happened on the LCD TV industry: prices have fallen by 30%.
Not for all TVs mind you, but for the ones that measure 50 and 55 inches in diagonal.
We'd be tempted to slide over this one, if the move hadn't been made by more than one company. As it is, it seems that retail prices for all LCD TVs sold through retail channels have fallen.
There are various reasons for why this may have happened, one of which is a potential oversupply in the country.
TVs, like all other large-size displays, have been experiencing a general slowdown in consumer demand all over the world.
That's because tablets and smartphones have taken the front seat for now, and left PCs and TVs with the backseat.
It's also worth noting that UHD TVs have been gaining support, even though they are few and far between, they are huge and, most of all, they tend to break bank accounts when acquired.
One might argue they can't be at a level where they can affect the market all that much, but others would point out that their prices have been falling quickly enough for high-end customers to be willing to wait until they are more reasonable.
After all, most high-end customers are wealthy, so a few thousand dollars/euro/etc. won't make much of a difference when deciding between a high-end TV of 1920 x 1080 pixels and one of 3840 x 2160 pixels.
Cutting prices on “normal” LCD TVs should help make 50-inch and 55-inch HDTVs appealing to lower levels of the market. The cheapest should be at under NT$25,000 (US$829 / €636).