Pioneer executives claim that 50- & 60-inch TVs will become the common plasma TV size in homes.

The 50- and 60-inch class segments will become the common size in the PDP (plasma display panel) TV market in the future, according to Takashi Fukuro, president of Pioneer High Fidelity.

In the 50-inch TV market, LCD technology will gradually eat PDP TV’s share in 2009 when more eighth-generation (8G) lines come onboard, Fukuro estimated. This will push PDP TV makers to further develop 60-inch class TVs.

The global PDP TV market will reach 16 million units next year, up from 13 million units in 2007, amid the takeoff of digital broadcasting and more acceptance of Blu-ray Disc (BD), Fukuro indicated, adding that Pioneer should be able to deliver 780,000-800,000 PDP TVs in 2008, compared to 720,000 units this year.

Most of Pioneer’s PDP TVs are made in-house while only 1.38% are ODM-based, according to sources. Pioneer currently has a capacity of 970,000 PDP TVs per year, the sources added.

Prices for Pioneer PDP TVs will reduce around 25% in 2008 compared quotes this year, noted the company.

In 2007, 42-inch PDP TVs accounted for 80% of the overall PDP TV market while 50-inch class TVs only took 20%, Fukuro stated. The shipment proportion of 50-inch class TVs is expected grow to 25%-30% during 2008, the president noted.

The new 60-inch full HD PDP TV is expected to arrive in the local market during December while its 50-inch 1080p model will hit the market in November. The availability of 42-inch and 50-inch XGA TVs will commence during the second half of October, noted Pioneer Taiwan.

The XGA TVs have a contrast ratio of 16,000:1 while the 1080p TVs are designed with a contrast ratio of 20,000:1, Pioneer said.

Pioneer aims to ship 5,000 PDP TVs this year in the Taiwan market, taking 10% of the overall local market. Shipments from the first nine months from Pioneer totaled 3,500 units locally, up 11% on year. 48% of the shipments were in the 42-inch segment, according to the company.