Days after Samsung announced a $3,000 3D bundle that included a 50″ 3D TV, 3D Blu ray player and 3D movie, analysts are tipping that LCD and LED TVs will fall even further in price as manufacturers launch new models and manufacturing capacity increases.Analysts from DisplaySearch claim that prices of LCDs, used in everything from mobile phones to flat-screen TVs, have started to fall after months of rising prices. They attribute this to a recovery in the global economy. They say that LCD makers, especially those in Taiwan, have started to ramp up capacity, and are now running their factories at full utilisation. With additional capacity coming on line from new production lines at Sony, Sharp, Samsung Electronics and LG Display, supply growth for LCDs is now outstripping demand.
When panel prices fall, set makers can purchase LCDs at a lower price DisplaySearch executives said.
They now expect LCD panel prices to continue to edge lower in the second quarter as inventories pile up. But it anticipates panel prices to start to rise by the third quarter as companies start to prepare for the fourth quarter when most TV’s are sold.
So far, TV prices haven’t reflected the falling LCD prices, according to Taiwan-based market research firm WitsView Technology. But barring any unforeseen circumstances, analysts predict a possible dip in LCD TV set prices within a few months. iSuppli analyst Riddhi Patel says LCD TV set prices could start to fall from the end of the second quarter.
