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The $800 60" LCD is real

2736 Views 18 Replies 13 Participants Last post by rogo, Aug 25, 2011

rogo

Discussion Starter · Aug 16, 2011

A major retailer has a major third-tier brand 60" LCD for $800 right now. This is far sooner than I would've imagine such a thing would be available anywhere. It's normally a $1000 item and might be again by the time you read this, but the point is that it's happened.

Given this, it seems certain that we'll eventually routinely see 60" TVs at the $1000 mark, with premium sets unable to command meaningfully north of $2000. If company X can make money at $1000 today, a primary panel manufacturer will be able to make more money than they do at that price already and much more a year from now.

It seems likely, then, that even today's remarkable price for Sharp's 70" of $3000 will eventually seem somewhat high and that $2000 will be realistic down the road with a premium model at $3000 or so.

The reality of the TV business, however, is that no one is making money in it and continued cutthroat pricing is not going to help matters there. Combine that with tepid demand overall for TVs (consumers have largely upgraded to HD and few want 3D) and the future is very uncertain. But it's pretty likely cheaper.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

specuvestor

· #2 · Aug 16, 2011

Unfortunately not in Asia though

Frankly I don't understand the maths. But like I discussed in the 70" thread, Sharp is not exactly making money on their main 60" production in 10G either.

Talks of 2 8G fab in China starting in 4Q11... amazing

Kipp Jones

· #3 · Aug 17, 2011

Does it have firewire?

Matt L

· #4 · Aug 17, 2011

It might help to know the manufacturer to evaluate the quality we're talking about. 60" of crap is still crap regardless of the size.

Bytehoven

· #5 · Aug 17, 2011

rogo... was that a Sharp?

rogo

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 17, 2011

It was a third-tier brand, so no. In fact, I can say it was a Westinghouse since there is no price/vendor link.

Bytehoven

· #7 · Aug 17, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by rogo /forum/post/20834905

It was a third-tier brand, so no. In fact, I can say it was a Westinghouse since there is no price/vendor link.

I did a google $$$ check and found some 60" Sharps getting closer to the $1000 mark.

redwolf4k

· #8 · Aug 21, 2011

Yeah, Best Buy has this deal.

BEST BUY and its an INSIGNIA. They have the LED counterpart for just a few bucks more.

However, these sets look terrible IMO. Terrible processing, no picture controls, washed black levels, poor contrast. The list goes on.

I heard Insignia's Plasmas are decent, but I think the LCD area is a different ball game. They looked terrible to me.

Sure you get a ton of screen...but at what cost.

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rogo

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 21, 2011

The thing is, they are terribly today. But is the 60" LG plasma that goes on sale cheaply terrible? I'd say not really. And will the cheap 60" LCD of tomorrow be terrible?

I'm not really convinced it costs much more to make a good LCD than a terrible one, maybe $25-200 depending on size and terribleness. And that gap shrinks over time.

LaoChe

· #10 · Aug 21, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt L /forum/post/20831690

It might help to know the manufacturer to evaluate the quality we're talking about. 60" of crap is still crap regardless of the size.

Exactly. Just because they sell a junk LCD for cheap, doesn't make the quality panels look expensive. Junk is junk, no matter what the price.

tylerSC

· #11 · Aug 22, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by redwolf4k /forum/post/20849319

Yeah, Best Buy has this deal.

BEST BUY and its an INSIGNIA. They have the LED counterpart for just a few bucks more.

However, these sets look terrible IMO. Terrible processing, no picture controls, washed black levels, poor contrast. The list goes on.

I heard Insignia's Plasmas are decent, but I think the LCD area is a different ball game. They looked terrible to me.

Sure you get a ton of screen...but at what cost.

Insignia plasmas are Samsung panels, so yes, they quite good, especially for the price. The 51" 1080p version has been selling for $649. And the LG/Zenith plasmas that have been selling at very good price points as well, are also good bangs for the buck. Not sure about 3rd tier LCDs such as Insignia, Seiki, and Viore despite the good price. 60" of poor quality is not good no matter what the price.

rogo

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 22, 2011

@LaoChe, clearly, you couldn't be bothered to actually read the thread. Why let that get in the way of a sensationalist comment, right?

@tyler, the point is, there are good cheap displays today. And it can't really be costing much more to make good displays than bad displays, most of the difference is in the selling price, not the manufacturing cost. I suspect as we've seen with decent low-priced plasmas, we'll see decent low-priced LCDs real soon.

tylerSC

· #13 · Aug 22, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by rogo /forum/post/20851774

@LaoChe, clearly, you couldn't be bothered to actually read the thread. Why let that get in the way of a sensationalist comment, right?

@tyler, the point is, there are good cheap displays today. And it can't really be costing much more to make good displays than bad displays, most of the difference is in the selling price, not the manufacturing cost. I suspect as we've seen with decent low-priced plasmas, we'll see decent low-priced LCDs real soon.

Yes, exactly, there are good cheap displays today, particularly in plasma models. And, like you say, there probably will be some decent low-priced LCDs soon. It's just a matter of evaluating the Insignias and Vizios out there to determine which models are quality and which are junk.

uni_panther

· #14 · Aug 22, 2011

To me it is amazing the way prices the last 3 years have absolutely dropped. Quicker than I expected. A flagship display in 2007/2008 was easily over $3,000 in 50+ inches for quite a few manufacturers.

I'm amazed at the quality you can get for $1,200 to $1,500 in 50 inches now. I'm all for cheaper prices but my concern with the ultra low prices is I'm not so sure the ultimate top tier displays will come down in price and if only the enthusiasts like us are buying these panels are the prices going to come down or are they just not going to bother pushing the envelope with ultimate picture quality?

I'm not trying to create a doomsday scenario but the fact is that mid level and entry level panels truly drive the market. People getting into HD for the first time aren't buying top of the line Panasonic Plasmas or Samsung/Sony/ and the new Sharp flagship displays. They are buying panels they find at WalMart and Target on the lower end of the spectrum.

It is sort of how with the explosion of streaming and the bandwidth problems we have with our infrastructure as it is currently I can see a temporary serious dip in audio quality with more compression as most of the average joes out there aren't going to notice that much. The majority of people that I know that stream don't even know the difference between Dolby Digital and 2 channel audio.

Would that same thing happen with panels? Would the low end cause the top end to conform to be more in line or would it cause the top end to become sparse with less flagship panels to choose from? I honestly don't know.

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Steve S

· #15 · Aug 24, 2011

^^^I think this has been called the Wal-Mart-ization of America.

I think a lot has to do with the poor economy, and a parallel can be drawn to the Auto industry during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Prior to the crash there were many luxury car makes. Some were divisions of GM, Ford, Chrysler, each of which continued to make enough money on cheaper makes to keep Cadillac, Lincoln, and Chrysler going.

Others had no low end cars--Pierce Arrow, Deusenberg, Cord, Marmon, etc. and they succumbed. Packard got a temporary reprieve by introducing a cheaper line of cars late in the decade. Another big factor in Cadillac's survival was the fact that the president of GM insisted that African Americans be allowed to purchase them--in those days African Americans were chased out of Lincoln showrooms--but that's another story.

6SpeedTA95

· #16 · Aug 24, 2011

2

Race to the bottom

Makes me really consider upgrading my TV this year even though its not necessarily a significant upgrade to go from a 5080 HD to an XBR 929.

I'm worried we've only got another one or two cycles of improving videophile grade sets coming to market

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KidHorn

· #17 · Aug 25, 2011

There's a limit to how inexpensive these TVs can get. The shipping cost alone is probably close to $300 for a 60" from China.

What will happen is these crappy TVs will be replaced next year by this years TVs that cost $1,000 - $1,200. Rinse/ repeat. So models comparable to todays top of the line 60" TVs can be had for $800 in about 3 years.

In 3 years, these will be viewed as trash since they don't support 2160p or don't support HDMI 1.5 or whatever the newer models have.

eat meat

· #18 · Aug 25, 2011

Quote:
Originally Posted by KidHorn /forum/post/20867136

There's a limit to how inexpensive these TVs can get. The shipping cost alone is probably close to $300 for a 60" from China.

what? do you know how many tv,s they can fit in a container

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rogo

Discussion Starter · #19 · Aug 25, 2011

That's a good interview question for a tech company.

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