Flat Panels Rule
Workstation users don't care much about aesthetics, so the fact that LCDs are prettier and take up less desk space than CRTs does not impress them. Falling prices and increased performance, however, are making LCD panels increasingly popular among workstation users. LCDs are already the de facto standard for financial workstations, and now they are starting to meet the graphics-intensive needs of Computer Aided Design (CAD), Digital Content Creation (DCC), and Global Information System (GIS) users.
"CRT's are a dying art form," says Sam Miller, director of technical marketing at ViewSonic, a leading provider of both CRT and LCD displays. Miller says that there has been lots of development efforts in the CRT market in the past, but no one is investing in the technology today. "Many of the major players have abandoned the field," says Miller.
By contrast, the LCD sector is thriving. "LCD's are a fast growing field receiving lots of attention," Miller says "There are major improvements occurring all the time." And that is driving sales.
LCD panels are spreading quickly throughout the desktop space, according to DisplaySearch, a market research and consulting firm that specializes in flat panel displays. LCD monitor/LCD PC shipments rose 44% in the third quarter of this year, compared to 2002. LCD panels comprised a record 39% unit and 60% revenue share worldwide. The firm also found that LCD penetration was at least 44% in Japan, Europe and North America and just under 20% in rest of world.
Dell, Samsung, HP, NEC-Mitsubishi, and ViewSonic are the top five desktop monitor vendors. Of the major sizes, 15", 17" conventional, 18" and 20" failed to met expectations with only 17" wide and 19" performing better than expected.
While LCD sales are surging, CRTs are falling out of favor. DisplaySearch found that third quarter CRT monitors were 11% lower than last year, falling to 17.0 million units and just a 61% share worldwide.
Although LCD panels are fine for financial and data intensive applications, professionals that rely on super-keen color and graphics performance are still holding on to their CRTs.
Bob Maple, a video editor at the Lakewood, Colorado-based post-production firm, Crosspoint, uses a mix of CRT and LCD displays. Maple currently uses an Avid DS video editing system equipped with two 19" CRT monitors. Crosspoint just ordered a new Avid DS Nitris system that comes with two LCD displays, so Maple is going to give those a try, but he doesn't plan on dumping his big CRTs any time soon.
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