Plasma TV monitors still too expensive

Plasma TV monitors still too expensive

Rikza Abdullah, Contributor, Jakarta

As television technology is in the midst of a digital video
revolution, plasma TV monitors offer superb quality of image, as
compared with conventional and projection TV sets, but their
sales on the Indonesian market are still very limited.

Plasma TV monitors are termed thus because they have plasma
panels -- an array of tiny cells, known as pixels, which contain
phosphors corresponding to the colors red, green and blue.

Sandwiched against these cells is a thin layer of gas in a
plasma state. Electrical impulses enter the gas, which emits
bursts of ultraviolet light at precise locations and intervals.

The phosphor cells absorb these signals and then re-radiate
the energy as visible light, producing the vivid images that
appear on screen.

They offer superb image quality because they have a perfectly
flat screen, wide viewing angle, uniform screen brightness, slim
and space-saving design, immunity from magnetic fields, as well
as higher resolution than conventional TV sets, better color
accuracy and a better widescreen aspect ratio.

In Indonesia, demand for plasma TV monitors is, however, very
weak due to their high price, according to Jentri Mitmarliandi, a
product supervisor at PT Sony Indonesia.

Budi Pramono, marketing manager of Samsung Electronics
Indonesia, shared Jentri's view, saying that the total sales of
plasma TV monitors of various trademarks in the country might
have reached only 150 units last year.

"Therefore, we are not yet interested in supplying plasma TV
monitors to the Indonesian market," he said.

Jentri said the price of plasma TV monitors on the Indonesian
market could be twice that quoted in other countries because the
import of plasma TV monitors by authorized dealers would be
subject to import duty, value-added tax (VAT) and a tax on luxury
goods, besides transportation costs.

"The high costs for tax and duty make it difficult for
authorized dealers to compete against smugglers who sell their
goods through electronics stores," he said, adding that Sony
Indonesia, therefore, did not include plasma TV monitors in its
list of dealership products.

"However, we can provide plasma TV monitors on the basis of
buyer demand," he said.

Budi said those interested in buying plasma TV monitors could
find them at shopping centers in Jakarta's Chinatown, such as
Glodok and Mangga Dua.

Lilis, of PT Satyasukma-Eluxindo, said her electronics store
at the Harco Mangga Dua shopping center in West Jakarta offered
42-inch Philips plasma TV monitors at about US$11,000 each and
similar products with a Panasonic trademark at Rp 85 million
(about $9,130).

PT Sony Electrindo, also at Harco Mangga Dua, offers 42-inch
Sony plasma TV monitors at $6,500 each, excluding the cost of
speakers and other optional facilities.

PT Adab Alam Electronic on Jl. Cideng Barat, Central Jakarta,
offers 43-inch Pioneer plasma TV monitors at about $6,800 to
$7,600 and 50-inch models at around $11,900 to $11,950, according
to marketing officer Melda.

According to the U.S.-based Flat TV Buying Guide Review,
plasma display monitors have screens that are perfectly flat,
with no curvature whatsoever. This eliminates edge distortions.

They offer a viewing angle of 160 degrees (top to bottom and
left to right) -- much better than rear-projection TVs and LCD
displays. This allows a larger number of viewers to enjoy proper
image reproduction from a wider variety of locations throughout
the room.

Unlike some rear- and front-projection televisions that suffer
from uneven screen brightness -- seen as "hot spots" in the
middle of the screen or a darkening near the edges and especially
corners -- plasma displays illuminate all pixels evenly across
the screen.

Plasma display monitors are only a few inches thick --
providing installation options never before possible. In addition
to stand mounting, they can be hung on a wall or from a ceiling,
allowing viewers to enjoy big-screen home theater impact from a
component that does not dominate floorspace.

Conventional TVs and front projectors, by comparison, take up
far more space and are much more limited in placement
flexibility.

Because they eliminate the need for a front-projection unit
and a projection screen, plasma display monitors are also ideal
for use in a wide variety of business and commercial applications
where the use of a front projector would not be feasible.

And because plasma displays do not use electron beams, as
conventional TV sets do, they are immune to the effects of
magnetic fields. Components such as loudspeakers, which contain
strong magnets, can distort the picture if placed too close to a
standard TV. On the other hand, plasma displays may be placed in
close proximity to any type of loudspeaker and not experience
image distortion.

Plasma display devices have higher resolution than
conventional TV sets, and are capable of displaying full HDTV and
DTV signals as well as XGA, SVGA and VGA signals from a computer.
For example, plasma displays may have a 1024 x 1024 pixel high-
resolution that can display images at true 1080i and 720p HDTV
resolution, as well as 480i and 480p HD signals.

High-end plasma displays are capable of displaying 16.77
million colors -- providing superb color realism with
exceptionally subtle gradations between colors.

Plasma display devices have a wide-screen 16:9 aspect ratio --
the relationship between the screen's width and height. This is
the proper aspect ratio for HDTV, and also allows many DVD-Video
movies to be viewed in a wide-screen format, as originally seen
in the theater.

Plasma technology is becoming more uniform as different
manufacturers integrate the best features from one another and
some of them cooperate with each other in production. Hitachi,
for example, owns 50 percent of a plasma screen factory in
Kyushu, Japan, along with Fujitsu, but makes its own internal
components. Meanwhile, Fujitsu buys some of the internal
components (chipsets) but produces most of the internal component
boards.

Sony makes its own boards and chips but uses Fujitsu/Hitachi
plasma screen glass, while Philips uses Fujitsu/Hitachi glass
screens and most internal components as well. However, Philips
makes its own bezel with built-in speakers.

Panasonic operates its own glass factory and engineers its own
internal components. Pioneer also operates its own plasma screen
glass plant and produces almost all boards and chips utilized in
the plasma monitor.

However, there are major differences in quality regarding
contrast, black levels, up and down conversion techniques,
interpolation, scaling, power consumption, white balance, menu
adjustments and options, and many other features.