Television: Going to the Extremes

In recent years the number of options available to those in the market for a new television has certainly expanded. CRT televisions continue to be available and offer good quality viewing at an affordable price. DLP came along and offers larger screens that are accompanied of course by somewhat higher price tags. Plasma and LCD are currently the darlings on the show room floor and are able to offer large screens with a slim profile but again, despite price reductions in the past couple of years, require significantly more cash to procure one. More recently, the initial OLED television offerings hit the market for yet another option.

With an increasing number of technologies available, TV size, profile, and pricing stretch across a wider spectrum as well for today's consumers.

Profile
CRT televisions have slimmed down a bit in recent years but still have the thickest presence; 18 inches or so although Samsung introduced a model which has a profile under 14 inches. A 32" model, generally the largest for CRT TVs, can be had for under $900. CRT TVs are still at the top of the market for bulkiness while at the bottom for purchase price.

At the other extreme, Sony's XEL-1 offers consumers a digital flat panel HDTV with a profile of 3 mm. This great new technology comes with a price however; around $2499 for an 11 inch screen. Not something you would place in your living room for the family to gather around. Of course, taking things a bit further, Sony has announced it will be rolling out a second OLED in the near future; another 11 inch screen which will be only .3 mm in thickness. Pricing and other details aren't yet available but again cost would be expected to be at the top end of the scale for this size television leaving them as the thinnest and yet most expensive TV per inch available to consumers.

Screen Size
The largest displays continue to be plasma televisions. It's been some time now since Samsung, Panasonic, and others showed off their 102", 103" and 108" displays but clearly with price tags over $69,000 and weights around 500 pounds, these aren't on the market for the general public. Certainly, 65" plasma televisions can be found on display in large retail stores for over $7,000 but the more interesting recent development for the average consumer who desires a huge screen for their home theater is Mitsubishi's new 73 inch DLP TV. This is a new extreme for DLP. Despite its large screen size this television weighs in around 100 pounds and is less than 18" thick; no thicker than many smaller CRT TVs. The better news is that these large screen sets can be found for under $2200.

Pricing
Pricing clearly rises with increased screen size, thinner profiles, and newer technologies. Luckily as technologies mature, production techniques evolve, and volume increases, prices tend to creep lower. Currently CRT TV's are the most affordable, but as far as large screens go the new Mitsubishi DLP appears to be the leader at under $30 per inch while OLED, as the newest and slimmest, comes in around $227 per inch.

Clearly the offerings are all over the map as far as size, profile, and price but this also translates into options that will fit the needs of consumers which are quite diverse as well.