Only from the side or above can we know that the thickness of ultra-thin CRT is twice that of flat-panel TV.
ChinaByte learned that taking a 29-inch TV as an example, the overall thickness of the traditional CRT is 60 cm, the thickness of the LCD TV is 15 cm, and the ultra-thin CRT is 39 cm. The retail price of 29-inch ultra-thin HD CRT is about 2,800 yuan, that of non-HD CRT is about 1800 yuan, and that of 32-inch ultra-thin HD CRT is about 3,999 yuan. The retail price of a 29-inch CRT is about 1500 yuan, and that of a 34-inch CRT is about 3,900 yuan. A 32-inch LCD TV costs about 7000 yuan.
Nowadays, ultra-thin CRT can be seen in the exhibition areas of domestic TV brands such as Konka, Skyworth, TCL, Hisense and Xoceco, but not in the related forums of Sony's latest offer in 2005, LG's latest offer in 2005, Samsung, Philips and other foreign brands' booths.
Although domestic brands have ultra-thin CRT for sale, they are all placed in the corner of the booth. The conspicuous booth is occupied by LCD TV or plasma TV. Moreover, the number of ultra-thin CRTs displayed is much less than that of flat-panel TVs. Roughly estimated, the quantity ratio is 8: 2, and the models of ultra-thin CRT are not complete. For example, Xoceco and Hisense only exhibited 29-inch ultra-thin CRT. When asked if there are any ultra-thin CRT of other sizes, the promoters of several brands said that there are also 2 1 inch, 25-inch and 32-inch ultra-thin CRT, and the appearance is similar to that of 29-inch. Because the booth was limited, it was not put out.
Sales data from home appliance chain stores such as Dazhong, Suning and Gome show that the sales ratio of ultra-thin CRT to traditional CRT is 3: 7. The ratio of total sales of CRT color TVs to flat-panel color TVs is 1: 1. However, since the price of a single CRT TV set is around 1000 yuan, the sales of CRT TV sets only account for 20% of the total sales of color TV sets.
"At present, ultra-thin CRT can't sell ordinary CRT. In the long run, ultra-thin CRT TV is only a transitional product. " Wang Jun, manager of Beijing Color TV Department of Suning Appliance, said that the reason why ultra-thin CRT didn't sell well was that it didn't lose weight in appearance compared with traditional CRT. Consumers either buy flat-panel TVs to entertain themselves; Or buy a traditional CRT, which is affordable. The price of 3000 yuan has become a bottleneck restricting the rapid entry of ultra-thin CRT into people's homes.
"Braised pork" in the eyes of manufacturers
Although businesses feel like chicken ribs about ultra-thin CRT, manufacturers think it is braised pork, showing unprecedented enthusiasm. Konka, Hisense and Haier are all trying to make ultra-thin CRT TVs. In the second half of 2006, Konka, Changhong, Skyworth and Hisense all released a variety of ultra-thin CRT TVs. Manufacturers say that ultra-thin CRT can support digital TV, and consumers can watch HDTV with the same effect as flat-panel TV with much less money.
"Since June 2006, the sales volume of Konka ultra-thin short tube CRT TV has increased by nearly 10 times." Konka related people told ChinaByte that they recently developed the second generation of ultra-thin CRT, which is 4 cm thinner than the previous ultra-thin CRT products of the same size, reaching 35 cm. The source also revealed that at present, Konka CRT operation department and flat-panel TV operation department are two parallel departments, indicating that Konka treats CRT and flat-panel TV development equally.
Hisense and other companies also said that they will focus on developing ultra-thin CRT, and dig deep into Rio Tinto's ultra-thin CRT market through high definition, ultra-thin and light weight to compete with flat-panel TVs.
The reason why manufacturers are optimistic about ultra-thin CRT and bet on ultra-thin CRT is because of such an attractive set of data. The Blue Book of China Color TV Research published by China Video Industry Association shows that ultra-thin CRT TV is growing rapidly. In 2005, the sales volume of ultra-thin CRT TVs in China was more than 1 10,000 sets, and in 2006 it was more than 6 million sets, an increase of more than 6 times. It will reach150,000-160,000 in 2007. "Newly married, changing rooms, upgrading and bedroom use are the main reasons for rural consumers to buy color TVs. Product quality and image effect are the most concerned by rural consumers. Ultra-thin CRT TVs and widescreen CRT TVs with good quality and low price are ideal substitutes for rural consumers. "
At an internal meeting of Sino in 2006, the market analyst of Sino Color TV pointed out that ultra-thin CRT TV has become a new profit growth point for China color TV manufacturers.
According to industry insiders, the reason why domestic manufacturers make efforts to make ultra-thin CRT is because their profitability is better than that of flat-panel TV. At present, China's flat-panel TV display devices, including display screens, almost all rely on imports. Moreover, technologies such as display screen account for 60% to 70% of the cost of flat-panel TVs, which leads to most of the sales profits of flat-panel TVs in China being seized by foreign manufacturers. In contrast, CRT has formed a complete industrial chain in China, unlike flat-panel TVs, which are subject to foreigners. The profitability of CRT makes domestic manufacturers passionate.
Consumers see flowers in the fog
"I didn't expect the ultra-thin CRT to be thicker than I thought. I am hesitating to buy an ultra-thin CRT or an LCD TV. " Yesterday, in Beijing Dazhong Electric Friendship Store, Ms. Wang, who came to buy a color TV, expressed her confusion to ChinaByte. "Before I came to the store, I read the report about ultra-thin CRT. I think the appearance is lighter and more fashionable than traditional TV, and the price is much lower than LCD TV, which is very suitable for the needs of working class. But I didn't expect it to be ultra-thin and not much thinner. "
In the interview, ChinaByte found that many consumers didn't know there was an ultra-thin CRT TV because of insufficient publicity from manufacturers. Among nearly 20 consumers interviewed randomly by reporters, 30% of consumers don't know what an ultra-thin CRT is.
"Ultra-thin CRT, like LCD TV and plasma TV, has its own advantages and disadvantages." Liu Quanen, a senior engineer at the Institute of Television Electroacoustics of the Ministry of Information Industry, pointed out that ultra-thin CRT TV did not make a breakthrough in the working principle of CRT, but only shortened the length of CRT by increasing the deflection angle to reduce the thickness of TV. Because the deflection angle is too large, the convergence, focus and color purity of the edge become worse, the contour distortion increases, and the power of the whole machine increases, which makes the displayed image quality decline and leads to the decline of the image clarity of the edge.
"Consumers should pay attention to cost performance and required functions when choosing." Liu Quanen said that the advantages of ultra-thin CRT over LCD TV mainly lie in display quality and price. LCD TV and plasma TV are irreplaceable because of their large screens and portability.
News background:
In 2004, LG introduced 2 1 inch ultra-thin kinescope.
In February 2005, Samsung and LG simultaneously launched 32-inch ultra-thin TVs, which were sold to South Korea.
In April 2005, TCL launched the world's first 29-inch ultra-thin TV, followed by a full range of 2 1 inch, 25-inch and 32-inch products, but only a small number of 2 1 inch ultra-thin TVs were sold in the market.
In May 2005, Changhong launched the first 32-inch ultra-thin TV in China, model CHD 32200, which was sold in six major cities in China. In late May, Hisense's 32-inch and 2 1 inch ultra-thin TVs went on sale, and Skyworth and LG also launched 2 1 inch ultra-thin TVs sold in China market. At this point, the ultra-thin CRT TV product series has begun to take shape.