December 2005 — Smart Classroom

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Plasmas: A New Angle on Learning

by Neal Starkman

Technology consultancy NPD Techworld (www.npdtechworld.com) was reporting that the average price of a plasma monitor had dropped from more than $12,000 in 1999—when they first entered the US market—to just under $8,000 in 2002. Randy Moore, product marketing manager at the Lincolnshire, IL, office of LG Electronics (www.lge.com), pointed out that when you compared buying a plasma monitor to buying a projector and possibly multiple screens—which was the most reasonable alternative—the cost of a monitor wasn’t such a bad deal. And to make it even more enticing for the educational market, many companies had special pricing for schools.

“Those who keep an eye on trends in electronics,” I wrote a year ago, “say that once the price drops a little more, plasma monitors will constitute the next huge wave of educational and entertainment purchases.”

Now for the retraction: I was wrong—I miscalculated. There hasn’t been a wave of plasma monitor purchases; it’s been a full-scale deluge.

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According to market researchers DisplaySearch (www.displaysearch.com), shipments of plasma display panels in the third quarter of 2005 were up 118 percent over last year, while revenue during that period totaled $1.6 billion, a 57 percent year-to-year increase. What’s behind the sales surge? Until recently, the prevailing attitude had been that plasma displays were very cool, but much too pricey. Two things contributed to altering that notion: One is the improved longevity of the monitor.Whereas several years ago a monitor might last 30,000 hours, today its life span is twice that. A bulb in a projector, on the other hand, may last 2,000 hours; plus, you have to clean the thing two or three times a year. That can get expensive.

The second factor is cost, which continues to slide. Though NPD Techworld said that displays were dropping under $8,000, they actually dropped a lot under $8,000. A school can now purchase 42-inch plasma monitor displays for about $2,000 each. High definition is more expensive than extended definition, but even the latter provides an incredible picture.