While the desktop monitor market is far from the boom market that it once was, it is still a very large market. Even though it is mature, it is not immune to the challenges associated with high-volume, big ticket commodity purchasing. Desktop displays are caught between a rock and a hard place with the upgrade cycle from CRT to LCD essentially complete across the globe, and with only minor demand generated by multi-monitor usage, notebook/monitor bundles, and standard-to-wide upgrades. Monitors are quite necessary in the overall computing landscape and are still a big source of TFT LCD demand, but they have lost control of their own cost structure. Supply/demand dynamics for LCD TV panels have the greatest impact on LCD monitor pricing, and demand from personal computers with embedded displays (like tablets, notebooks, netbooks, and AIOs) affects both the long-term outlook for desktop displays and the near-term pricing for panels.

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