Category Archives: Desktop Monitors

Monitors that Are TVs and TVs that Are Monitors: Here We Go Again…

Posted by Calvin Hsieh, Chris Connery, Deborah Yang, and Hisakazu Torii in Desktop Monitors, TVs on July 28, 2009 | 3 comments

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it should be called a duck. But how do you classify a platypus?

While the concept of convergence between PCs and TVs has been around almost as long as the PC market, as LCD TVs come down in price (mainly by getting smaller in size) and as the traditional desktop PC market continues to evolve, the definition of the display continues to evolve as well. Continue Reading

Xbox 360 Won’t Touch TV?

Posted by Calvin Hsieh in Desktop Monitors, Display Technology, Mobile PCs, TVs on June 4, 2009 | 2 comments

At the E3 Expo this week, Microsoft unveiled their Natal Project, an add-on kit for the Xbox 360 that includes a camera on the TV set top to capture user gestures or action. This makes us think of the Nintendo Wii controller, which uses a CMOS image sensor from PixArt Imaging for action capturing. The difference is Xbox does not need any controller; your body is the controller. To make this amazing feature possible, more powerful image calculating and comparison is critical.
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Does Touch Make Sense on the PC Platform?

Posted by Chris Connery in Desktop Monitors, Display Technology, Mobile PCs on May 6, 2009 | 6 comments

By Chris Connery, Vice President, PC and Large Format Commercial Displays, DisplaySearch and John Jacobs, Director, Notebook Market Research, DisplaySearch

With all-in-one PCs being positioned as the savior of the desktop PC, a debate is brewing over whether touch interfaces for desktop or even notebook PCs are the next big thing.

In the process of consulting with companies throughout the display supply chain, we hear of internal debates about touch screens on desktop monitors, all-in-one PCs (AIOs) and notebooks, with about as many different opinions as there are people in the room.
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Will Small TFT LCD Panels Continue to be Produced in Large Size LCD Factories?

Posted by Shawn Lee in Desktop Monitors, Flat Panel Displays, Mobile PCs, Small and Medium Displays on May 1, 2009 | 1 comment

By Shawn Lee, Analyst, DisplaySearch

When 16:10 panels came into the market in 2006, panel makers began to produce monitor panels in Gen 6 and even Gen 7 TFT LCD factories for efficient production. Now that 16:9 panels are coming, most monitor panels are being produced on Gen 6, Gen 7 and even Gen 8 lines. This also enables second-tier panel makers who do not have multiple generations to produce smaller panels. Let’s take a look at how panel makers are reallocating production strategies:
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Recent Legal Rulings about Duty Suspension and 16:9 Desktop Displays in Europe

Posted by Chris Connery in Desktop Monitors, Flat Panel Displays, Small and Medium Displays, TVs on March 16, 2009 | 4 comments

By Bob Raikes and Paul Butler – Meko, Ltd, Chris Connery – Vice President, PC and Large Format Commercial Displays, DisplaySearch and Deborah Yang – Research Director, Monitor & TV, DisplaySearch

(Customs duty regulations are a complicated issue. This article is intended as a general guide to the topic, but you should consult qualified legal advisers for particular advice on a specific case.)

Everyone in the supply chain for monitors in Europe, from brand to panel maker, is currently obsessed with one topic: the import duty for monitors. So I thought I’d give you some background to this long running story.

Back in December 1996, the members of the WTO signed the ‘IT Agreement’ which said that there should be no duty on information technology products. While TVs could have duty (currently 14% in Europe), monitors should not. That was fine while the difference between them was clear. TVs had video inputs, while monitors had VGA.