Serg

By SARAH HOWDEN

IT'S been a mainstay of our homes and lifestyles for decades.
But now it seems the days of the bulky box in the corner of the room are numbered.

Electrical retailers Dixons sounded the death knell last week, when it announced it expects to stop selling traditional-style sets, the kind built around cathode ray tubes, within 12 months as viewers switch to flat-screen tellies.

While just a year ago, almost 90 per cent of all televisions sold by the store were CRT sets, by Christmas 2005, sales amounted to less than one in five of all sets sold. At the same time, demand for flat-screen TVs has more than doubled. According to data from market research organisation GfK, sales of flat-screen systems reached 1,820,000 in 2005, up from 720,000 the previous year. And flat-screen televisions accounted for 63 per cent of the total retail value of all televisions bought in the UK.
But why the change?

STYLE
These stylish new kids on the block look like they've come from the pen of an architect. Light, slim and graceful, they can be hung on walls like works of art, they can receive the latest digital channels and be plugged into the internet.

The boxy golden oldies, on the other hand, dictate the layout of rooms and rather than complement the decor, can clash.

Len Alexander, an audio and visual expert from John Lewis Edinburgh says: "Style has got a lot to do with the change in popularity. The new style of televisions are much slimmer and more versatile, meaning you can put them wherever you want. The old box style often meant that furniture had to go in a certain place to make room for the TV.

"These TVs can swivel, have much higher definition and do look good. LCD and plasma-screen televisions are now the main TVs we stock. There's just not as much demand for the traditional style as before."
Bill Towsey of Bang and Olufsen in Bruntsfield adds: "The biggest reason is the elegance of the new style televisions. They are slimmer, sleeker and don't stick out like the old televisions do. LCD and plasma televisions are aspirational, like a sports car or a designer outfit and that's what people want now."
And Andrew Murray, European director of displays research for IT analyst iSuppli adds: "Why have a huge fat TV in the corner of the room when you could have a thin stylish TV instead?"

"It's definitely a style thing," agrees Ruth Adams of Currys. "They can be hung on a wall, look fantastic and people finally have a quarter of their room back."

TECHNOLOGY
While consumers' magazine Which? has warned: "Overall we don't think the picture quality of flat panel sets is quite up to the standard of conventional TVs yet - despite the higher prices," Bill Towsey doesn't agree.
He believes the technological advances in the past few years have also increased demand. "Last year, we deleted three ranges from our normal portfolio and we mainly sell LCD and plasma screen televisions now. Cathode tube televisions are going to be a thing of the past very soon.

"I think this national trend was brought about by the superior quality of the LCD televisions, which are now far better than conventional sets. You get a sharper image and much more realistic pictures, plus the running cost of a LCD television is cheaper than a cathode."

Len Alexander adds: "The picture quality from LCD televisions is better than that of a DVD. The result is really quite something, and the technology has moved on loads in recent years."

"Picture quality has vastly improved," says Ruth Adams. "Now many LCDs are high definition ready, so they're future proof when all the new technology comes into play. The quality is much better - it's like comparing video with DVD."

COST
Prices are still quite high for the new-generation TVs compared with their conventional cousins. An average high street LCD price of £1000 compares with just £350 for the same size of screen in a standard TV.
However, the prices have dropped and will continue to do so, meaning more consumers can pick up an LCD bargain.

Research has shown that the average price of an LCD set sold in the UK in 2005 was £631, down from £805 in 2004, and some brands of LCD sets sell in supermarkets for only £90. Plasma sets have also dropped from £2638 to £1879 in the same period.

According to Len Alexander, who's been in TV sales for 33 years, this price reduction has put LCD and plasma screens within reach of more and more members of the public.

Ruth Adams agrees. She says: "Prices have really come down. At Dixons and Curry's in 2001, a 42-inch LCD cost around £7000 whereas by Christmas 2005, a 42-inch screen was only £1500.

"That's an amazing difference and, combining the fantastic features with the style and the cost, LCD and plasmas are a big hit with consumers. It's only a matter of time before conventional television sets will be phased out. It's our job to give consumers what they want - and LCD and plasma TVs are what they want to buy."

At the Edinburgh Sony Centre in Morningside, manager Jamie Brown believes that lower prices have made their popularity soar. "We have been here for five years and in the past year the industry has changed so quickly with developments - and prices have also dropped."

As a result, the shop now sells only one traditional-style television. "There's just not the demand. It's a lifestyle thing. People want the space, they want something that looks good and modern."
Of course this is good news for the retailers. According to an industry insider, profit margins for flat screen TVs are much higher than for traditional sets.

"The mark-up on a flat screen TV will be in the region of 25 to 30 per cent. That compares to about 10 to 15 per cent for traditional sets, and about the same for flat-screen computer monitors. Bear in mind that flat-screen TVs sell for more too, so you get a bigger slice of a higher price."

So is it really the end for the traditional telly? Len Alexander believes so. "The main manufacturers are stopping the production of these boxy televisions so we are stopping selling them - once they've sold out we're not getting any more in. Eventually I think everyone will have the new modern televisions."
And what sort of box does he have in his living room? "I've got a traditional-style television," admits Len.
"It does the job and that's the most important thing. Perhaps one day in the future I'll change but, right now, I'm in no hurry."

TV terminology

CRT - Cathode Ray Tube. This has been the conventional element of televisions for decades, the piece of electronic equipment which creates the beam of light which results in a picture. But these TVs are limited by their size, the largest being around 36 inches, which isn't so good in this era of home cinema.

• LCD - Liquid Crystal Display. Flatter, squarer screens came along when it was discovered that LCD panels could be used in televisions. For a long time, it was believed that LCD technology was suited only to smaller sized televisions, but recently Samsung announced it had created an 82-inch LCD television.

• PLASMA. Is what is says on the tin, a television which uses plasma (ionised gases neon and xenon) between two flat panels of glass to create the light source, which means the TV dispenses with tubes and magnets at the back, giving it a slimline profile. Invented in the US in 1964, it wasn't until 1997 that plasma TVs were sold to the public. Very wide screens can be produced using extremely thin materials.

• HDTV - High Definition TV. HDTV will be broadcast in the UK next year, meaning increased picture and sound quality for digital transmissions. HDTV signals offer a far greater resolution than traditional Standard Definition TV we're used to now.

lyricb

Those wall-hanging tvs look pretty sweet, but I don't think I would shell out the extra bucks for one. The tv I have sitting on the table works just fine, thank you very much. :P

capitalist_junkie

Yeah, I'm not ready to abandon my bulky tv just yet . . . I don't really even have wallspace for a hanging TV, not in my tiny apartment . . . What I have now suits me fine.

lyricb

Junkie, maybe you should make one wall a TV wall exclusively, and you can get a nosebleed every time you watch it.

capitalist_junkie

An entire wall consisting of just a TV would be pretty interesting . . .

If I was a movie fanatic like my boyfriend, I might want to try that.

triumph

I want to get some of those virtual reality goggles. I almost bought some a few years back to watch movies on but people complained they gave them headaches so I never bought them.

capitalist_junkie

Those would be awesome. I'd like to give them a try . . .

They must not have been marketed all that well, because I never heard of them.

fetznjtown

I would love to have a tv that took up an entire wall. Not sure I'd take a chance with something like that if I had kids though. That's just asking for problems.

taiarain

I have the wall space; I just don't have the money to spend on this kind of set. The good news is that the sets I do have are likely to last for years.

Taia

vicki2

The best part of this trend is that regular digital TVs are now really cheap. I had to buy a couple for guest rooms, and the deals at Dixon's were amazing!