Pro display sales rising steadily

Large flat panels proving popular in business applications

Sales of professional-grade flat panel displays around the world are continuing to rise, says market watcher Futuresource Consulting.

Around the world, sales of flat panels destined purely for business applications rose six per cent in the third quarter of 2011, when compared with Q2, and 29 per cent year on year by volume, to 454,000 units.

Futuresource went on to say that sales of consumer displays into the professional market were also strong, making for a jump in total professional sales of seven per cent quarter on quarter, and 25 per cent year on year.

"Q3 was a relatively slow period for super-narrow bezel products, with growth of less than one per cent quarter on quarter. The 46in to 49in higher brightness segment suffered the most, with a fall in sales of 21 per cent, though this has been offset by the growth of higher-value, larger-screen sizes, such as 55in and 60in models," the company said in a statement.

The strongest market in the quarter was Japan, which saw professional display sales bounce back from a Q2 collapse of 44 per cent to grow 68 per cent in Q3.

More companies are also choosing LED over CCFL backlighting, Futuresource said. The number of professional displays sold with LED backlighting doubled in the quarter, and these also promise lower energy consumption in a thinner form factor.

The market for screen sizes of more than 45in, for which prices are falling, also continued to grow, notching up a 10 per cent expansion quarter on quarter, and about 50 per cent year on year, the analyst said.