Monitor the Display

There's a lot of technology that goes into the development of computer hardware. We're aware of the technology leaps in CPUs, graphics cards, hard disks and even the keyboard/mouse pair. What doesn't get as much attention in the media or the computer store is the display device, better known as the monitor. But it still has a great impact on our computing experience, be it reading a letter, typing out reports, watching movies, playing games or Winamp's visualizer accompanying our music. While everyone's aware of computer monitors in general, there's a lot unexplored in the realm of display devices. Most have never prepared reports on a computer with an LCD screen; some have played games on a plasma screen and fewer have watched DVDs on a DLP projector. If you are one of the few who have experienced some or all of these, you probably work in a company that values technology's latest and greatest or you're funded well enough to enjoy these at home.

We've spoken with some of the industry's biggest to find out about display devices, device types, the market and the potential applications of these devices.

Sonal Anand DGM - Volume Product Head Samsung India Electronics

Large scale organizations, small and medium sized enterprises as well as home users have been investing more in display devices. The industry has been growing directly because awareness about these devices and their applications. Not all situations permit having a CRT monitor. They can be cumbersome to set up in large scales, clutter desks and irrespective of their colour, they aren't very aesthetic around the house or even in the office. Ever been in a small meeting of 3-4 people sitting around one computer?

"With changes in the PC usage patterns, the PC is no longer just a simple office tool. It is become an infotainment device where its application has changed to the Internet, gaming and movies. The key to a true multimedia experience is the display device; thus, monitors have today become the most important part of any PC purchase decision. It is the monitor which determines what the user can achieve out of a PC," explains Sonal Anand, DGM - Volume Product Head at Samsung India Electronics.

Industry trends: It has become clear that businesses as well as individuals are committed to providing themselves and their employees with a display device that would increase efficiency and improve the quality of work product. The old, 15" monitors are being replaced by larger models. When there is a requirement for something different, wide plasma screens and projectors suited to the task are purchased. This has not occurred in isolated cases, it has been the norm for over a year.

Tarun Jain, Regional Manager at Hitachi Home Electronics, Asia states, "We are very pleased with our numbers achieved during the last 6 months after our first launch in the month of December 2003. The results in the first 3 months prompted us to come back in the month of March 2004 with a series of new products, making India the first country in Asia, outside Japan to get these products." An effect of the display device industry having a growth in excess of 24% in India. "Within a very short time frame we have been able to achieve a remarkable success in both retail and institutional segments," he added.

Anand illustrates, "The key adoption trend in SME is the 17" Monitor. The Indian market is now witnessing a super fast upgrade to 17" size. Not only does the 17" monitor offer the lowest cost per square inch, they come with a 3 year warranty, and directly lead to higher efficiency in terms of work. They are the best suited in terms of size for today's applications and with a native resolution on 1280x1024 allow the best internet viewing without having to use the cursor keys."

As competition heats up, the small and medium sized enterprises of India are becoming more tech savvy and adopting the latest technologies to compete in a global environment. This has had a major impact on the market for display devices. This is not restricted to just the conventional devices. An increasing number of SMEs are investing in Digital Light Processing (DLP) projectors, plasma screen and LCD panels.

Plasma's, LCD's or Flat panels as they are called have created a revolution because of the ability of these technologies to compress the size of the display devices (in terms of thickness as compared to conventional CRTs) and still maintaining high clarity. This makes it look very sleek and aesthetic compared to bulky CRT monitors.

In the spirit of having form as well as function, newer technologies such as LCD and Plasma screens are miles ahead of their conventional counterparts. Ashish Vikram - DGM, HCL Infinet Ltd. (for Infocus & Toshiba laptops) said, "One can achieve larger sizes like 42", 50", 60" and 80" which was never possible in CTV's."

Different levels of interoperability provided by some display devices can be an added advantage to corporate firms of all sizes. He added, "The Toshiba Plasma's also come with a pen-drive slot or memory card slot where using which one can view the images captured from any recording device." The pen-drive makes it easy to transfer presentations or analysis charts created on a typical desktop PC to one with a capacity for superior video quality. Almost everyone who has been involved in presentations knows how tedious it can be to wait while it's written on a CD-R or CD-RW and transported to another machine. The usage of such technology and versatility has been unavailable when dealing with conventional monitors.

For the purpose of presenting ideas to clients and venture capitalists, having a well planned, functional and efficient office setup directly reflects the attitude and commitment of its people. This can be a major factor for potential investors.

Shashi Bhushan, Manager Marketing - Systems Product Division at National Panasonic India, said, "The display devices today play a major role in the business arena as the success of business today depends a great deal on effective presentation of an idea."

"Particularly for the Indian market, the one major change that one can observe is that the small and medium corporates now believe in owning a display device rather than renting it as was the case a couple of years back. The key criterion after the price is the brand and robust technology," said Bhushan.

Marketing and Advertising: At Hitachi, "Our objective is to focus on discerning customers through exclusive retail outlets where customers can walk in the get a live demo of the set. The objective is that the customer should be able to see and feel the product and be able to appreciate the superior technology as compared to competitors," explains Jain.

He further states, "We are very strongly focusing on the Indian Market. An indicator of this is the fact that we have launched a series of new products in the last six months in cities of Delhi and Mumbai through high profiles launch shows. The launch of some products in the Indian Market has even been ahead of the launch of same products in Singapore, our base for the Asian Market."

Most vendors use different marketing strategies for retail and institutional sales. For the retail market, they rely on a distribution chain so that they can get through to the public with the widespread tools already established. As for the institutional segment, as in the case of Hitachi, "we have a dedicated distributor for Institutional sales. Institutional sales are growing very fast and in order to tap this segment we have appointed a distributor to exclusively take care of this segment."

It is clear that as of now, the major target market for display device sales ranges from SMEs to large scale enterprises. Trade magazines, participation in focused exhibitions and advertising in newspapers are the typical mediums of communication and advertising.

Buying tips: Display device selection is based on the intended usage, available space, duration and ease of use, maintenance requirements and cost. It wouldn't be wise to buy a DLP projector for a conference room that can seat only 5-6 people. On the other hand, if it's a large room where presentations and usage of visuals are common, it would make sense to have a projector providing a 70" screen.

For the purpose of video conferencing, it is better to have a plasma screen since the space required is small and has better clarity than a projector. In applications which require continuous display and multiple displays like airports and hotels, it is better to have a plasma screen since a projector will not fit the bill. "Nowadays, corporates are putting up plasma's at their reception to enhance the image and also to disseminate information to visitors," Vikram points out.

Anand stated that the evaluation of display devices is facilitated by asking the basic questions: "Is the monitor going to be used for visual intensive applications like internet and multimedia?" and "Is the monitor going to be used for high usage in terms of hours of use?" Subtle factors like the usage of non glare tubes can have significant effects. Anand points out that "…it is critical that the corporate go in for only non glare tubes. There are still some manufacturers who sell glare CDT monitors which can not only be harmful for the eye but may also lead to direct loss of efficiency."

17" is now becoming the entry level size. There is a wide range of 17" monitors and with the price gap between 15" and 17" now reduced to under Rs. 1000, it makes sense to go for a 17" Monitor. The decision to buy a flat screen model would be determined by usage. Gamers and graphics designers make a large percentage of the individual consumer market for flat screens, while those who use the computer for the Internet and office work are well served with economically priced curved screen monitors. The cost difference between flat and curved screen monitors being approximately Rs. 5000, has prompted the reasonably well funded to use flat screen monitors in the office and at home.

In the case of corporates who are looking at a premium image for themselves and save cost and space, TFT LCD Monitors could be the right choice. Even though the initial investment for TFT LCD monitors is high, the customer will break even within 3 years in terms of saving on power bills due to lower power consumption and lower AC load. TFT LCD monitors also let you save on space and are stylish offering various mounting options like wall and ceiling mount.

It is advisable that when choosing a TFT LCD monitor the customer should choose only Grade A panels and also look at the design element of the TFT LCD monitor to take full advantage of the benefits available with respect to style and aesthetics.

Consumer Trends: "With changing customer needs and demands for better high tech products we forecast that the market will move to the premium segment in India. Vendors who have been focusing only on the price as a tool and selling sub-standard technologies will stand to lose out as the customer becomes more educated and tech demanding," Anand explained.

Hitachi's Jain feels "Our products are positioned towards the premium segment of the market, since our products have, a distinct technology edge over the competition."

While the issue of where the current segment of the majority of consumers is debatable, what is undoubtedly clear is the fact that an increasing number of people are buying newer and more versatile displays, albeit more expensive ones, as opposed the old trend of sticking to the most cost-effective solution that did the job, the bare minimum.

The Future: How is this industry going to change and could rapid advances cause stronger competition between vendors?

Bhushan points out, "Technology war is not new to this industry, it is a regular phenomenon and is going to continue for ever. We see the most robust and reliable winning the race, it is not a question of a feature or two here and there, it is a more to do with life of the equipment and merit on total cost of ownership."

We can look forward to products based on new technologies becoming available to us sooner than it used to and at cheaper prices. Plasma screens have been around for quite some time now but its widespread use is a fairly recent occurrence; a time lapse we can hope to see reduced in future. As is typical of the advent of new tech know-how, there would also be a reduction of price in older models which may be the only viable choices for startups and entrepreneurs requiring economical business solutions.

Anirudh Dutt
aneroid@gmail.com