flat-panels
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Chi Mei Optoelectronic votes "no" to cutting LCD production
With practically every other flat-panel maker out there cutting back production like it's going out of style, it's no shock that rumors were a-flowin' that LCD maker Chi Mei Optoelectronic would soon be following suit. After suffering a $125 million loss in Q3 and facing a grim Q4, the outfit has proudly proclaimed that it has zero intentions of shutting down factories or otherwise lowering production in order to counter the slump. 'Course, CMO did trim output by around 20% last quarter, but in an official filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, it clearly stated that it currently had "no plans to close factories as reported by the media." So, what exactly is it doing? Encouraging employees to take unpaid vacations. Interesting.[Image courtesy of UberGizmo]
Global TV shipments up 6% year-over-year to 53 million units
Open wide -- it's time for your latest dose of DisplaySearch numbers! The latest figures from the research firm have found that global TV shipments are up (imagine that, right?) 6% year-over-year and 11% from Q2 to Q3 2008. In fact, over 53 million units were shipped, though it's hard to say how many are still collecting dust in warehouses given the downturn in consumer spending. As predicted, the research points out that Q4 isn't likely to be nearly as rosy, but if we're sticking to last quarter, you should know that China had the largest quarterly gain at 15%, while North American shipments rose 12% year-over-year. We've spoon fed you the highlights, and per usual, we'll leave the nitty-gritty to the number crunchers in attendance.[Via Digital Home, image courtesy of ZoneaUnlimted]
Sharp plans to cut LCD panel production by as much as 10%
Sharp hasn't cut production in its Kameyana plant since it began operating in 2004, but it's dangerously close to dialing things back a bit. As with practically every other flat-panel manufacturer out there, Sharp is feeling the pinch of the worldwide economic crisis, and as demand weakens for LCD TVs / LCD monitors, it's looking like now is an opportune time to slow things down. Purportedly, the company is considering scaling back production by as much as 10% from mid-December, though it is still expecting to reach sales of 11 million LCD TVs in the year ending March 2009.
Yamaha's YSP-800, YSP-1000 virtual 5.1 sound projectors
Flat panel speakers to match flat panel HDTVs are all the rage these days. And why shouldn't they be? It's no fun to have a nice Panny plasma hanging on the wall with those big Fisher speakers ya got back in college. Yamaha came out with a single-speaker solution back in September that allowed flat panel owners to get quality surround sound from just one speaker and now it's time for a refresh on the line with the YSP-800 and YSP-1000.This time around they come in a variety of color...er...shades of black. If the black one doesn't look good with your silver TV, just pick up the silver one. These units have built-in amps and you can plug your DVD player and HDTV receiver into them just like any other surround sound receiver. The YSP-800 is 32-inches wide and pushes 82 watts, while big brother YSP-1000 is 42-inches and has 120 watts of simulated surround sound.Would you consider putting one of these speakers under your flat panel? We would.
