This IDC study examines the worldwide market for plasma display panels (PDPs) and includes a forecast for 2005-2009. The next year and some of 2007 may represent that last opportunity for very large format plasma to glean pricing premiums with 1080p resolution, given its slim form factor advantage over RPTV and its absolute size lead over LCD TV. Post-2007, however, 42in. high-definition (HD) PDPs will be full commodity products, shooting it out with LCD TV at that size, and with 50in. 768p diving toward the mid to low $1,000 range. For these products it is essential that the feature sets are squarely competitive with or superior to other LCD TVs, such as a litany of HDMI inputs and even bundled mounts with free installation.

"We expect technology maturation and aggressive price points to continue to challenge the plasma market through 2006, ultimately compressing the brand tiers to just legacy consumer electronics (CE) powers and everyone else. The coming rollout of 1080p represents the last bastion of price premiums plasma can impose on the marketplace, depending, of course, on the time frame with which LCD will get very large and hit 1080p itself." ? Eric Haruki, research manager, IDC's Displays and Projectors research