The recent shortage of 32-inch LCD panels has gifted PDPs of the same class with a strong outlook for TV applications in 2008, but industry observers claim the boom in 32-inch PDPs may not last beyond this year.

LG Electronics is seeing strong shipments of its 32-inch PDPs, which chiefly target the China market, as TV vendors turn to the plasma alternative amid a shortage of 32-inch LCD panels.

With LCD panel makers predicting the 32-inch LCD shortage to continue in 2008, some observers have predicted that 32-inch PDP shipments may grow to 2.5 million units in 2008. In 2007, total PDP TV shipments were an estimated 12 million units, and in 2008, the volume will grow to 15.5 million units, according to the observers.

But other industry watchers have pointed out that as the next-generation plants of LCD panel makers will come online starting in 2009, 32-inch PDPs will again face strong competition. The eighth-generation (8G) lines of LG.Philips LCD, AU Optronics (AUO), and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) all are suitable for 32-inch cuts, and Samsung Electronics has already started putting out 32-inch LCD panels at its 8G line, the observers said.

An 8G glass substrate measuring 2,200mm×2,500mm can be cut into 18 32-inch LCD panels, and so the 32-inch LCD panel shortage will be eased when more 8G lines ramp up production, the observers said. In turn, the market for 32-inch PDPs is expected to start shrinking beginning in 2009, the observers remarked.