why are 20" and bigger LCD flat panel monitors so expensive?

**breaker021** · 08-13-2006, 10:12 AM

I bought a 19" dell flat panel for only $210 but they have it on their site for like $250-260... the 20.1" or whatever the next model up is from dell was like $400+.... they have a 24" also for north of $600.... why are the SLIGHTLY larger screens SO HIGH in price as compared to like the 19"...? any ideas?

I'm asking because i initially wanted to put a 24" lcd in the back of my xb... but after seeing the price, i said **** that... now i bought the 19" and that's whats going in the back... ;]
- sh00k

**FC3S** · 08-13-2006, 11:04 AM

supply and demand i suppose?

most crt monitors that size are hella expensive, and most people buying lcds for the first time, want something that costs the same and was around the same size as their crt (so my experience shows)

iunno, thats my experience, i could be wrong though

**BDVirus** · 08-13-2006, 11:43 AM

the reason bigger is more expenseive is b/c of the cost to make them. with a 15 in LCD you might have 1280x1024 pixels, on a 20.1 in you have 1600x1200. the problem comes in that when they test it they cant have any more then usually 5 pixels that are "stuck". 1600*1200=1,920,000 then 3 colors per pixel (think of leds, they only can make one color, so they have to have 3 to create an entire color spectrum, the 3 primary colors) so 1,920,000*3= 5,760,000 sub pixels. Out of all these you can only have less then 10 "stuck" on or off. On a 1280x1024 you have 600,000 LESS pixels (1.8 million subpixels).

LCD's have come down ALOT in price recently, and they are still going down. 20 in LCD's used to be close to 1000 not too long ago.

**breaker021** · 08-13-2006, 12:07 PM

^^^ Cool breakdown, dude, I didn't know that... Yeah they really have come down in price... I was even thinking about getting two 19" lcds for the price of a single 20.1" dell (in addition to like $30 or so...)... but i think 1 will do for now...

I see tons of HUGE tv LCDs that people are selling on the newyork craigslist. I saw someone selling a 42" plasma for only a grand and the person was desperate. I considered going to his place and offering 600-700 in cash on the spot but i dont like TVs so i didn't do that ;]

Since I moved to my apartment over 6 years ago, i still dont have a tv til this day (by choice, fyi)... lol - and NO tv card either!
- sh00k

**craigl33** · 08-13-2006, 12:21 PM

cuz they're hot. just wait a decade or so.

**breaker021** · 08-13-2006, 12:24 PM

A 19" is also hot but adding $200+ to the price simply to go to 20.1" is what doesnt make sense to me... Naturally, the larger screen is more money but the difference in price shouldn't be a huge night-and-day type difference... ya feel me? l0l
- sh00k

**Jahntassa** · 08-13-2006, 04:56 PM

Gotta be something different in the manufacturing process. Could be something to do with the toughness of keeping the crystals in the LCD working correctly with the larger size. The jump makes sense.

Afterall, how much does a 30" LCD television cost vs. a 19" LCD monitor?

**FC3S** · 08-13-2006, 07:12 PM

then what about this?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/119921-1/article.html

**breaker021** · 08-13-2006, 10:33 PM

I guess that comparing screen sizes is like comparing a 300 gig hard drive and a 500 gig hard drive... the price jumps are big between the two but at least in the hard drive scenario, you get something very noticible... much more hard drive space...

Between a 19" and a 20.1" lcd, sure, you do get a bigger display... but the difference in price is much higher than the hard drive example above.... no? whats the disparity?
- sh00k