| USDC Press Release |
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USDC’S NEW YORK DISPLAY INDUSTRY INVESTMENT CONFERENCE REVEALS RAPIDLY CHANGING DYNAMICS OF FPDs FOR DIGITAL TV MARKET Manufacturers Getting Ready To Battle For DTV Market Share; New York, N.Y., March 17, 2005 -The consensus stemming from USDC’s 10 th Annual New York Display Industry Investment Conference was that digital television (DTV) manufacturing dynamics are rapidly changing as OEMs and private label companies seek to gain a share of the $10.2 billion U.S. TV market. This was evident from presentations delivered by FPD industry analysts DisplaySearch, IDC and Insight Media, as well as liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturer Samsung, at the conference held earlier this week. Co-sponsored by Needham & Company, Inc., this summit drew more than 200 participants to hear presentations from 27 publicly-traded and private companies competing within the FPD space. The experts predict that consumers will enjoy three choices in new flat screen DTV sets: rear projection TVs (RPTVs), plasma display panels (PDPs) TVs and LCD TVs. RPTV can easily scale to larger sizes, and will provide the large TV set that sports and movie enthusiasts crave. PDP and LCD TVs, by contrast, can be mounted on the family room wall or incorporated into stand-alone pedestals. 50-inch RPTVs, 42-inch PDPs and LCDs greater than 23-inches are now the preferred dimensions for U.S. consumers, but the trend is moving toward even larger screen sizes with even higher resolutions, such as 1080p resolution. Market data from IDC indicated that, while consumers are welcoming the new DTV technology, buying decisions are now even more complex, and require greater research prior to purchase. Jim Sanduski, vice president of marketing for Samsung’s visual display product group, stated that DTV penetration would rise from 14 percent in 2004 to more than 65 percent in 2008. But, the newer, larger RPTV, PDP and LCD DTV sets will cost significantly more than the $624 average paid for the current product mix, which is heavily weighted towards older, cathode ray tube (CRT) TV models. For FPD manufacturers, the DTV market will be a significant driver of increased demand for FPD TVs, and ultimately FPDs. Increasing display yields will be vital in maintaining profitability and continually reducing costs to the consumer. “It’s very clear from the presentations from Orbotech and Photon Dynamics that increased inspection and repair of panels, both in production and prior to shipment, can result in savings of millions of dollars for the FPD factory lines,” stated Dr. M. R. Pinnel, USDC’s chief technical officer. “This is due to the high percentage of materials and components that have to be scrapped in a defective FPD, which can amount to almost 70 percent of the cost of the entire display.” McKim & Company LLC, a private investment bank, sponsored an Innovation Corridor at the USDC and Needham & Company, Inc. conference. Companies making presentations included Fusion Optix, Imaging Systems Technology, Novalux, OTB Engineering and Symmorphix. Products on display from these companies ranged from plasma microspheres (Imaging Systems Technology) to laser-based lighting sources for projection displays (Novalux). Interest from these and other start-up firms demonstrates the continuing interest in participating in the $60-billion FPD market, expected to reach the $100 billion mark by 2010. About the U.S. Display Consortium About Needham & Company, Inc. Media Contacts: Stacey Voorhees, MCA
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