A broader market is sought as prices fall for the technology
With the profit margins on plasma televisions thinning as prices for the technology tumble, Philips Electronics is emerging as the latest consumer electronics company to push its high-end screens for use as public information displays.
Adtraxion is a new Philips solution that uses plasma screens as part of an electronic signage system, although what sets it apart from being just plain signage is the software, which offers centralised content management.
Kung Sing-cheng, Philips Electronics Hong Kong's senior business manager for multimedia displays, said that with prices of plasma screens falling, the technology had suddenly become affordable for use as signage in public areas.
'Plasma prices are dropping,' he said. 'You can now get up to 50-inch plasmas at quite reasonable prices.'
The average price of a 50-inch plasma television set is about $52,000.
The Adtraxion solution is based on a series of networked black boxes, each connected to a plasma television.