We picked up a story last week that cable maker Monster (Sunnyvale, CA; www.monstercable.com) is forming a strategic partnership with ultrawideband technology (UWB) provider Tzero to develop flat-panel TV installation solutions incorporating wireless video distribution. The group said they will target the CE market, going after the "do-it-yourself" customer looking to install a flat-panel TV with no connection wires to mess with.

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor
Projection Monthly

While the idea seems interesting, we got in touch with Premier Mounts (Anaheim, CA; www.mounts.com) a 30-year veteran in the display mounting business to get their take on the concept. Jim Hall, vp of marketing for the company said he believes that while integrating wireless HD into mounts could be a good thing, he is reserving judgment to see the outcome not only in the display quality-but the mount design and material quality as well.

Hall believes this could be more of a segmentation strategy on the part of Monster and Tzero than a trend in the mount industry overall. "We’re more likely to see the technology move to a system-on-chip solution that is integrated into a send/receive box and even integrated into the display itself" Hall said referring to the flat panel displays shown by Samsung and Toshiba at CES this past January (see Projection Monthly Feb-07 issue).

"The value-add that a wall or ceiling mount company provides is in giving the customer a rock solid dedicated solution with the highest quality fabrication, design and finishing" Hall added. In discussing mounting trends one thing that came up was how the lowering ASPs for flat panels is affecting the mount business.

"Rapid price erosion has had the effect of driving up the size of the flat panel screen a customer can afford. The price of a 37-inch last year, will almost get you into a 50-inch LCD or plasma today." Hall emphasized. "And there is a direct correlation between screen size and the likelihood a customer will use a wall mount solution." According to Hall.

The company has no hard data on mounting attach rates, but they have "backed-into" the number believing it is about 30% industry wide. The industry will sell 4-6 million mounts in 2007 and that number is consistent with the 20M unit number of flat-panel sets CEA expects to ship in the US this year.

Another trend the company sees precipitated by the rapid price decline is an uptick in flat panel display manufacturers buying OEM mounts. Premier is one of the largest in this field supplying more than 20 OEM customers with mounting options for flat panel sets. "As manufacturers see erosion of profits due to price declines, they look to accessories like mounts to augment profits." Hall commented. "It’s a natural up sell for retailers" Hall continued, "the mount is usually one of the last things considered in the purchase decision, but retailers report it is the easiest to sell when attached to a flat panel buy decision."

There is also a rise in unknown brands entering the market according to Premier. At CES for example, Hall counted four new mount companies but none with the cachet of Monster. Hall believes that the cable company moving into this space will have an overall positive impact for the industry as a whole as it raises awareness of the solution, particularly on the retail sales floor. "I believe more brands getting into this space is better for the whole industry".

So the first jointly developed product from the Monster/Tzero collaboration is due this fall and will incorporate a wall-mounting bracket mated to Tzero’s wireless HDMI component. But we believe the jury is still out on display mounts integrating with wireless electronics. On the surface, mounting a flat panel anywhere in the room and not having to consider wiring options can be a big plus. But the Monster/Tzero solution is certainly not the only way to accomplish this, and with an average attach rate of 30% on traditional mounts, it will take a paradigm shift to move significant quantities of the new integrated mount to make this deal worthwhile.