HDTV penetration in US households is climbing so steadily that it’s apparently no longer deemed necessary to mention the high-def part.
According to Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV Market Research for DisplaySearch, “HDTV has simply become TV, with nearly every consumer either owning or understanding the benefits of HDTV and desiring to become an owner”.
Posts Tagged: television
As a next-generation display technology, the first OLED (organic light emitting diode) screens were never going to come cheap.
For the introduction of the first OLED to the European market, Sony is said to be putting a €3,500 (US$5,000) price tag on its XEL-1 when it becomes available before Christmas.
Sony set the pace with the launch of its AM-OLED TV last year, now momentum appears to be growing among TV manufacturers in the race towards mass producing larger OLED screens.
LCD TV makers are introducing thinner models to compete with the flatter-than-flat OLEDs as other OLED products are making their way to market.
Sky+ HD was taken by 33,000 new customers in the UK over the last three months, pushing the premium high-definition PVR to a total customer base of nearly 500,000.
Publishing results for its full financial year, Sky said it had 8.98m subscribers in total with net customer additions over the last three months coming in ahead of analyst expectations at 92,000.
Demand for Full HD TVs is helping to offset the declining market value for UK consumer electronics products, according to a report from market research specialists GfK.
The total market for electrical goods fell in value for the first time for years in May, with A/V turnover down 7 per cent compared to the same period last year.
A lack of knowledge among US retail salespersons regarding recent improvements in plasma technology is blamed for the high proportion of recommendations given for LCD sets.
More than three times out of four, sales staff steer customers to a liquid-crystal display set rather than a plasma screen, according to a study by JD Power and Associates.
Based on the results of a mystery-shopper survey it carried out, analysts suggest that shop assistants don’t really know much about the differences between LCD and plasma.
The UK’s BBC has named a new controller of its HD channel briefed with attracting more viewers and increasing content
Danielle Nagler has been appointed head of BBC HD replacing Seetha Kumar who is moving to a new senior role within the corporation.
Nagler said it was a “critical time” for the channel and the technology – and for people making programmes.
NEC is banking on the world’s first chip that combines signal processors with memory that controls graphics, audio and other functions to double its sales of Blu-ray hardware in the next two years.
The company expects the EMMA3PF chip to raise its revenue from Blu-ray products to US$378 million in the year ending March 2011.
NEC plans to increase its share of Blu-ray products by offering deep price cuts, which other companies have started and are necessary for the market to grow.
Over a third of all US broadband users have watched at least one TV show on the Internet, according to a study conducted on behalf of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).
But the research found that while broadband users are increasingly turning to the web for their video content fix, 94 per cent still prefer to do their viewing on a television screen.
For cable and satellite networks concerned about the growing threat of online TV shows and movies, the survey provided some comfort.
Of those who watched online shows, 82 per cent did so because they had missed a specific programme on TV.
Based on this, the report points out the “critical importance of strong marketing for the initial TV showing".
Japan’s Matsushita is aiming to mass-produce 37-inch OLED televisions within three years in a move that could ignite the OLED market.
The Japanese trade daily, Sankei Shimbun, reports that the electronics giant – the parent of better-known sub-brand Panasonic – is putting the finishing touches on plans to mass-produce 37-inch OLED televisions within three years.
If the plans bear out, it would make Matsushita the first manufacturer producing OLED televisions over 30 inches in size, and could enable Matsushita to challenge Samsung for the top spot in the flat-screen television market.