Audio Video News

Falling prices and improved availability of programming combined to boost sales of high-definition television sets by 50% during the past year, according to figures recently published by Port Washington, NY-based research firm NPD Group.

For the year-long period ended September 30, more than 2.4 million HDTV sets were sold in the US, NPD researchers determined. The figure is 50% more than were sold in the previous year and three times the number sold two years ago. Although the largest flat-panel sets are still expensive - $20,000 for a 63" plasma display panel (PDP), for example - prices have dropped considerably for many types of TVs, particularly CRTs, (picture tube or "direct view" sets). 26" HD-capable CRTs can be found as low as $599, a sharp decline from the $1000 price niche they occupied last year.

The hottest technologies are flat-panel LCDs and PDPs; manufacturers are scrambling to get production up for both types. As supplies increase, prices should drop month-by-month as they have over the past year, thereby fueling the public's seemingly insatiable demand for the products. Sales of HDTVs should also generate plenty of collateral sales in satellite receivers, HD decoders, DVD players and home theater audio equipment.

The growing mania for HD hardware has been driven to a large extent by the popularity of DVD, and also by the expanding availability of HD programming, available over-the-air in large metropolitan areas, via cable systems and satellite services such as DirecTV and Echostar. Cable providers like Comcast are aggressively pushing HD packages for just a few dollars above the standard subscription fee, and satellite services are continually expanding their offerings. New York-based Cablevision recently launched its own nationwide HD satellite service called Voom, offering 39 high-def channels. A Voom system costs about $750 for the hardware, including a rooftop dish antenna and receiver, plus a monthly subscription fee. Voom needs to sign up about 2 million subscribers to reach break-even, according to analysts.

As many as 9 million homes could have HD-ready sets by the end of this year, according to an estimate made by Adi Kishore, entertainment strategies analyst with the Yankee Group in Boston. But due to confusion among consumers as to what is or is not HD, only about 3.2 million will have the decoders needed to view truly high-definition programming.