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What hot new video display technology grew in every quarter of 2010? Well, plasma isn't new, but aside from that, there's your answer.

"2010 was a great year for plasma TV panels," reports DisplaySearch. "Growth seems to be supply-limited."

Among TV brands, the biggest beneficiaries were Panasonic, Samsung, and LG, the remaining big names in plasma. Panasonic has 43.1 percent unit share. In terms of year-to-year growth, Samsung topped the other two brands at 37 percent.

Overall shipments jumped to 19.1 percent in 2010 after declining the previous year. Manufacturers are focusing on 50-inch sets as the most profitable. One place where the growth didn't come was in 1080p sets, "as consumers were still price sensitive," noted DisplaySearch, adding that Samsung introduced a 720p 50-incher.

Presumably this is good news for the plasma brands. In fact, Panasonic just posted a 24 percent rise in quarterly net profit, reports The Wall Street Journal. However, the company's TV division didn't contribute to that growth, having suffered undisclosed losses.