CEA Reports Digital TV Products Hit One Million Unit Milestone In Q1

ARLINGTON, VA. — Just more than 1 million digital television products have been sold since the launch of the DTV transition, according to the Consumer Electronics Association's unit sales to dealer records.

The announcement followed the release of CEA's first-quarter DTV unit sales reports that indicated 234,558 DTV sets and monitors had been sold into retail stores during the first three months of the year, a gain of 158 percent over the same period in 2000.

CEA numbers now show that more than half of all big-screen TV sales are DTV sets or monitors.

The association said direct-view sets and displays accounted for 23 percent of DTV sales; projection TV sets and displays accounted for 77 percent; and 86 percent of DTV sales were "HDTV capable."

CEA said 32 percent of DTV displays featured the 16:9 widescreen form factor, while 68 percent had the more traditional 4:3 ratio.

Regarding the percentage of cumulative big-screen DTV models sold into retail by screen size, CEA said 38 percent measured 49-inches and smaller; 27 percent measured 50 inches to 54 inches; 16 percent measured 55 inches to 59 inches; and 20 percent measured 60 inches and larger.

Factory dollar volume for DTV sets and monitors during the first quarter of 2001 topped $462 million. CEA said digital products now comprise nearly 50 percent of the total number of products sold in the big-screen segments.

During the first quarter, sales of widescreen DTV projection displays were up 150 percent over the first three months of 2000, CEA said, and approximately 15 DTV set-top decoders are now sold for every 100 DTV sets or monitors.

Also, average wholesale prices of DTV sets and displays have dropped 44 percent from an average of $3,500 in 1998 to $1,955 in January 2001.

CEA estimated that wholesale prices of DTV sets and displays will fall to $1,500 by this time next year, if current trends continue.