El Segundo, Calif. - Vizio managed to take the top market share position in U.S. LCD TV shipments during the third quarter of 2010, while former category leader Samsung managed to hold onto its lead in overall TV display share after seeing renewed plasma growth, according to a study released by iSuppli late Friday.

According to the study, Vizio shipped 1.6 million LCD TVs in the third quarter, up 14.9 percent from 1.4 million in the second quarter.

This gave the U.S. LCD TV maker a 19.9 percent share, allowing it to surpass Samsung, to take the No. 1 rank.

Samsung's shipments declined by a slight 1.5 percent in the third quarter, leaving it with it a 17.7 percent share, iSuppli said.

Samsung remained the U.S. leader in overall flat-panel TV shipments (LCD TV and plasma combined), after shipping 1.82 million flat-panel sets in the quarter, up 0.2 percent from 1.81 million in the second quarter. Samsung held onto No. 1 with a 19.3 percent share of shipments in the period.

"Vizio in the third quarter managed to retake leadership in the U.S. LCD TV market based on strong shipments of sets equipped with LED backlighting," stated Riddhi Patel, iSuppli television systems principal analyst. "Consumer demand is rising rapidly for LED-backlit LCD TVs because of their thinner form factors, improved picture quality, better color saturation, lower power consumption and other green attributes -- along their with declining prices. This allowed Vizio to increase its LCD TV sales by 208,000 units in the third quarter compared to the second."

The last time Vizio held the top rank for LCD TV shipments was in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Samsung benefited from renewed growth in the plasma TV segment. The company saw a 7.2 percent increase in plasma set shipments in the third quarter, more than compensating for its LCD TV decline, iSuppli said.

Overall plasma TV shipments in the United States increased in the third quarter compared with the second because of renewed consumer interest due to aggressive pricing. Also, consumers are showing interest in the 50-inch and larger plasma TVs from premium brands that boast of features like built-in Internet connections and FullHD resolution at lower prices than comparable LCD TVs.

Overall, U.S. LCD TV shipments expanded in on a sequential basis in the third quarter sparked by a range of new model shipments.

Shipments amounted to 8.04 million units, up 8.1 percent from 7.4 million in the second quarter, iSuppli said.

However, in a worrying sign for the U.S. LCD TV market in 2010, shipments declined slightly compared with 8.09 million units in the third quarter of 2009, Patel observed.

"Sales promotions in the third quarter did not offer very aggressive price cuts, because pricing already was at low levels," Patel said. "This kept shipment levels flat compared to a year earlier, and contributed to a buildup of LCD TV inventory among retailers."