The North American digital television set market will grow to 7 million sets shipped to retailers in 2005, with a projected worldwide total of 26 million sets shipped, according to a report by Cahners In-Stat Group.
In areas where digital transmissions have begun, price reductions for DTV sets will help unit shipments to grow. Rear projection sets are expected to remain the most popular among U.S. consumers, with shipments of 16:9 ratio sets overtaking shipments of 4:3 sets in 2002. Notwithstanding DTV's protracted gestation period, Michelle Abraham, senior analyst with In-Stat's Multimedia Service, said "In our opinion, hitting 26 million units seven years after introduction qualifies DTV sets as a boom market, not a bust."