2003 Record Year for DTV, According to CEA

Consumer electronics continues to be hot for retailers with the industry reporting that shipments to dealers totaled $96.3 billion in 2003, a two percent increase from 2002. The numbers look particularly good for DTV and high-definition equipment, with major increases in those product categories.

Manufacturers shipped nearly four million DTV products in 2003, with revenue from those products adding up to $6.3 billion -- representing a 56 percent increase in unit sales from 2002. Plasma monitors was just one of several sizzling product lines, with 2003 revenue nearly triple its 2002 numbers.

The consumer electronics industry now estimates that standalone DVD players are in 50 percent of U.S. homes and expect the number to climb significantly higher in 2004. Other product categories that did well in 2003 include LCD televisions and personal video recorders (PVRs), the latter of which jumped more than 200 percent from the previous year.