More than one million DTV units have been sold this year by manufacturers to dealers in the United States as of May, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
The CEA reported in late June that year-to-date sales stood at 1,073,503 units an increase of 59 percent from the same period the previous year. In May, manufacturers shipped dealers 239,895 units, a 62 percent increase from the previous May.
Since DTV’s introduction, nearly six million units have been shipped to dealers. The CEA regards DTV sets and monitors to be able to display at least 480p and in sets with tuners having the ability to receive and decode over-the-air ATSC broadcast signals.
The CEA projects that four million DTV units will be sold by year's end, 5.4 million the next, eight million in 2005 and 10.5 million in 2006.
The release of the figures comes on the heels of an announcement by the association that it will expand this fall’s HDTV Update program to include six more DTV markets. The program is a breakfast forum that allows local cable operators, broadcasters, DTV retailers and other DTV leaders to meet to discuss how to raise the public’s awareness of HDTV.
The six cities added to the program are: Denver (Sept. 16), St. Louis (Sept. 17), Orlando (Sept. 30), Cleveland (Oct. 1), San Diego (Oct. 15) and Sacramento (Oct. 16).
"Sales of HDTV products, wider availability of HDTV on cable and satellite, and more programming confirms that this transition is moving ahead full steam," said Jim Barry, CEA media spokesperson who leads the HDTV Update presentations. "Nonetheless, there still is a great deal of confusion, especially among consumers. Bringing together these parties at the local level will work towards reducing that confusion and help to keep the momentum building."
Broadcasters wishing to attend should contact Bob Loder at 908-889-8300 ext. 121 or e-mail him at bloder@goldenloader.com.
