Digital Television Choices Expand
• Plasma TV sales to grow 68 percent in 2005.
• Tuner mandate to make digital direct-view CRT TV sales rise 862 percent.
• Percentage of digital projection TVs to decline in 2005.
• Digital front projection DTVs integrate new features.

While 2003 and 2004 witnessed the introduction of a wide array of fixed-pixel digital television systems, 2005 is expected to be a breakout year for the consumer adoption of these high-tech devices. The category includes one of the hottest classes of television displays in years – flat-panel TVs, also know as plasma displays and liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions. An onslaught of new Asian flat-panel TV brands has contributed to rapid price cuts, making the once prohibitively expensive devices come closer to mainstream reality. In addition, a wide array of next-generation rear projection televisions driven by micro-display technologies, including digital light processing (DLP) systems, LCD panels and liquid crystal on silicon chips, is expected to make big inroads toward the eventual replacement of standard CRT-driven rear projection televisions and even direct-view CRTs in coming years.

Aspect Ratios Bring New TV Dimensions:
Many of the first DTV monitors sold had screens conforming to a traditional 4:3 aspect ratio, commonly used in analog TV sets. But widescreen displays have gained ground in recent years. In 2004, widescreen TVs accounted for 71 percent of all DTV purchases. However, that percentage is expected to drop slightly to 70 percent, as new classes of smaller and less-expensive DTVs with fully integrated tuners are introduced to the market to conform to the FCC’s scheduled digital tuner mandate. Many of these more mainstream DTV sets will have screens with 4:3 aspect ratios and standard-definition or enhanced-definition resolution.

In CEA nomenclature, a 4:3 DTV display can be classified as an HDTV set or monitor if it is able to fit the full width of an HDTV image with full top-to-bottom resolution inside the screen. This process is often called “letterboxing”. This presents a wide picture with black bands at the top and bottom of the frame.

Source: CEA Market Research, 1/05

Widescreen sets will stretch the letterbox frame to fill the screen without showing the bands. In addition to HDTV broadcasts, various standard definition programs are available in letterbox format. This is often found on DVD movies. Another process frequently used in the production of DVD titles is anamorphic squeezing. This technique gets 33 percent more vertical information in a widescreen picture. Anamorphic processing compresses the wide picture shape of a film frame into a 4:3 image area.

On 16:9 aspect ratio displays, the horizontal is stretched to the full width of the set with minimal distortion. When anamorphic images are presented on 4:3 sets, the characters appear tall and thin, so the image must be corrected by squeezing the vertical.

Due to the acceleration of the FCC’s digital tuner mandate spreading to half of all TVs with screens measuring 24- to 35-inches this summer, CEA forecasts factory sales of digital direct-view CRT receivers exploding 862.2 percent to 9.8 million units in 2005. This will make the digital direct-view CRT category the sales volume leader for the first time. Average pricing is expected to decline from $754 to $636. This follows 2004, when 1.02 million units were sold, up from 0.7 million in 2003.

Projection TVs Pace DTV Sales:
Since the launch of digital television broadcasting, projection TVs have stood as the leading segment among overall digital television sales. More than 46 percent of DTVs sold in 2004 were projection TV systems. However, as DTV sales explode in 2005, rear projection DTV sales (the biggest segment of the projection TV market) are forecast to decline 6.1 percent from 3.3 to 3.1 million units, according to CEA estimates. This is expected due to increased sales of digital direct-view CRT TVs resulting from the next phase of the FCC’s DTV tuner mandate and a predicted explosion in flat-panel TV sales fostered by significantly lower price points. Rear-projection DTV models are available in two basic configurations. The most popular are one-piece, self-contained rear projection systems with screen sizes ranging from 40-inches to 80-inches.

Alternative, two-piece projection systems employ either front-or rear-firing projectors that can sit on small tables or are permanently mounted on ceilings to cast projected video images on separate video screens. These systems produce pictures of 100-inches and larger.

Many rear-projection models come complete with built-in surround sound, multi-channel audio systems that create a home theater experience in one unit. Because rear-projection sets can be too large for some homes, manufacturers are producing slimmer cabinets. The size of some 40-inch models has shrunk so much that they are sold as table models.

To date, most TV projectors - front and rear - use a combination of three cathode ray tubes (CRTs) projecting images in the red, green and blue color spectrums to produce large full-color pictures when the three separate images converge on the screen. Various alternatives now further reduce cabinet size, eliminate problems related to the misalignment of the CRTs and produce brighter and sharper images.

So called microdisplay rear projection HDTV sets and monitors – those based on LCD, DLP or LCoS integrated circuit technology (see below) – accounted for 19 percent of all DTV sales in 2004, according to CEA estimates. However, CEA forecasts the percentage of microdisplay models will drop to 10 percent of overall DTV purchases in 2005 as demand builds for flat-panel displays. Due to growth in demand for microdisplay-based rear projection DTVs in 2004, the average retail price for digital rear projection TVs rose to $1,609, from $1505 in 2003. Pricing is projected to decline again in 2005, however, to $1,538.

LCD Projection:
Projectors based on liquid crystal display (LCD) panels use tiny LCD chips as light valves. These models, now found in front-and rear-screen configurations, are generally much smaller than their CRT counterparts. Some front-firing models are so small that they are used as portable TVs and can be carried in a brief-case.

Traditionally, LCD devices have been built as a sandwich between two glass plates, with liquid crystal in between. Very high-resolution displays are generally built using thin film transistor (TFT) technology.

Although larger LCD panels can be used as direct-view displays, the technology also can be adapted to produce larger screen sizes in front and rear projection systems. Most employ three small LCD panels carrying images in the red, green and blue spectrums. The projected image of each panel converges into a single full-color picture.

LCD projectors use high-brightness bulbs and can be adjusted to throw a three-foot to 10-foot display on movie screens. Image resolution can be affected by limitations in the number of pixels that can fit on an LCD panel, but recent technological advances in the shape and configuration of pixels have improved resolution and brightness. Additionally, new breakthroughs in reflective panels improve resolution, contrast and color purity.

DLP Projection:
Another alternative is the two-piece system using digital micro mirror device (DMD), light valve technology. These displays, called DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors, are based on DMD semiconductors with surfaces covered with thousands of tiny-hinged mirrors that move many times a second to produce brighter and sharper pictures than most CRT- and LCD-based systems. The reflected image from the DL is projected through a revolving color wheel of red, green and blue filters or using new scrolling color techniques to produce a full color image.

LCoS Projection:
Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) was developed as an alternative way to use liquid crystals in high-resolution imaging. LCoS devices use only one glass substrate, and employ a silicon surface for the back of the display. Silicon processing technology provides an efficient means of patterning several million pixels and their related drivers on a one-inch square section of crystal. Pixels are coated typically with a reflective aluminum layer, and a polyamide alignment layer.

Three-chip LCoS systems produce the red, green and blue color spectrums that combine to produce a full-color image on the screen.

Single-chip LCoS systems project the image through a color wheel or using scrolling bands of red, green and blue produced by a spinning prism array to produce the full color image.

Front Projectors Pick Up Pace:
A growing segment of the high-end home theater video display market is coming from front projectors. Once viewed strictly as options for the ultra elite, the category has been shifting more to mainstream audio/video distribution channels as unit sizes and prices shrink.

Source: Quixel Research

According to the market research firm, Quixel, the consumer home theater front projector market sold 199,574 units, up 204 percent from the previous year. Quixel forecasts the home theater front projector market to climb 57.5 percent to 314,449 units in 2005.

New models are fully optimized for the consumer market, with most capable of supporting a native widescreen aspect ratio, 720p and 1080i HDTV resolution compatibility, and manufacturers' suggested retail prices starting under $3,000 for some LCD-based models.

Digital light processing (DLP) projectors represent more than half of all units. Quixel market research reported that DLP front projectors dominated the consumer front projector field with a 69.74 percent market share in 2004, and will continue to pace the market in 2005. CRT projectors, once the dominant segment, are now a minor segment of the business and dropping steadily, due in part to their large bulk size, high prices and set-up difficulty.

Front Projectors Take on New Forms in 2005:
In 2005 the front projector category is getting a makeover, bringing in a variety of new designs from combo products to ultra-compact cabinets.

A number of products slated for market entry in the later part of the year include combo DVD player/front projectors. These models, which are offered at relatively inexpensive price points compared to other front projectors, are targeted typically at families. While compact front projectors are nothing new to the category, several manufacturers showed units so small they could fit in pocket. These tiny projectors, which are intended primarily for business applications that require portability, can weigh as little as 15 ounces and will sell for less than $600.

Another new development in front projector design includes lighting produced by three light emitting diodes (LEDs) instead of typical bulbs. LEDs use less electricity, produce less heat and have longer life spans than conventional bulbs.

Flat-Panel TV Sales Accelerate:
Some of the most popular video display technologies employ large, thin, flat panels that deliver a movie theater experience while taking up less room in a house. Once relegated to commercial and institutional applications, declining prices have enabled these flat-panel displays to become virtual mainstream products.

The flat-panel TV segment is comprised of plasma display panels and LCD TV screens. Due to rapidly declining prices, it is expected to be one of the DTV category's biggest growth segments in 2005.

As more retail stores added flat-panel TV departments and the ranks of flat-panel manufacturers grew in 2004, industry sales swelled. Sales of plasma TVs grew 149 percent from 342,000 to 853,000 units in 2004 and are expected climb 67.9 percent to 1.4 million units in 2005, according to CEA estimates.

CEA predicts factory dollar volume for plasma displays to reach nearly $3.5 billion for 2005, up from $2.5 billion last year. LCD TV sales during 2005 will total $3 billion up from $2 billion in 2004. Sales of LCD TVs will rise 49 percent from 2.6 million units in 2004 to 3.8 million in 2005, as the average price of an LCD TV climbs to $799 due to stepped up sales of larger screen sizes.

Consumers are fascinated primarily by the form factor of flat-panel displays. Measuring just four-inches deep, these often large and thin panels can be hung on walls like framed pictures.

Plasma Displays:
Plasma sets consist of sealed-glass envelopes filled with rows of thousands of small individually charged chambers. Each chamber holds a mixture of neon and xenon gases that discharge to activate brightly glowing phosphors. The result is a sharp picture that can be viewed anywhere within a 160-degree angle, vertically and horizontally.

Source: CEA Market Research, 1/05

Because production costs are high, the first plasma TVs to reach the consumer market were priced at more than $12,000 for a 42­inch screen size with EDTV­level resolution. But entry prices for the same performance level are now less than $2,000. Meanwhile, prices on HDTV­level panels also have declined, with models starting less than $4,000. Plasma screen sizes vary from 32­inches to more than 60­inches, with the bulk of sales in the 42­inch screen sizes. Virtually all plasma panels are manufactured with a widescreen aspect ratio

LCD TVs:
In 1971, the first liquid crystal displays (LCD) were demonstrated publicly and accepted quickly. LCDs use organic substances that reflect light when voltage is applied. The liquid crystal display consists of a liquid suspended between two glass or plastic panels. Crystals in this suspended substance are aligned naturally parallel with one another, allowing light to pass through the panel. When electric current is applied, the crystals change orientation and block light instead of allowing it pass through, turning the crystal region dark. Initially, LCDs were monochromatic and were mostly used in calculators and wrist watches, but continued development during the past 30 years produced highly efficient full color displays in ever increasing screen sizes.

Today's LCD technology used in direct-view monitors for television and PC monitors are identified usually as active matrix, thin film transistor (TFT) or dual scan displays. LCD TVs slated for market in 2005 are offered in screen sizes from 15-inches to 65W-inches. Resolution levels vary from entry models with 640x480 pixels (EDTV) to 1920x1080 pixels (HDTV). Because LCD, like plasma panels, are digital fixed-pixel devices, imaging lines are displayed progressively on the screen, and are not broken up into two  interlaced halves, as is typical of conventional CRT displays. This reduces picture artifacts, particularly in static graphic material.

New LCD Developments:
Although most direct-view LCDs to date have relied on cold-cathode fluorescent lamps as backlighting to illuminate images, a number of manufacturers will introduce LCD TVs in 2005 that use red, green and blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) as back-lights. Typically, these designs use seven strings of LEDs, each containing 26 green, 26 red and 13 blue diodes, or 455 in all. The technology produces very pure white levels and extremely vibrant colors.

Includes both analog and digital flat panel LCD televisions. Source: CEA Market Research, 1/05

Another new LCD development for 2005 called “ClearLCD technology,” uses an array of 10 horizontal cold-cathode fluorescent lamps that are turned on and off sequentially from the top of the screen to the bottom at the same rate as video frames are displayed (60Hz). The delivered benefit is an increased viewing angle and smoother fast motion reproduction.

LCD and Plasma Collide:
Continuing trends in flat-panel TV manufacturing to make plasma panels smaller than 42-inches (the smallest plasma display screen size in 2005 will be 32 inches) and LCD panels larger than 30-inches (the largest LCD TV screen size in 2005 will be 65-inches) are moving the two technologies toward an inevitable collision. As the screen sizes over lap, consumers will purchase a TV panel that presents the best picture for the money. Today, plasma panels continue to have a significant cost advantage over very large screen LCD TVs, but LCD technology produces a picture with exceptional color saturation and requires less power to operate. Meanwhile, prices rapidly are declining for both technologies, and plasma manufacturers have developed technologies to extend the lifespan of their panels many years under normal use.