For those following such things Pacific Media in Menlo Park, California reports that the month-to-month (April and May 2007) increase in flat panel sales was only 1% in volume but 4% in total income. Why the disparity between volume and revenue? Consumers are stepping up to buy the more expensive 1080p models. Given that 1080p now accounts for a third of all flat display volume demand for distributed signals in 1080p cannot be far behind. Charlie Rhodes, a legendary engineer who ran the technical arm of the Advanced Television Testing Laboratories, said some 20 years ago that the old analog standard would not be replaced by a single new high-def standard. Time has proved him to be unerringly right as there are now a plethora of standards ranging from being lower than NTSC to the highest attainable. In "Charlie's future world" each customer will pay for the level of signal and programming quality they can afford. With 1080p being purchased with one thing only in mind -- image quality -it may be time to ask just who will lead the delivery of these higher quality signals? Will that remain a Blu ray or HD-DVD spinning disks task? Or, will cable, telephone, and DBS signal providers find economic justification for doing it? _Dale

Pacific Media Reports Flat Sales for Consumer Flat Panel HDTVs in May Overall revenues grew on the strength of shift to 1080p LCD models

Menlo Park, California, USA - July 18, 2007. Pacific Media Associates, the global market information experts on large-screen displays, reports that unit sales for consumer flat panel televisions in North America increased just 1% over April 2007 sales. Their Consumer Flat Panel Display Sell-Through Tracking Service report also shows that revenues were up nearly 4%, even though prices for individual models were generally down for the month. "Revenues increased for the month because there was a distinct shift in what consumers bought in May," according to Rosemary Abowd, Vice President of Pacific Media Associates. "The price of 45" to 49" 1080p LCD models fell 5% in May, which helped boost the segment to third place behind the 30" to 34" WXGA LCD and 50" to 54" WXGA plasma segments. Across all sizes, one out of every three flat panel televisions sold in May was a 1080p model. Since these models cost more than lower resolution models, revenues grew faster than unit sales in May." Sony reaped the benefits of the demand for 1080p LCD HDTVs, capturing 22% of the unit market share and 28.1% of the revenue market share, claiming first place in both categories. Samsung was second in unit market share with 16.7% Pioneer took second place in revenue market share with 23.1%, largely on the continued strength of their Elite PRO-1140HD which was the top-selling model again in May. The average street price for this model fell 7% in May, reaching $2,800 which is 40% lower than it was two months ago. Note: Data cited here is based on a sample of retailers and resellers, and is subject to sampling error.