As with most industry sectors, there hasn't been an awful lot of incredibly great news flowing from LCD makers. Thankfully, that's changing this month, as a new DisplaySearch release shows the first increase in unit shipments and revenues since September of last year. By the numbers, we're looking at month-over-month growth of 23 percent, with large-area TLT LCD revenues reaching $2.96 billion. Of course, laptop PC and monitor panels still outsold panels for TVs, but not by a huge margin. As for the company breakdown in terms of overall LCD revenue, Samsung was predictably atop the pile with a 30.2 percent market share, while LG Display followed with 26.8 percent. For the rest of the figures, just give that read link a tap.

Not that we didn't see it coming, but it's still somewhat deflating to watch the dream die. Preliminary DisplaySearch numbers are showing that LCD TV shipments slipped year-over-year for the first time since this style of tracking began, though on the bright side, the decline was but a meager two percent. More specifically, shipments slipped from 8.9 million units in Q4 2007 to 8.7 million units this past quarter. Things look a touch grimmer when viewing all TV shipments, as those fell seven percent in North America to 10.7 million units in the same period. The crazy part? Shipments of plasma TVs increased 28 percent quarter-over-quarter and 10 percent year-over-year, and all the while, we're seeing PDP makers jump ship like the end is near. Ah well, more statistics and figures await those that love 'em in the read link below.

Research firm In-Stat is back with updated numbers on the amount of HDTV owners / HD programming consumers there are in the US, and needless to say, there's still quite the gap. The most recent report points out that the "number of US HDTV households, defined as households having both an installed HD-capable TV set and also receiving and watching HD programming, increased by almost 40% in 2008." That said, the growth rate could have been much, much larger. In America, there are over 39 million homes with an installed HDTV, yet just 22 million of those are tuning into HD programming. From a worldwide perspective, we are glad to see that HDTV households rose from 29 million at year-end 2007 to 36 million at year-end 2008, though In-Stat does note that it'll likely be 2011 before Europe hits the magical 10 million mark in HDTV households. Per usual, even more figures are waiting in the read link.

While many TV makers have rushed to announce that their future sets were Energy Star 3.0 compliant, there's apparently quite a few manufacturers out there with aways to go in the eco-friendly department. A new report from DisplaySearch has it that in 2008, just 20% of flat-panel display shipments had "green features," while that percentage should rise to 50% by 2011 and 70% by 2012. So, just what does a set have to do to be classified as "green?" It needs to meet one of the following conditions: use environmentally friendly components and materials, achieve lower power consumption by using new components or technologies, be compliant with environmental regulations such as waste disposal, use production processes that reduce energy and materials consumed, be completely or partially recyclable after useful life or use green or eco-friendly concepts in product design. Seriously, just one of those? Not too high a hurdle, guys.

[Via CEPro]

Connected TVs are being blasted out hot and heavy here at CES, so it's a good thing that early studies are showing quite a bit of consumer interest. New research carried out by Oregon Networks has discovered that 71% of respondents would prefer a media browser to be installed within their next HDTV, and if for some reason it didn't, 45% said they'd be inclined to download one while 29% "definitely would" download one. Researchers also found that online video portals such as YouTube and Hulu were seen as value-add inclusions, and having them baked into HDTVs would enable families to spend more time together enjoying the spoils of digital video. Moreover, those polled voiced their love for being able to access networked media around the home on their sets, which makes us wonder if either technophiles were intentionally asked or if the world really is swaying to appreciate media streaming.

So, here's an interesting take. ABI Research is forecasting that the amount of online programs watched on the TV (as in, not on the computer monitor) will grow from 563 million viewers in 2008 to 941 million by 2013. There's no doubt that web-based content is catching on, though we suspect it'll need to be easily piped to the traditional television set for those in past generations to really take it seriously. To that end, it's anticipated that operators as well as console manufacturers and the like will make it increasingly easier to access internet TV via Netflix, Hulu and related portals. Can you imagine a day when your favorite programs, even NFL games, are beamed directly to a website that's easily accessible via a web-to-TV liaison such as the ZvBox? We know, bandwidth is a serious issue, but the concept alone should be enough to make traditional MSOs sweat.

[Via VideoBusiness, image courtesy of ZatzNotFunny]

Or, at least that's the impression given off by Acentic's Top Five 2009 Trends for Hotel Television Technology. For those paying attention (and traveling often), lodging venues across the nation have been adding in high-def material at a rapid pace, and that's expected to continue into the new year. Additionally, research asserts that internet-derived material, more WiFi access, additional video-on-demand content and connection pods to link up guest sources will all be part of the shift. With the price of hotels these days, we can safely say we hope all of these changes come at a minimal cost -- and who knows, maybe we'll finally learn in 2009 why an Econo Lodge provides free internet access and a boutique hotel in the middle of everything has the nerve to charge extra.

No surprises here, but the analysts at DisplaySearch have evidently been working overtime in order to revise the 2009 forecast for LCD TV shipments. We're not particularly sure where the originals sat, but if these new numbers prove true, we'll see LCD TV revenue fall year-over-year for the first time in the history of LCD TV shipments. The updated report notes that key factors in the downturn are "reductions in forecast TV prices and revised forecasts for year-over-year shipment growth for LCD and PDP TVs in 2009, down by 7 and 6 points from previous, respectively." As of now, LCD TV revenues are slated to drop 16% year-over-year, with total TV revenues falling 18%. Get a few big-screen OLED TVs out for under two large, and we bet all that changes -- don't mind that we're asking for the impossible or anything.

With DirecTV launching HD service in Latin America, we'd say it's about time its residents realized that flat-panels are the wave of the future present. According to a fresh iSuppli report, the Latin American television market is expected to make a hasty and noticeable transition between now and 2012. Reportedly, LCD TV shipments to the region are set to rise and account for over 83% of the market in under four years; meanwhile, shipments of bulky CRT sets will decline to make up around 8% of the total market. The numbers are pretty baffling when you consider that CRTs held 77.4% of the market just last year, and it's actually rather scary to think where all of those soon-to-be-unwanted sets will end up.

ABI Research definitely put its thinking cap on for this one, as it recently found that wireless HDTV vendors are still pouring cash into products, yet few are available for consumption in North America. It's a trend we've watched develop, and we cringe to think that it's not getting better. Chances are we'll see a new wave of cord-free HD products at CES 2009, all while we wait patiently for cord-free wares from CES 2008 to make it out of the testing phase. Sadly, the report doesn't actually mention anything we didn't already know -- companies are still out there trying to prove their format is superior, all while actual manufacturers dillydally around and miss one opportunity after another. And really, with prices like $1,499 for the Belkin FlyWire, we wonder if there's any mass market appeal even if the shipments do begin to flow.

Maybe we're just off our rocker, but we can't figure out what NPD Group hoped to actually discover from this here survey to save our lives. Apparently these folks asked around 1,500 movie buyers (read: clearly not movie thieves) if they preferred purchasing a video that included digital copy or simply downloading it from the internet. Shocker: 79% said they favored the digital copy, while only 21% confessed that they'd rather get a low quality rip from a shady website that could potentially infect their computer with some rare strain of virus. Seriously, what's the point? If you're buying a film in the first place, why wouldn't you want the studio to do the hard work for you and include a portable copy? At any rate, this groundbreaking poll also revealed that 38% of those interested in digital copy "appreciated having a physical disc as a backup," while 27% admitted that they would be "more inclined to buy a portable device in order to take advantage of the digital copy feature." Moral of the story? Let us know, will you?

Ruh roh, we've got some conflicting evidence to deal with. Just last month, the Leichtman Research Group reported that some 34% of American households were HDTV-equipped, and now the highly respected Nielsen has stepped forward with a figure much, much lower. In fact, its latest numbers show that just 23.3% of all US homes have an HDTV, noting that it has more than doubled since a 10% penetration rating was found in July 2007. As for specific regions, the nation's capital was found to be most aware, with 31.1% of homes having a high-def set. Following DC were Boston and New York at 30.5% and 30.2%, respectively, while Detroit had the lowest percentage for a major market at 20.9%. Hmm... who to believe?

[Via AdWeek]

Yep, it's already that time of year again folks. That time when you begin to "see" your breath, the air has that "certain chill," shoppers go berserk and PC World readers toss in their votes for the most reliable HDTVs. The latest annual Reliability and Service survey received inputs not from independent researchers, but from 16,000 actual owners who can speak best for the quality of the wares they own. The happy winner was Sony, which notched above-average ratings in seven of nine measures, though LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp and Vizio didn't fare too bad, either. The biggest loser was Mitsubishi, which showed four below-average scores and a "higher-than-average incidence of severe problems." The four-page writeup can be viewed in full by clicking the read link, but our main question is this: are you in agreement with the findings?

Lookie here, more of the same. With the current economic situation encouraging citizens to rethink their credit card-abusing habits, a Verizon-commissioned survey has (unsurprisingly) found that a majority of those polled will be turning to their TVs for low-cost entertainment. Out of the 1,026 adults surveyed, some 57% admitted that they were planning to spend "more time at home turning to their television instead of events outside the home." Naturally, Verizon took this opportunity to showcase just how cost efficient its FiOS TV offerings were in tough times, and if it would bother expanding its footprint to more than a handful of states, we'd probably be stoked about the notion. Instead, we're just bitter and envious.

Seriously, who's not on watch for digital downloads these days? DVDs? Check. Blu-ray Discs? Check. Pay-TV operators? Check. According to new data gathered by Research and Markets, "console-affiliated media portals such as Microsoft's Xbox LIVE and Sony's PlayStation Network will soon become formidable competitors to incumbent pay-TV services." As the report notes, the digital downloads available via these services will eventually become "compelling alternatives to traditional TV programming by providing a more immersive, interactive video experience." Of course, this "research" comes at a time when everyone and their mother are jumping on this bandwagon, but it's still reasonable to assert that most anything providing access to content via the internet has a serious chance to replace traditional pay-TV services. Whether or not that actually happens en masse, however, remains to be seen.