Anticipating "another banner year" for digital television (DTV) product sales, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) plans to increase its high- definition television promotional activities throughout 2003.
These new efforts include HDTV update meetings for retailers, broadcasters and cable operators, and home show exhibits and expansion of the Cinema Screen program that promotes HDTV to movie audiences in "slides" displayed before the movie trailers and feature presentations.
Soon after the 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, the CEA will take HDTV on the road as part of an ongoing education and awareness project to reach mainstream consumers. The CEA will showcase a sampling of HDTV home theater products at the Minneapolis Home Show, February 5-9.
The CEA will also promote HDTV to a wide consumer audience through in-theater HDTV advertising slides, expanding upon a successful fall 2002 Cinema Screen movie promotion.
In addition to these consumer-oriented activities, the CEA again will provide a forum for government officials and industry leaders to discuss public policy issues that are crucial to the DTV transition. CEA's annual HDTV Summit is March 10, 2003 in Washington, D.C.
Sales of DTV products continue to rise, according to CEA numbers. "DTV products" are defined by the CEA as integrated sets and monitors displaying active vertical scanning lines of at least 480p and, in the case of integrated sets, receiving and decoding ATSC terrestrial digital transmissions.
The CEA said that 2002 DTV product sales through October total more than 1.8 million units. The total DTV product sales total since market introduction now stands at more than four million units, which represents consumer investment of more than $7.5 billion in just four years. CEA projects year-end 2002 DTV product sales to total 2.5 million units and 2003 sales to reach four million units.
For more information visit www.ce.org.