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Consumer
Front Projector Shipments Up 134 Percent in Q2
Menlo Park,
California, September 6 - Front projectors intended for use
by individual consumers - as opposed to organizations - have
now reached a worldwide quarterly total of 96,500 units, a
stunning year-over-year growth of 134 percent, according to
the market research firm Pacific Media Associates (PMA).
These newly-released figures from the Market Outlook reports
component of PMA's Large-Screen Displays Industry Service
include all models designated by their makers as intended
for home cinema, home theater, home entertainment, or other
home uses, regardless of the distribution channels by which
they are sold.
According to
PMA, much of this growth springs from greatly increased
availability of lower-priced models. "Not only did the
first sub-$1000 consumer model ship in the second quarter,
but over 50 percent of all shipments were at prices under
$1500," said Michael Abramson, who directs PMA's
front-projector research. Abramson continued, "And the
great majority of these shipments, 83 percent, were of
models offering the widescreen (16 x 9) format that is
increasingly becoming synonymous with the rapidly-emerging
digital TV format."
"Unlike
their sibling models intended for use by organizations,
where the recent plummeting prices have been the main driver
of the market, consumer projectors are often chosen for
their picture quality and advanced features," said
William Coggshall, founder and president of PMA. "This
actually led to a dramatic quarter-over-quarter increase in
the revenue coming from $5000-plus models, from 30.5 percent
of the industry total in the first quarter of 2004 to 37
percent in the second quarter."
Information: www.pacificmediaassociates.com.
