It's still an emerging format and big initial numbers are to be somewhat expected, but market researcher DisplaySearch reports this week that 1080p shipments for all TV technologies rose more than 40 percent in the last quarter--and more than 1,000 percent in the last year globally.
The actual number of 1080p units sold, however, are not quite as impressive yet, although the climb does appear to bode well for the format: 331,000 1080p units have been purchased worldwide, DisplaySearch said. That represents about 1 percent share of the overall global TV market.
Based on revenue alone, 1080p units rose 36 percent last quarter and 672 percent last year to $1.1 billion and a 5 percent revenue share. In Japan, 1080p units accounted for about 17 percent of quarterly revenues (the highest of any nation), followed by North America with 7 percent of revenues and 2 percent of all units sold.
Apart from penetration, North America actually led in 1080p shipments (more than 160,000 units), followed by Japan (more than 100,000).
By technology, 1080p LCD rose to 58 percent share, and 1080p DLP overtook 1080p LCoS with a 23 to 17 percent edge globally. 1080p PDP accounted for a 1 percent share.
By brand on units sold worldwide, DisplaySearch said "Sharp overtook Sony on the strength of its 37- and 45-inch LCD TV shipments" and held a 27 percent share; Sony was at 17 percent. Yet on a revenue basis, Sony led with a 27 to 19 percent advantage because of its focus on larger (and thus, more expensive) sizes.
By region, based on a units sold: Sharp led in Japan; Sony was tops in North America; Philips led in Europe; Hisense was first in China; and Samsung led in the rest of the world.
