Riding a wave of demand for its light-emitting diode (LED)-backlit televisions, Vizio managed to maintain leadership in the U.S. market for LCD TV in the fourth quarter as well as for the entire year in 2010, according to new IHS iSuppli research.

In the latest twist in the battle between Vizio and Samsung for leadership in the U.S. television market, Vizio managed to retake the No. 1 rank in LCD TV shipments, while Samsung maintained the top position in overall flat-panel sets, according to the display market research firm iSuppli.

Paid-for television content – whether through cable, satellite or the internet – is preferred over free-to-air services – even in markets where free programming is more readily available, according to global research from Motorola Mobility.

ESPN Research + Analytics unveiled a studies on 3D TV. Compiling results from more than 1,000 testing sessions and 2,700 lab hours, ESPN has concluded that fans are comfortable with the medium and even enjoy it more than programming in HD. The results showed a higher level of viewer enjoyment, engagement with the telecast and a stronger sense of presence with the 3D telecasts.

DisplaySearch forecasts that 3.2 million 3D TVs will be shipped in 2010, with growth to over 90 million in 2014. Based on this forecast, 3D will grow from 2% of all flat panel TVs shipped in 2010, to 41% in 2014.

According to Ofcom's latest Communications Market Report, 24 million HDTV sets were sold in the UK over the past 12 months, meaning about 20 percent of the population took home a new box in the past year. Yet despite watching nearly four hours of "telly" a day in 2009, in first 3 months of 2010, nearly a third of all households with internet access used on-demand catch-up services like the BBC's iPlayer, which represents an 8 percent growth over the same period last year. This data isn't all that surprising though considering the how much HD content has been made available in the UK over the last few years through free options such as Freeview HD, or premium services like Sky HD or Virgin Media. It's also still far behind US HDTV penetration, which stood at 33 percent back in 2009 and saw 5.5 million HDTVs sold during the 2008 / 2009 holiday season alone. That fact shouldn't stop electronics manufacturers from diving Scrooge McDuck style into their newly acquired money bags, or prevent newly minted British HD households from marveling at how ugly Jeremy Clarkson is in 1080p.

Report: UK couch potatoes switch to HD in growing numbers originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Worldwide Blu-ray player shipments are expected to more than double between 2009 and the end of 2010, and the numbers from ABI Research forecast continued growth next year, for a total of more than 62.5 million shipments in 2011.

Capitalizing on the slim form factor and energy savings potential, the use of LEDs in LCD monitor panels is growing rapidly, according to DisplaySearch.

Although LED backlight penetration in monitor panels was only 1.4% in Q3’09, current panel maker plans indicate that the penetration could reach 22% in Q3’10, assuming adoption by brands.

InnoLux was the leading supplier of LED backlit monitor panels in Q3’09, with 34.4% of unit shipments.

Samsung in the third quarter retook the No.-1 ranking in the U.S. LCD-TV market from chief competitor Vizio, according to iSuppli.

The iSuppli research shows the South Korean electronics giant shipped 1.3 million LCD-TVs in the United States during the period from July through September, equaling a 16.8 percent share of the market.

This gave Samsung a 1.1 percentage point lead over U.S.-based Vizio, which held a 15.7 percent share in the third quarter with shipments of 1.2 million LCD-TVs.

While the market for High-Definition TV has hit the mainstream, the industry has already started speculating about the commercialization of Ultra-High Definition (UHD).

UHD formats provide between four and sixteen times the resolution of Blu-ray or 1080p high definition as well as 22.2 multichannel three-dimensional sound.

The In-Stat report says the rising popularity of high resolution digital cinema will expose consumers to high resolution content. Then, early UHDTVs will be made available to provide a digital cinema high resolution viewing experience in the home.

According to the latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report, global flat panel display revenues for 2009 will be $87.6B, down 15% Y/Y from 2008.

The major reason for the decline is erosion in large-area TFT LCD panel prices compared to 2008, despite the fact that the TFT LCD market started to recover in Q2’09.

Other research from iSuppli says small and medium LCD suppliers are preparing for a Q4 slowdown.

Defying hard economic times, the Russian LCD-TV market is set for strong growth this year, with shipments rising by 13.6 percent in 2009, according to iSuppli.

“One of the main reasons for the switch to LCD-TVs in Russia is that they have become a status symbol. Consumers in Russia are very image conscious and prefer to own televisions that they can show off to neighbors and family members,” said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems for iSuppli.

Despite a rapid rise in the sales of consumer Blu-ray players, a fall in their prices and an increase in the number of high-definition movie titles, Blu-ray drives in PC systems have been left singing the blues, according to iSuppli.

iSuppli’s recent report says that by 2013, Blu-ray drives will be found in only 16.3 percent of PCs shipped, up from 3.6 percent in 2009.

Quixel Research’s newly launched report revealed that in Q2 2009 the Plasma TV was the only large screen TV category to show significant - up 31% in volume and 35% in value - growth quarter-to-quarter.

The harsh economic climate didn’t also slow LCDTV sales: the overall LCDTV market grew nine percent quarter-to-quarter and 22 percent year-to-year.

A recent Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) report shows strong growth over the past year in HDTV ownership. In 2009, 53 percent of total U.S. households report owning a high definition television.