NEW YORK -- This year will bring a significant increase in sales of video-enabled devices because of increased content availability and a greater number of video playing devices, says the research arm of SG Cowan.

Citing the number of products on display at last week-s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, SG Cowan said the arrival of digital video is to "positively impact a wide range of semiconductor companies spanning memory to logic to analog conversion and power management."  We believe that "digital video will be the 'must-have' for consumers in 2006," wrote analyst Jack Romaine in a research note issued today.

Romaine also prediceted Intel's "Viiv" platform will spell more PCs per household and tighten the PC replacement cycle.

He also said that larger screen sizes and enhanced capabilities in the latest DLP products will drive rapid growth. "To compete against falling LCD TV prices, DLP OEMs have increased screen size, and this year the sweet spot for DLP moved up to 50" to 70" screen sizes. Additionally, the latest DLP chip lowers system cost while enhancing performance."