ARLINGTON, VA -- Nearly half of all consumers plan to make their next television purchase a high-definition television set, according to a consumer survey released by the Consumer Electronics Association today. The survey results reinforce CEA's market research projection that total digital television unit shipments will surpass analog television sales for the first time in 2005, based on the "digital tuner mandate" issued by the FCC. The first time that dollar sales of digital television surpassed analog television was in 2003.

The study was administered via telephone to a random sample of 1,009 U.S. adults between Feb. 25 and March 1. The margin of sampling error for aggregate results is +/-3.1%.

"HDTV is here to stay," CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro said of the survey findings. "Nearly all consumers are now aware of HDTV and more consumers than ever intend to make their next TV an HDTV. The consumer acceptance 'obstacle' is no more. Consumers want HDTV now more than ever; it is now up to the content creators and distributors to deliver it."

According to the survey results, awareness of DTV terminology has sky-rocketed in the past 18 months. Nine out of 10 adults are now aware of at least one term used to refer to high-definition television, such as "digital television" or "HDTV." Seventy-six percent of U.S. adults say they are familiar with details about the new TV sets. In addition, the percentage of adults who are not familiar has fallen by half, from 42%in 2003 to 22% today. Finally, 84% of consumers have seen an HDTV somewhere in the last 12 months, whether it was in a retail store or in their own home.

"Not only are consumers becoming more familiar with the digital television technology, they are also accepting of the digital television transition," said CEA director of market research Sean Wargo. "In fact, 53% say they feel positive about the transition, up slightly from 51% in 2003."

CEA also surveyed consumers' reaction to the eventual analog cut-off. When consumers who receive television signals, in part or in whole, via antenna on their primary TV were asked what they would do if they could no longer receive these signals with the antenna they currently use, 52% (from 46% in 2003) said they might buy a digital to analog set-top box converter and 66% (from 57% in 2003) said they might subscribe to a cable or satellite service. Among those homes that receive television signals only via antenna (12% of homes, according to the survey), the figures are 48% and 56%, respectively. Only 21% of antenna-only households are very likely to "do nothing."

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