Triple-Digit Growth Forecast for 3D TV Sets

EL SEGUNDO: The number of 3D TV sets shipped worldwide is on track to rise by 463 percent to reach 23.4 million this year, with a further 132-percent growth in 2012 to reach 54.2 million, according to IHS iSuppli.

The research firm notes that just 4.2 million sets were shipped last year, as consumers rejected high prices and a lack of 3D content for the TV set. Manufacturers are changing their tactics, iSuppli says, touting 3D TV as must-have technology. In addition, there are new options available in terms of 3D TV glasses. Plus, prices are being cut, the research continues. From February to March of this year, prices for 3D sets fell by 9 percent. And, there are more sources for 3D programming available; more than 80 had been delivered by the end of 2010.

These factors are expected to drive consumer demand, and the research indicates that shipments globally of 3D TV sets will top the 100-million mark by 2014, before rising to 159.2 million in 2015. 3D TV’s share of the global flat-panel market will rise to 11 percent this year from 2 percent last year, doubling to 22 percent in 2012. By 2015, this share will have risen to 52 percent.