50% of Western European households will have a HD ready set by 2010 - say Philips
HDTV is set to be the fastest growing consumer electronics technology of all time in Europe - so say Philips. At a briefing at IFA Philips predicted that there would be over 100 million homes with HD compatible sets by 2010 - which is more than fifty percent of households in the region.
However only 30 million of those sets would be showing programmes in HD. Philips suggests that there will 17 million HD boxes in Europe (mainly satellite and cable), 10 million HD gaming devices (Xbox 360 and PS3) and three million HD recorders (Blu-ray and HD DVD).
The country most likely to top the HD table is the UK with France and Germany not too far behind.
Philips is also confident digital terrestrial HD will prove to be a big hit when it arrives in Europe probably after 2010 simply because of the huge number of Europeans who still access TV via an aerial.
