Menlo Park, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/28/2007 -- Pacific Media Associates (PMA), the global market information experts on large-screen displays, has earned the reputation as the leader in front projector sell-through data, with more than 10 years’ experience tracking the Pro AV channel. The company also tracks large flat panel products, for both the consumer and professional markets. The professional products include those intended for lodging and digital signage installations, as well as other business-to-business applications.

“Our transaction-based sell-through data reaches back to January 2002, giving us an unmatched perspective on the historical trends,” according to Rosemary Abowd, PMA’s Vice President of flat panel and rear projection TV research. “Our sample covers a broad range of channel participants, large and small, so we get a wide view of the marketplace. We have found that channel participants and manufacturers alike value our monthly delivery of both the data and the analysis."

The transaction-based sell-through data helps spot trends early. For example, the new 58” Wide XGA plasma professional model segment showed promising growth in the October data as unit sales grew six-fold and average street prices rose 12% compared with September 2007, for a 600% revenue increase. As a result, this one model segment was responsible for 6% of the October professional product revenue in the sample data. According to Abowd, “We observed more than a year ago that the Pro A/V channel was selling a significant amount of 58” WXGA consumer models, creating an opportunity for professional models in this segment.”

“Combining PMA's comprehensive coverage of sales through the PC/IT and Pro AV distribution channels with our detailed sell-in census data from the manufacturers provides particularly strong insight into the FPD marketplace,” continued Abowd. “All this data is entered into a single SQL Server database that allows us to triangulate the overall market using all three streams of data."

For example, professional flat panel shipments rose sharply in the 2007Q3, gaining 51% over 2007Q2 on a unit basis. “Lodging (in-room viewing) was the big winner,” according to Abowd. “Shipments represented 54% of the total professional unit market share in the third quarter.”

Another interesting aspect of the professional segment is that much of the product that passes through the PC/IT distributors and Pro AV resellers are actually consumer models. “More than twice as much consumer grade product is stocked and distributed by them than the professional grade models, “Abowd remarked. “Professional product manufacturers are not just competing against other professional products, but also against the combined features and lower prices of the consumer products.”

About Pacific Media Associates
Pacific Media specializes in global display market information, covering all large-screen display categories: front projectors, plasma and LCD TVs, and rear-projection displays. Their Large-Screen Displays Industry Service family of publications provides detailed worldwide quarterly updates (sell-in data and forecasts) on large-screen display markets, newsletters on new products and other key industry developments, monthly advertised price tracking, ad hoc analyses, and annual Web surveys of North American end users (including organizations and individual consumers) and both North American and EMEA resellers/retailers. Their Large-Screen Displays Tracking Service family of monthly reports offers timely sell-through data and analysis on unit sales, true volume-weighted street prices, and inventories of large-screen displays sold by leading North American retailers, resellers, and distributors. Pacific Media Associates was established by Dr. William Coggshall, who was previously a co-founder of Dataquest and helped start the syndicated high-tech market information business. The company headquarters is at 1060 Siskiyou Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Telephone +1 650-561-9020 http://www.pacificmediaassociates.com