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HDTV Origins

Mitsubishi Electric Shifts Focus to HD-Ready Sets, Expects Digital Sales to Surpass Analog

1999

Mentioned: Bob Perry

Summary

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America announced nine HD-ready sets starting at $3,500 alongside seven large-screen analog models, with marketing director Bob Perry projecting digital-upgradeable units will outsell analog within the year. The company, which spent over $10 million converting CBS prime-time programs to HDTV the prior year, plans to shift spending toward broadcasting select sports and special events in high definition.

Source documentcirca 1999preserved as-is

    Mitsubishi Electric Corp. expects to sell more of the digital HD-ready units this year than large-screen analog sets.

    At the company's new-product exhibition for dealers Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc. showed nine sets capable of displaying high-definition, or HD, digital broadcasts and seven large-screen analog sets, all wide-screen.

    Bob Perry, director of marketing. resports that.HD-upgradeable sets will be a larger percentage of their sales than analog over the next year.

    Prices for Mitsubishi's new digital-ready sets start at $3,500 and the receiver/decoder is about $900. The company's new large-screen analog sets will be priced between $1,900 and $3,900.

    Mitsubishi spent more than $10 million last year to convert CBS prime-time programs to HDTV, . Perry said they will not do that this year, though will pay TV networks to broadcast some sports and other special events in high definition.

    Inexpensive tube-based NTSC sets are outselling large-screen units 20 to 1 over digital. .