In-Stat says HDMI will move beyond HDTVs to set-top boxes, DVD players, mobile PCs and more, while DVI is dying.

BY JASON KNOTT

HDMI-enabled product shipments will increase at an annual rate of 23 percent between through 2012, according to In-Stat.

As adoption of HDMI ports approaches 100 percent in digital TVs, the interface is now moving into set-top boxes, DVD equipment and mobile PCs.

"DVI and HDMI 2008: A Time of Transition" also finds that DVI is declining at a rate of 30 percent per year, finding that DVI-enabled devices will peak at 117 million in 2007 and 2008.

The study says a range of device segments spanning consumer electronics, computers and computer peripherals are also seeing increased HDMI adoption. Portable electronics such as camcorders, still cameras, and portable media players will be among the emerging categories to watch in the near future, according to In-Stat.

The In-Stat study found:
    •    HDMI adoption in mobile computers is estimated at nearly a quarter of all machines shipped in 2008
    •    IPTV set-top boxes will see the highest adoption among pay TV set-top boxes, growing to 85 percent penetration and 17.6 million boxes by 2012
    •    HDMI penetration in portable media players will approach 10 percent by 2012

"The rapid escalation of HDMI in standard-definition and Blue laser DVD players and recorders is directly related to HDMI's success in DTVs," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "Set-top boxes, which are traditionally slow to adopt new interfaces, are also increasingly embracing HDMI."