Worldwide LCD TV shipments have overtaken CRTs for the first time, according to the latest Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report from DisplaySearch.

The market research firm said that fourth-quarter 2007 LCD TV shipments hit 28.5 million units, taking 47 per cent of total TV shipments during the quarter and surpassing the 46 per cent share for CRTs.

Global TV shipments grew 21 per cent quarter on quarter, and five per cent year on year, to 60.8 million units in the fourth quarter.

Total shipments reached almost 200 million units worldwide in 2007, and revenues exceeded $100bn for the first time.

LCD penetration was highest in developed regions, reaching 86 per cent in Japan, 84 per cent in Western Europe and 78 per cent in the US.

However, the strongest unit growth was in developing regions, such as Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa, which rose 106 per cent year on year.

DisplaySearch attributed the success of LCD TVs to it being the only other technology that extends down in screen size to less than 20in, which makes it a natural replacement to CRT TVs.

Current plasma TV technology extends down to 32in, but the CRT market is largely below this size, and many regions of the world have limited demand for screen sizes larger than 40in.

LCD TVs are also considered by many to be the most environmentally friendly option in terms of power consumption, packaging and recycling.

Western Europe regained the share lead as the top region for LCD TV shipments, rising from 28 per cent to 32 per cent, overtaking the US which fell to 31 per cent from 33 per cent.

Sony overtook Samsung for the top spot in revenue share in LCD TV at 19.5 per cent, but Samsung rem ained at number one on a unit basis.

LG Electronics was the number three brand in TV revenues at 9.4 per cent. LG is a strong competitor in developed regions and was the unit leader in the developing markets of Latin America and Middle East & Africa.

The company still had the top CRT TV unit and revenue share worldwide, an important category in developing markets.