Both Sony and Philips got out of the rear projection TV business in December. The market is rapidly moving to LCD, and about 80 percent of all new HDTVs are LCD. That has Texas Instruments, the developer of the Digital Light Projection technology (DLP) based on its micro mirror Digital Mirror Device (DMD) working hard to maintain interest in the technology.

For now, sales are holding, and Samsung, Mitsubishi and Toshiba still sell DLP TVs. Recently, LED driven DLP HDTVs have emerged that eliminate the rotating color wheel found in older DLP sets. In addition, the mirror wobble used in the 960 x 1080 mirror array allows for 3-D TV that other TVs are not capable of. T.I. believes that continued improved technology will keep the DLP system in the running.

"Most analysts use a rear view mirror when forecasting results," said TI’s Doug Darrow "They do not think of trends in the technology. We serve a different type of customer: the home theater enthusiast." Even so, the fear is that the thin TVs than can be hung on a wall will squeeze out the rear-projection TV in the long run.

At CES, the company showed some other advanced technology that allows slimmer TV sets (7 inches deep) and creates brighter images, higher contrasts, and smoother motion than before. Some projectors are small enough to fit in a cell phone.

Mitsubishi has reported excellent sales for now, especially for TVs over 70 inches (1.8 meters) where current Plasmas and LCDs cannot compete. Finally, TI is looking at many different types of devices where the technology can be showcased in order to ensure the future of DLP. "All of a sudden,” said Mr. Darrow, "we’re into a market of 100 million game machines, cellphones, iPods, and other portable devices used to consume media." Those are devices that no one thinks about hanging on a wall.