Digital visual interface (DVI) is set to vanish into oblivion from the market of consumer electronics (CE) rather quickly, according to research firm In-Stat. But in the personal computer (PC) space the standard is likely to live on for some time, as the computer industry is typically transiting to new standards pretty slowly.

According to In-Stat, DVI technology continued to lose ground in the CE market to its sister technology, high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), and is headed for losses in the PC market.

“There are two reasons for the projected DVI decline: One is that the recently released HDMI 1.2 specification makes the standard more compatible with PCs. The second is two new specifications announced in 2005, DisplayPort and Unified Display Interface (UDI), which offer higher bandwidth and simpler design than DVI,” explained Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst.

HDMI-enabled device shipments increased from 5 million in 2004 to 17.4 million in 2005, the high-tech market research firm says. DVI-enabled shipments are projected to reach just under 66 million in 2006, and then begin a steady decline.

Digital interfaces are likely to gain market share in the coming years in the PC market, as liquid crystal displays will be gaining popularity. Displaybank, a display market research firm, has recently predicted in its global monitor market forecast report for 2006 that monitor shipments will hit 155 million units in 2006, with LCD monitor shipments likely to reach 125 million units, or 80.4% share. This indicates that the LCD monitor market is growing at a rapid pace, with the ratio of LCD to CRT shifting from 50:50 in 2004 to 70.3:29.7 in 2005 and to 80.4:19.6 in 2006.

DVI should be completely out of the CE market by 2008, according to In-Stat, while DisplayPort and UDI, which are both based on the HDMI technology, represent quite a threat for the DVI. It is likely that easy to implement DisplayPort and UDI will also catalyze transition from traditional D-Sub 15 (VGA) interface.