Technophiles in Berlin might think they have died and gone to high-tech heaven as they roam the aisles of the 46th IFA consumer electronics show in the country's capital, the world's largest. Exhibitors from 30 countries have come to show off their latest developments, with the next generation of televisions -- high-definition TV (HDTV) with LCD and plasma screens -- taking center stage.

The arrival of HD-TV, high definition television, will mean that pictures will edge closer to cinema quality, and sound will come from eight channels instead of one or two. The new, slim LCD and plasma sets are selling well here in Germany, with sales up 30 percent on last year. Electronics retailers got an additional boost during this summer's soccer World Cup, when sales jumped further. In western Europe, an estimated 14 million HDTVs are expected to have been sold by the end of 2006.

"Those figures back up the forecasts of market analysts who say that the roll-out for HD-TV is going to be much faster than it was for color television in the days of black and white," said Rainer Hecker, the chairman of Germany's Society for Consumer Electronics.

Battle of the formats

Much attention at the show is likely to focus on the battle between rival optical-disc formats, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, described by some as a 21st-century repeat of the VHS versus Beta video tape formats.

Both insist they have found the perfect successor to today's DVD movie discs, and will announce players, for sale in European stores, and the first releases of high-definition movies for European sale. But the rocky start of the technology in the United States in recent weeks suggests the real European launch is still months away and this drama could continue for some time. It almost certainly will not be resolved at the current show.

Mobile devices

The industry is also registering healthy demand for mobile and hand-held devices. More than 160 million mobile phones, navigation aids, mp3 players, notebooks and other portable devices were sold in Europe in 2005.

"These are all categories that came to the market relatively recently and are displaying a dynamism, quite unlike what we were seeing five years ago," said Hans Joachim Kamp, head of Germany's consumer electronics trade association.

Ever year about 10,000 new consumer electronics products are released onto the market. The ones that sell well generally have lots of features and boost the image of their owners.

However, sales in Germany dropped by one-and-a-half percent in the first six months of this year. This was due largely to falling sales in IT and telecommunications products. But analysts are still confident the whole of the electronics industry will turn in a growth figure of four percent this year. It is hoped the IFA will help kick-start that growth.

The fair opens for consumers on Friday. Those visitors can get a sneak preview of the products that the retailers will be ordering and which will appear in stores over the next six months. Last year, wholesale orders taken at the fair totalled 2.5 billion euros.