SINGAPOREANS are buying into high definition (HD).

A retail study from market researcher GfK Asia shows that the number of HD-supported TV sets sold here between January and September has more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

More than 150,000 units were sold to date, against 75,000 last year.

HD format promises images that are four times sharper than the current standard format, allowing viewers to see crowd faces in the Barclays Premier League broadcast, for instance.

GfK attributes the jump in sales to plunging prices.

'We have seen prices decline by more than 30 per cent for the most popular screen-size segment,' Ms Winnie Chua, a GfK Asia analyst, told The Straits Times.

The popular TV screen sizes range from 26-inch to 42-inch.

TV manufacturers have also played a crucial role in promoting the new format. While there were only seven HD models last year, there are some 43 models in the market today.

However, there are only a few HD channels available today in Singapore. They include the National Geographic and Discovery cable channels by StarHub. StarHub said it plans to broadcast Barclays Premier League matches in the new format, but did not specify a date.

From November, MediaCorp will also roll out its free-to-air signal, called HD5, as a simulcast of Channel 5.

For starters, only 30 per cent of prime time shows will be in HD format. It will take MediaCorp the next 18 months to increase its HD content during prime time to 50 per cent.