Lidcom have announced that their entry level DTT receiver has started being manufactured in Wales. It is expected to be available in July and have a retail price of around £60, they expect that price to fall to under £50 by next year.

The design uses a third of the number of components of current designs.

The unit is to be marketed by a number of retailers under their own brand though details are not currently available.

Many analysts believe that once DTT STBs drop below the £50 mark that there will be an explosion of demand. Only time will tell if this is accurate but that time is becoming closer to reality.

Lidcom also have a number of other designs in the works including a hard disk based DTT recorder which is scheduled for delivery in 2004.