TV manufacturers are pulling out of the doledrums by peddling smaller flat-panel sets.

DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report said that TV sales are up in the second quarter, thanks to the manufactures concentrating on 32-42in televisions.

Worldwide TV shipments increased 11 percent from the same period in 2007, but just 3 percent from first quarter of 2008. Sales for larger sets fell faster than a free falling team of sky diving elephants who had forgot to pack the key ingredient of their act. 

In response, tier-one manufacturers began pushing smaller screens in an attempt to attract buyers who might be tightening their budgets as gas and food prices rose. Vizio 32-inch plasma screens did very well as did Panasonic, LG, and Sony and Samsung 32, 40, 46 inches.

The winner has been the plasma TV business. DisplaySearch is reporting that shipments of plasma worldwide increased 52 percent from the same quarter a year ago. While LCD TV shipments are still doing better, it's encouraging for a technology that many thought was deader than Julius Caesar.