TV makers finally seeing the consumer shift

Dubai: Global TV manufacturers are finally getting a clear picture of what they should be doing next. The leading names will now be putting their collective marketing and technology knowhow behind Ultra HD (or 4K as it was known earlier) to get consumers enthused about their TVs all over again.

What it means at the retail level is that shoppers are moving to upgrade from their earlier generation LED and LCD TV sets to Ultra HD ones and that too in sizes of 50-inch and more. It is a trend that pleases TV makers no end. “We see demand for LCD TVs with a large screen growing; along, we also begin to see favourable developments in conditions for enjoying Ultra HD content as Blu-ray Disc content,” said Yuji Motomura, chief specialist in Toshiba’s TV marketing department.

“With the trend for large LCD TVs becoming more apparent, we believe consumers will need to have devices that support the resolution of higher than UHD if they wish to enjoy watching high quality images. At the same time, from a broadcasting perspective, we are expecting a standardisation process to get accelerated.”

This year sees Toshiba launching 4K-enabled products “in earnest”. “And instead of positioning them as mere showroom products, [we] will continue to launch TVs that consumers can actually place and enjoy watching in their living room.” The plan is to have them in the shops by summer.

Competitive prices

And the maker intends to keep a keen eye on the price points these are sold for rather than have them end up as niche offerings. “Our intention is to offer our 4K TVs at prices that are not only competitive but accessible to a majority of people as well,” said Motomura.

“For every product to be marketed in a large volume, its price must be rationalised to such a level that the majority of potential customers find “within reach”. We have shared our intention of offering competitive pricing for 58-inch and 65-inch UHDTVs that will be launched in global markets this year.”

In the UAE, the first hints of buyer upgrades on TV is showing up. It has, not surprisingly, got tech retailers all excited. “The most recent trend we’ve seen emerge has been that many TVs are getting replaced and the first-generation flatscreens are disappearing,” said Ashish Panjabi, chief operating officer at Jacky’s Group.

“What this means is even if the first-generation buyer looked an entry-level television the first time around, they’re looking at something better when buying the second television. This has meant that we’ve seen more customers ask us for Internet-enabled sets as well as larger size screens.

“The growth has been fuelled by the fact that most households today have a domestic wi-fi network which means you can either use your television for video chatting or playing content that you’ve downloaded. If services like Netflix or Hulu existed in this region, then you would’ve seen this growth accelerate in triple digit rates.”