Smart TV Ownership Stabilized in the Past Year, After Growth, Says Parks
Ownership and implementation of smart TVs “stabilized” between 2016 and 2017, ending the growth trend since 2010, said a Parks Associates report. Ownership of smart TVs more than doubled since 2010, and use of smart TVs' internet capability nearly doubled…
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during the span, but going forward, TV makers will need to rely on technological disruption or replacement cycles to increase or maintain sales, the report said. Flat-panel TV purchases continue to slide due to market saturation, and new features such as 3D and 4K haven't been able to trigger a replacement cycle similar to the one in the early days of thin TVs, it said. High-end and mid-range sets will become a more important part of the overall flat panel TV market as the last remaining consumers upgrade their tube sets to flat panels, it said. Smart TV capability is increasingly table-stakes in the market for flat panel TVs and may lead to commoditization as more TVs include the feature. Smart TV capability is the most important feature for consumers planning to buy a flat panel TV, with roughly half of intenders ranking connectivity among the top three features in a new TV, said Parks. Even half of late flat-TV adopters bought connected sets, it said. A third of flat-panel TV owners reported being aware of 4K Ultra HD TV, and while limited availability of 4K content is said to be a “significant market inhibitor,” most survey respondents said having more content isn’t critical to a purchase decision. A third of respondents were familiar with high dynamic range, it said, but it wasn’t clear if consumers were confusing Ultra HD with standard HD. Acronyms such as HD, UHD, 4K and HDR are confusing to consumers, who don’t understand the differences and crossovers among the various technologies, it said. Consumer awareness of new TV technologies is growing, but confusion remains over HDR, and OEMs should emphasize the term high dynamic range rather than shortening it to HDR, which can be confused with HD, it said. A looming HDR format war could lead to higher near-term costs for device makers who will need to license chips and hardware for multiple format standards until winners emerge, it said. Studios could select a single standard for home video and TV mastering to save on post-production and distribution costs, and if history repeats scenarios with VHS v. Betamax and Blu-ray v. HD-DVD, one studio throwing full support behind one format is likely to create a domino effect with the others “likely to fall shortly after,” it said.