All the buzz at the IFA in Berlin earlier this month was around phones, especially the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge, and wearables. But walking around the sprawling Messe Berlin exhibition centre, one thing was clear. The biggest trend of the show was curved Ultra HD TV.
Ultra HD, or 4K, televisions with resolutions four times that of Full HD have been selling across the world for a couple of years. But it was only earlier this year that their prices started becoming affordable. This is why companies around the world see a big boom waiting to happen in this space. So, across IFA, large companies like Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, LG and Philips, all had walls after walls of televisions with crystal clear visuals.
But for people willing to spend that extra packet to get an Ultra HD TV, paying a bit more to get a curved model does not really matter. This is why a year after Samsung launched its first curved Ultra HD TV, half of all Ultra HD televisions sold in Europe were curved. So, while curved televisions might seem to be a luxury product at the moment, companies like Samsung are extremely bullish and see this segment going mainstream in the near future. Incidentally, according to NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, more 4KUHD TV sets were shipped in Q2-2014 than in 2013 as a whole. In all, 2.1 million 4KUHD sets were shipped in Q2, compared to 1.6 million in 2013.
No wonder, Samsung now has 18 curved television models including two 105-inch models. One of them can bend and become a full flat screen if needed and return to being curved when you are in the mood to watch a movie, for instance. While this 105-inch titan might be the largest in its genre, it is not the only one. Country cousin LG, too, showed a 77-inch model which could do this flexing.
But despite the proliferation of UHD, there is the problem with content. At the moment, you can spend a packet and get a storage drive full of 4K content, or you could upscale existing content to 4k, which might not always be the best experience. You could also invest in a camera or phone with 4K recording and get some high resolution home videos. But that is set to change with content providers slowly adding 4K shows which can be streamed to these televisions. In fact, the hugely popular Netflix drama House of Cards is available also in 4K in the US.
In its bid to make ?television the new cinema?, Samsung is trying to get content partners to push for 4K content by partnering with large production houses and streaming services. Companies like 20th Century Fox are seeing the opportunity to ?redefine the home entertainment business?. Let?s not forget that 4K content will be premium content for which service providers as well as production houses can charge a decent premium. Also, to make it easier to transfer and share these extra large files, stakeholders have formed a consortium called Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA) to develop technologies that make it easier to work with highest quality content across devices. You will see a lot of Blu-ray players, laptops and storage devices with the SCSA logo hitting store shelves in the coming months.
However, the biggest obstacle for widespread adoption of UHD televisions is still its price. While the price tag has come down to a fourth of what it was a couple of years back, it is still double that of top-end full HD televisions. So you will soon see a flurry of companies try and play the price game in the UHD market. Actually, the race to carve out a market share before big brands can brings in affordable televisions has already started. Just last week Indian brand Vu launched two models, the cheapest of which is a 50-inch screen priced at R89,900. Vu?s prices are almost half of what a Samsung, LG or Sony 4K television will cost and they are clearly trying to cash in on the hero effect. However, there is no doubt that the affordable models will prime the market for 4K adoption. Yes, ultra HD is a truly an idea whose time has come, at least till we start talking about 8K televisions.
nandagopal.rajan@expressindia.com