2010 HDTV Trend

Have you ever thought of what will happen a year from now? Thinking of yourself walking into an electronics store during the Christmas of 2010 – What kinds of HDTV products and features will the retail salesperson offer you?

The shelf would be even more overwhelmed by LCD flat panel TVs, while people may have less interest in plasma sets (based on industry analysts at iSuppli). However, small niche segments for projection and OLED TVs will remain with somewhat falling trend in projection TVs but rising trend in OLEDs.

Overall, TV makers will continue competing to gain more shares in your wallets with new bells and whistles, experts say.

For the LCD TV side, the upcoming features are to go main stream in 2010 including LED backlighting; 240 Hertz (Hz) refresh rates and internet connectivity. You will also see more LCD vendors moving beyond 1080p HDTV resolution to 2160p. However, not every household would be able to afford the set prices yet.

Both plasma and OLED TVs will become larger in size, while in projection TVs, you will see most action in laser.

A new requirement from the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is about to promote the introduction of more 3D TVs across the LCD, plasma, and OLED categories.

Jon Peddie, principle analyst at Jon Peddie Research (JPR) revealed that the new legislation passed this year in California could risk the continued existence of power-guzzling plasma sets.

Below are HDTV trends for 2010 without any particular order of importance:

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1# LCDs with LED Backlighting

Although LCD TVs were for a long time backlit by florescent lighting panels called CCFLs, the newer LED backlight contains three advantages, according to Peddie.

“They use less power,”

Peddie mentioned. Also, LEDs produce a wider range of luminance, and, of course they are non-toxic (unlike florescent panels).

“But while the advantages appear abundant, the cost of LED backlights is fairly high,”

says Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli. Moreover, there are other challenges like thermal issues, the LED lifetime, and the continuous improvement in traditional CCFLs.

However, the iSuppli analyst states that LEDs prices are already starting to decline due to increase in consumer demand and more manufacturers move into LEDs production.

In July, Sharp introduced a series of 32-inch, 40-inch, 46-inch and 52-inch LED-backlit AQUOS units at prices ranging from $1100 to $2800. Even a larger 55-inch LED-backlit set from Samsung, the Samsung UN50B650, can be bought online at only $2499.

LCD HDTV with LED Backlight
	Toshiba REGZA Cinema Series 46SV670U	Check Price!
	Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL-52XBR10	Check Price!
	LG 55LHX – 54.6-inch LCD TV	Check Price!
	Sharp LC-52XS1U-S 52-inch Aquos Limited Edition	Check Price!
	Samsung UN55B8000 55-Inch LED HDTV	Check Price!

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2# 240Hz Refresh Rates

The first crop of HDTVs came with screen refresh rates of 60 Hertz (Hz), while the later ones moved up to 120 Hz. Sony led a move to 240Hz six new Bravia XBR9 models at CES 2009. Then, it was followed by LG and Samsung.

Nonetheless, the 240Hz refresh rate is controversial. Some experts said that it is hard to detect the difference between 120 Hz and 240 Hz even when you’re displaying fast action, like a video game or sporting event.

You still pay more for the 240Hz spec than for a 120Hz refresh rate, although pricing is tumbling for both specs, says Tina Tseng, a television systems analyst at iSuppli. For example, back in February 2009, the average selling price (ASP) of a 240Hz 40-inch full HD LCD TV was $2800, comparing with only $1651 for a comparable 120Hz 40-inch set.

Just 10 months after that, ASPs had fallen to only $1,596 for a 240Hz 40-inch full HD LCD TV and $1195 for a 120Hz 40-inch set.

Introducing Bravia XBR9 series in January, Sony enhanced its existing Bravia internet video service with new Bravia widgets for additional internet content – covering financial news, Yahoo Video, and Flickr – via the Yahoo widgets engine.

Actually, all big manufacturers started moving toward the same direction in 2009. For instance, Yahoo widgets for internet connectivity have started to show up on TVs from Samsung, Vizio, and LG earlier this year; while Sharp and Panasonic chose to provide proprietary widget technology.

Given that, experts still says that many advances are yet to come in areas ranging from content to the sheer numbers of TVs that are internet-enabled. Patel also notes that with the addition of Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon, more and more contents are becoming available in terms of video on demand.

“iSuppli expects to see many more widgets for music, games, and other content become available in 2010 as more sets gain the ability to connect to the Internet and more consumers see the benefits of having an Internet-enabled TV set,” the analyst predicted.

By December, Sony launched 12 models with built-in Internet connectivity in its XBR9, XBR10, WR5100, and ZR5100 series.

But Peddie indicated that, even with all of this Internet connectivity, consumers still can’t shop or fully browse the Web from their TVs.

The Best 240Hz Refresh Rates LCD HDTV
	Samsung LN52B750 52-Inch 1080p 240 Hz	Check Price!

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3# 2160p Resolution

Ultra high 2160p resolution takes a giant step beyond current 1080p and 720p by providing a screen resolution of 3840 by 2160 pixels. Besides a more vibrant picture, another edge is that 2160p screens can be split into four separate displays, each with 1080p resolution.

By the way, up till now, only Bill Gates or Oprah would be able to afford to buy the 2160p TVs. After Samsung pioneered this market, Westinghouse Digital also launched D56QX1 with an initial price tag of $50,000.

In Japan, during the past couple of months, manufacturers have launched two new 2160p HDTVs: Sony’s Trimaster, priced at about $76,583, and Toshiba’s Cell Regza LCD, with rumor that it will be on display in January at CES 2010 in Las Vegas.

However, Patel expected that somewhere between 2009 and 2011, TV makers will launch the 2160p HDTVs for consumer market. Even far from $76,000 league, the first home 2160p sets are expected to be very costly comparing to other home sets. Patel says that they will be targeted those who already owned 1280p HDTVs and would like to upgrade.

Peddie agreed that 2160p price will finally decline. But he mentioned that, when it does, content issues could be a concern. “What do you watch on them? Fat pixels of conventional TV?” he asks.

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4# One-fifth of a millimeter thick

LG has announced a 15-inch OLED TV, but right now, it’s only available in the Korean market.

“OLED TVs will ultimately replace LCD TVs,” Peddie predicted. “They use less power, they’re much thinner, and you can even roll them up.”

According to Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst for small to medium-sized displays at iSuppli, global revenues from shipments of OLED panels for use in TVs will rise from $10 million in 2009 to $1.8 billion in 2015.

Even with projections of strong revenue growth, unit shipments are little comparing to those for LCD TVs. The analyst believed that challenges in manufacturing and limited production will make OLED TVs small in size but high in price, pushing their market to remain niche till at least 2015.

She also stated that average price of an 11-inch OLED TV is now around $2,500, in contrary with only $704 for a 40- to 42-inch LCD TV.

Currently, the materials in OLED TVs also are likely to wear out quickly, and that afflict the TVs by so-called “image sticking”, which is a phenomenon that cause an artifact on a screen after a static image has been displayed for too long time, according to Jakhanwal.

OLED Digital TV
	Sony XEL-1 11-Inch OLED Digital TV	Check Price!

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5# Slicker Laser TVs

Though projection TV is often thought of as a single category, there are actually various rear- and front-end projections Mitsubishi and Samsung led the market with “3D-ready” RP-DLP sets that create a 3D effect by switching rapidly between left and right image 1080p HDTV 3D content that can work across LCD, plasma, and OLED sets.

Currently, details of the Blu-ray specification are quite unclear. It’s still unknown, for instance, whether it will require use of goggles.

According to Peddie, if goggles are needed, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. He said that “Glasses-free screens have been given up by Philips and others because of costs and technical problems”.

“The glasses-free screens use an optical filter to replace the shutter effects of the glasses. As a result, you lose half the resolution of the screen. Also, glasses-free screens have zones – from three to eight depending upon the price of the screen and content.” Goggle-free 3D screens might ultimately end up on mobile phones, he revealed.

While we are waiting for announcements of new 3D TVs from big players in 2010; Patel forecasted that it will take another two to four years for 3D TV to go fully mainstream.

“There are lots of issues still to be sorted out around formats for picture capture, display, goggles, etc.,” she elaborated more.

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6# Larger Plasma TVs

For a long time, Plasma TV manufacturers are able to produce big displays, even larger than 100 inches. Just recently that consumer dem HDTV product rollouts in 2009 also included the Sharp LC46BD80U, an HD California has just passed a law limiting TV power consumption, and similar legislation might be enforced in other places. As a result, manufacturers will try to make their TVs “greener” in 2010, experts say.

The new laws could look like the death knell for plasma TVs. “Plasma TVs do give a very good display, and some people swear by them for color fidelity,” Peddie said.

According to the analyst, plasma is also “an obsolete technology that has been outlawed in California”. “Plasma TVs wear out. They make noise, due to high voltage and the fans [needed for] cooling. Plasmas consume inordinate amounts of power, and they use exotic gases which make them toxic.”

In contrary, LCD TVs, OLEDs and even laser TVs are more suitable with power conservation. OLED TVs don’t need backlighting, which is different from LCD TVs. Supporters of Laser TV frequently cited relative energy efficiency as well.

According to Patel, “In 2010, there will be an increased emphasis on LED backlit LCD TVs. The CCFL vendors are also working towards improving [florescent panels] in order to lower power consumption”.

“Manufacturers will move away from products containing toxic materials such as mercury, and they will work towards meeting up with Energy Star 4.0 standards as well as toward the RoHS compliance needed in European Union (EU) nations.”

Hopes it Helps!!
T Pratheeptham