As CES opens in Las Vegas (January 6th) the organisers say that visitors will see many more 4K/Ultra-HD displays on show, and also expect the year to see some dramatic reductions in the cost of the sets. Richard Doherty, an analyst with the Envisioneering Group, said “You’ll see price points come down much faster than HD did a decade ago.”

All of the leading manufacturers are showcasing their latest models. Samsung, for example, said that its new ‘Smart’ receivers will run on Tizen, an open-source, Linux-based operating system.

South Korea’s LG, the official 4K partner at CES, says its new models will deliver greater realism and depth either with Wide Colour LED or Quantum Dot technologies depending on the model.  Incidentally, LG will also be showcasing a 55” 8K model at CES to demonstrate where it thinks the market is heade

The key 4K players, Sony, LG, Panasonic and Samsung, all know they are pushing at an open door as far as consumer enthusiasm is concerned. But prices must come down in order for mass-market take-up. However, the manufacturers also know that 4K sales – to date – are impressive  New data from Canada, for example, are stats that show that for the giant retailers such as Best Buy and Future Shop, the 4K sales numbers for post-Thanksgiving ‘Black Friday’ sales represented 40 per cent of all TV purchases.

According to Netflix spokesman Cliff Edwards, the streaming company, which is one of a few operators with 4K content on offer, some 30 per cent of US homes will own a 4K set this year, and surpass 50 per cent during 2016. If these predictions come to pass, then the manufacturing sector will be delighted.

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Virgin Galactic in stock split
2. Thuraya-3 suffers major problem
3. AST SpaceMobile hit by Class Action
4. Optimism under threat at SES
5. Rivada visits Terran Orbital’s manufacturing HQ
6. Avanti wins spectrum debt obligation case
7. SpaceX breaks records for re-use launchers
8. IRIS2 already in trouble?
9. Intelsat contemplates next steps

Categories: Blogs, Inside Satellite, Ultra-HD/4K