Desribed as the biggest development in TV picture quality, HDR (High Dynamic Range), is set to be a major driving force in TV sales going forward according to new research.
Global unit shipments of televisions supporting High Dynamic Range (HDR) are forecast to reach 12.2 million in 2017 and will continue to expand to 47.9 million in 2021, according to television market research conducted in the IHS the London based research Company.
The have described HDR “the strongest-developing feature in television sets” today. In addition to selling 47.9 million HDR displays, IHS expects that by 2021 the global industry will move 88.6 million “HDR-ready” television sets that will accept HDR signals but will not display the full benefits on screen.
IHS classifies an HDR television as a display that will accept and read an HDR signal and display it on a screen with at least 500 nits of brightness or higher.
For example Hisense boasts that they have HDR however unlike Samsung, Panasonic or LG TV’s thay are not able to deliver 500 nites in their budget TV’s which is why some TV’s are cheaper than others.
Paul Gray, IHS Markit consumer devices associate director, said that below 500 nits gains and differences from HDR will be marginal, adding that “there is some element of an arbitrary boundary” that requires “a thoughtful investment in a better experience.”
On a regional basis, IHS Markit forecasts that the USA will lead HDR TV shipments with 14.6 million HDR sets shipping in 2021, while China will be second with 11.8 million.
“North America remains the sweet spot for TVs, with a preference for large screens, the availability of rich UHD content and a willingness from consumers to buy full-featured sets,” Gray stated.
“While Chinese consumers are buying the biggest TV sets these days, price sensitivity is higher and UHD content is scarcer.”
Australian consumers are similar to the USA buyer, they want quality, a big screen with 55″ models being the speet spot.
Gray said HDR, “is the biggest improvement coming to TV viewing,” and “it has been conclusively demonstrated to have the biggest impact with viewers, and what’s more, the effect works regardless of screen size or resolution.”
IHS does not yet have a breakout forecast for HDR televisions by HDR profile, which most commonly includes HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG and/or Technicolor HDR.
“Chipmakers are strongly incentivized to ship all flavors in their devices – typically they can incorporate the IP for free; it’s TV brands who make the choices. This means that IC selection is unlikely to be a factor. Brands will pretty much universally support HDR10 and HLG. I suspect that any remaining battle is between Dolby Vision and HDR10+. I think CES’18 will reveal which way the land lies. However, as ICs potentially offer universal support, running changes are possible,” Gray told HD Guru.
