UHD TV Uptake Driven by Falling Prices and Improved Upscaling Capabilities

BOSTON, MA — Ultra HD (UHD) TV household ownership will grow from less than 10 percent of homes in the USA for the next four years to 33 percent of homes by 2020 according to the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices (CHD) service report, “Ultra High-Definition TV Displays: Global Market Forecast 2012-2020.”

Key Strategy Analytics predictions for the UHD TV display market:

• UHD TV shipments will account for 41 percent of global flat panel TV units in 2020, up from just 4 percent in 2014.


• The USA will overtake China in 2020 to become the leading country in terms of UHD TV household penetration.


• By region, UHD household penetration will reach 32 percent in North America, 22 percent in Western Europe and 18 percent in Asia Pacific by 2020.


• Entry level prices for UHD TVs will drop below $2,000 before the end of 2014 from one or more of the major global TV brands (Samsung, LG, Sony, and Panasonic).


• Brand share rankings for UHD TV will begin to mirror those of the overall flat panel TV market with Samsung, LG, and Sony dominating global sales volumes outside of China.

“Despite the limited availability of UHD content, early adopters of UHD TVs are being attracted by vendor promises of improved picture quality," said Eric Smith, analyst, Connected Home Devices. “TV manufacturers are working to perfect the upscaling engines of their sets and will look to put a strong marketing focus on the merits of upconverting 1080p to UHD content until the dam breaks on UHD content and broadcast services begin.”