CES 2014 was a hotbed of new 4K TVs, and now leading retailer John Lewis has claimed that the high-end televisions will become the affordable mainstream within just two years.
Despite the first consumer available 4K TVs not launching until last year, with price tags edging into the tens of thousands of pounds, the UK retail giant has predicted that a rapid rate of development will see 4K be made available for the mainstream during the next 24 months.
“Over the next two years 4K TVs will become an affordable option,” John Kempner, a lead TV Buyer with John Lewis said speaking with TrustedReviews. “That is based on how fast the price has dropped since when we first went into HD so I think we can expect that.”
With core TV manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung and LG having all unveiled new 4K TVs at CES 2014 last week, introducing new screen sizes and lower price tags, Kempner has suggested that soon 4K TVs could be no more expensive than modern Full HD offerings.
Highlighting the signs that affordable 4K TVs are on the horizon, he stated: “Interestingly, a number of the smaller Chinese manufacturers, that we don’t sell in the UK, are all showing 4K TVs.”
He added: “If they are producing panels capable of 4K you can be fairly certain that once volume gets up to a suitable number it will be like a switch flickering on. It will eventually be cheaper to produce a 4K TV than a normal panel.”
Reaffirming his predicted timeframe for 4K TV affordability, Kempner stated: “I think that is about two years down the road.”
With current 4K TVs still costing into the thousands, he went on to suggest although growing in popularity, 4K TV sales will still be relatively low this year.
The John Lewis buyer stated: “4K TVs will still be a relatively niche option in 2014. I think a lot of people will be talking about them and there will be a lot of products out there but it will probably represent in volume terms around 100,000 units out of a market of 5 or 6 million units.”
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