With 4K TVs starting to creep onto retailers’ shelves as UHD become the industry’s latest buzzword, manufacturer Toshiba has suggested that 4K TVs will be mainstream by 2017.
Giving the Ultra High Definition sets just three years to go from extortionately priced luxury items to the average consumer TV purchase, the company has claimed that as customers demand continually improving picture quality, 4K TVs will tumble in price.
“By 2017 4K is going to be really mainstream,” an official Toshiba spokesperson said speaking exclusively with TrustedReviews.
Discussing the path to mainstream 4K TVs, the company representative stated: “4K is moving closer to mainstream, much closer, but it’s not quite there yet. 2014 is going to be a big year for UHD, a lot of other companies are investing in the area and Netflix will start streaming in 4K.”
They added: “By 2017 it will definitely be mainstream but every year before then it is going to get picked up and evolve faster and faster.”
Toshiba’s 4K TV predictions are fitting with claims from leading retailer John Lewis which recently predicted that 4K TVs would be widely available at affordable prices “within two years.”
While the company has claimed that 3D TVs are on their way out, Toshiba has suggested that consumers’ constant demand for better visuals will ensure 4K is a success.
“We find that consumers are looking for a higher resolution and we have been seeing that over decades,” they told us.
“We went from VHS to DVD and then from DVD to 720p to 1080p to Blu-ray and now 4K is the next big thing.”
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