Samsung has suggested that 4K TVs are already a consumer viable option, despite the next-gen televisions coming with hugely inflated price tags and a limited array of 4K content.
With the first UHD TVs having launched late last year, Samsung has claimed that the market has already developed enough for 4K TVs to be considered a viable consumer choice.
"2013 has already made 4K a viable option,” Dilen Thakrar, Samsung’s Senior TV Product Manager, said speaking with TrustedReviews.
Discussing last year’s introduction to the 4K space Thakrar stated: “We launched a range of UHD in 2013 and the uptake on those TVs has been really competitive for us. We’ve had a really good year of UHD already.”
He added: “What 2013 let us do was introduce the concept of UHD to consumers, so they can understand more about what UHD is. We’re finding more and more consumers walking into stores asking for UHD TV screens.”
Despite Thakrar’s insistence that UHD TVs are now a viable option, the £3,000 price tag that accompanies the company’s 55-inch 4K TV is sure to price most out of the market. The 65-inch Samsung 4K TV costs a staggering £4,299.
Although stating that 4K TVs are already a viable option, the Samsung TV head has suggested that the industry will see considerable further growth during the coming 12 months.
“I think what you will see from the range of UHD screens we will launch in 2014 is that UHD will be made accessible to more and more people,” Thakrar said.
“You will start seeing more content available and you will start seeing online streaming of UHD content, and there will be other solutions available as well.”
Thakrar’s comments clash with those made by retailer John Lewis which claim that it will be a further two years before 4K TVs are a viable option for the masses.
Speaking with TrustedReviews, John Kempner, a lead TV Buyer with the retailer stated: “Over the next two years 4K TVs will become an affordable option.”
He added: “That’s based on how fast the price has dropped since we first went into HD.”
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