IHS shows more positive views on long-term future of the Ultra-HD (UHD) TV format-- the analyst amends its prediction to shipments reaching nearly 5 million in the US alone by 2018.
Since earlier UHD TV forecasts mention global shipments of just 2.1m units in 2017, the improvement reflects a "rapidly improving outlook for the market" the analyst says.
“Pricing for UHD sets is expected to come down dramatically in 2013 and the following years, making them much more affordable for consumers on average,” IHS says. “Just as importantly, UHD TV brands are striving to avoid repeating the mistakes they made with 3DTV—- namely, attempting to charge a major price premium for a feature that lacked sufficient content to generate consumer interest. Recent developments indicate the TV makers have learned key lessons from the 3D debacle that will boost the long-term outlook for UHD shipments.”