Dubai
High dynamic range (HDR) features will infiltrate some full HD television sets and help boost 4K’s (Ultra HD) momentum, said an industry expert.
Khin Sandi Lynn, industry analyst at ABI Research, said that HDR TV shipments will grow at a 41 per cent annual rate and reach 245 million units in 2022. 8K TV sets are still years away from permeating the global market, with market hype currently centering on Japan’s plans to deliver 8K video at the 2020 Olympics.
“As evident with Sony’s recent announcement to include HDR in all its new TV sets, the next-generation TV technology will soon be a prominent feature in many Ultra HD TV sets. While some less expensive sets will not yet support the technology, high-end TV manufacturers recognise the value that HDR functionality brings to the viewing experience,” she said.
Vendors including LG, Samsung, and Sony plan to incorporate HDR in their Ultra HD TV sets as a premium feature to support better colour and detail. Yet, as HDR continues to infiltrate the market, broadcasters continue to hold back due to a dynamic standards environment.
While HDR10 is the baseline industry norm, Dolby Vision offers premium features like dynamic scene-by-scene metadata to further enhance the picture.
“Amazon and Samsung recently announced the development of HDR10+, a version of the HDR10 standard that uses Dynamic Tone Mapping to produce enhanced contrast and colours,” said Sam Rosen, Managing Director and Vice President at ABI Research.
At this point, he said that this standard does not have a robust industry coalition to foster adoption and serves to further confuse the market.
And while Ultra HD TV set shipments steadily grow, some TV manufacturers are already preparing for the next generation: the 8K TV standard.
Japanese TV manufacturer Sharp announced the first 8K TV set in late 2015, which cost approximately $130,000. Chinese manufacturers Chang Hong, Hisense, and Skyworth introduced 8K TV sets in 2017, but they are not yet available for sale. It will be years before the sets hit mainstream consumers; in the interim, the sets are finding a role in digital signage markets.
“8K TV sets will enter the market in small quantities in 2020 but mainly in Japan and possibly South Korea, areas in which broadcasters are now working toward 8K broadcast. In the meantime, it will remain Ultra HD HDR TV sets that dominate the overall market,” Lynn said.
