Strategy Analytics (News - Alert) (SA), a global market research firm, released information this month regarding the outlook for ultra HDTVs in Europe. In the report, “Ultra HDTV: More Than Half Would Buy,” SA surveyed more than 4,000 people in France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K. and over 2,000 people in the U.S. It asked them about their opinion regarding a future personal purchase of such a television, to which more than half of respondents in Europe and the U.S. indicated that they would be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase one in the next two years.

PR Newswire (News - Alert)'s analysis of the issue points out that the bulk of the survey focused on one question: “Ultra HD or 4K TV is a new type of TV which offers significantly improved images compared to today's HDTV. Assuming the price elsewhere of an Ultra HD or 4K TV was acceptable to you, and assuming the image quality was as good as is claimed, how likely would you be to buy a new Ultra HD or 4K TV within the next two years?” Respondents could answer that they were “very unlikely,” “somewhat unlikely,” “neither likely nor unlikely,” “somewhat likely,” or “very likely.”

In Europe, 41 percent of people surveyed said they were “somewhat likely” and 15 percent “very likely”; those percentages from U.S. respondents were 38 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The results show a distinct intent for consumers to purchase the new types of televisions, which improve on the quality delivered by traditional HDTVs. But their collective intent to purchase new sets is only one side of the coin.

Beyond simply intent, respondents showed themselves to be aware of the term “ultra HTDV” more than they were aware of “4K TV” or “UHD.” Compared to the whole, a younger generation of respondents between the ages of 25 and 34 indicated that they were more likely to purchase a new television than other age groups identified in the survey.

Ultra HDTVs improve on traditional HDTVs by providing approximately eight to 33 times their resolution, which allow for extremely high clarity in television sizes larger than retailers have seen before.


Edited by Rory J. Thompson