Global Consumers Upgrading To 3D TVs While North Americans Bypassing The Third Dimension

A new report from NPD DisplaySearch explores the features global consumers are looking for in new TVs. Although this report is focusing on Q3, which is before the big consumer electronics push for Christmas TV sales (and before the Super Bowl rush in the U.S.), it does paint a picture of growth potential for 3D TVs.

Consumer behavior and TV set maker strategies are resulting in widely diverging TV product ranges across the world. While the industry is truly global, regional differences are increasing. For 3D, the most enthusiastic regions are Western Europe and China, while the mix of 3D in North America actually declined in Q3’11, according to the Q4’11 NPD DisplaySearch  Quarterly TV Design and Features Report.

“We were surprised to find that 3D appears to be a far more popular feature in China than North America, and the penetration rate was two times higher in the last quarter,” said Paul Gray, Director of TV Electronics Research, NPD DisplaySearch. “Our report also indicates that North American and Japanese 3D penetration is lower than the Middle East.”

The report finds that North American consumers favor large, inexpensive TV sets with fewer features, unlike other regions. Chinese consumers are enthusiastic about richly-featured sets with 3D, LED backlighting and smart TV capabilities.

Sony recently jumped into the 3D game with a 24-inch PlayStation-branded 3D monitor and 3D glasses to complement its growing catalog of 3D games like Gran Turismo 5, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, MLB 11: The Show and Resistance 3. In addition to playing 3D games, the monitor allows two gamers to experience split-screen gameplay without the traditional split screen. Each gamer, wearing the glasses, sees a full screen of action on the one monitor. This added bonus alone makes this 3D TV worth the price of purchase, plus gamers can watch and 3D Blu-ray movie on their PlayStation 3, which automatically upgrades to a 3D Blu-ray player via a free firmware download. Sony Computer Entertainment's head of 3D talks about the leap to the third dimension in the video interview below.

The report also examines the growth of smart TV in different regions and reveals that there are several emerging markets where fixed broadband appears to be leapfrogged by consumers. In Saudi Arabia, Poland, the Philippines and Indonesia, there are 10 to 15 times as many 3G subscribers as broadband. These consumers still want to view internet video on their TVs, but the usage is totally different in developed markets where the TV is connected directly to a wired broadband line.

This theme of simultaneous new technology adoption is also clear in digital broadcasting. While developed markets have not only introduced digital terrestrial and largely completed analog switch-off, a second generation of digital broadcast (DVB-T2) is now being adopted in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The report uniquely forecasts the prospects for DVB-T2 reception in TV. It finds that a critical mass of countries have now adopted or committed to DVB-T2. Shipments of DVB-T2-enabled sets are expected to grow from 3.4 million in 2011 to 64.7 million in 2015.

”By 2015 the number of DVB-T and DVB-T2 sets shipped will be equal,” added Gray. “The decision by the Russian and Indian governments to move to T2 has given the industry a huge boost in confidence, and it will kick-start a virtuous cycle of rapid adoption and cost reduction.”

The report finds the new digital transmission technology is not only being introduced in mature markets like the UK and Sweden, but also in Nigeria and Kenya.

Walk into a Best Buy or Wal-Mart today and nearly every TV now comes with Internet capabilities. TVs are now offering Apps just like smartphones and tablets for people to view Internet shorts from YouTube on a big screen. That’s part of the reason why YouTube is investing in original HD programming in 2012. The dynamic of entertainment online is quickly changing from just a PC or laptop experience to one that can be taken on-the-go with mobile devices or enjoyed at home on a traditional big screen TV.