Yes, Godzilla got it right. Size does matter. Indian TV buyers are telling us, bigger is better -- snapping up the largest model they can afford on seasonal hire purchase offers. They can barely achieve the minimum safe viewing distance, in cramped flats, but who cares? Bada TV hai na!
Interestingly, the biggest innovations in television seem to come from companies who are also smart phone makers. They have learnt what differentiates handsets of almost identical specs: customized content and pre loaded entertainment...They have learnt their lessons and are scaling up their screens, from a 6-inch phone to a 60-inch TV set (often, both with Dolby and HD).
Last week, two China-based players, both with smart phone offerings in India, entered the television arena here, with products which look set to disrupt the market with their aggressive pricing -- even were one not to consider what they are doing to the technology.
Le Eco, which in its earlier avatar, LeTV, was one of the biggest content providers for television in China, has smartly (pun intended), entered the TV market here with a trio of sets at the big end of the TV spectrum. The TVs are sold with a canny combo of carefully curated desi and international content -- live shows, movies, sports and music. By tying up with content biggies -- Hungama, Yupp TV , Eros -- they are able to offer a platter of 2000 HD movies, over 3 million songs and 100 satellite TV channels as a package deal with each TV model. If the first generation of television was all about simple broadcasting and the second was a platform for multiple channels, Generation 3.0 is a big screen that is Internet -connected to an ecosystem of infotainment options. The Connected Smart TV is here.
You can control the screen by voice or gesture. You can change channels by waving the remote --or using your mobile phone instead. And you can store your favourite programming in your own 5 terabyte-cloud and share clips or music much as you now do with WhatsApp. What I saw in Delhi three days ago was a seamless merger of TV, mobile and Internet -- with customisable content.
Specwise, LeEco has chosen to address the top end of the TV market: their three launches in India are: the 65-inch 3-D UHD TV, the Super 3 Max 65; the 65-inch ultra HD Super 3 X65 and the 55-inch UHD Super 3 X55.. all three are so called '4k' displays, all are Wi-Fi enabled and Android 5.0 driven. I was tickled to see TVs rated like PCs: "3GB RAM, 16 GB Flash storage".... this is PC-TV sangam in action.
The Max 65 is priced at Rs 1,49,790 which is about half what competing 65-inch 3- D sets cost. The X65 costs Rs 99,790 and the X55 is Rs 55,790, all aggressively priced in their categories. Their common USP is the access to all that content which is valued at around Rs 5,000 a year and comes free for two years. Content Raj has come to Indian TVs.
Fuelling 'The Creative Life'
TCL has stood for many things in the past, from 'Telephone Communication Ltd' to 'True China Lion' but on its Second Coming to India, it has settled for 'The Creative Life'. It has chosen to launch its TV business in India, with four compellingly priced sets: two full HD ( but un connected) models in the D2900 series: 32 and 40-inch at Rs 13,990 and Rs 20,990 and. the TCL P1 Smart TV series with a 48-inch curved full HD TV for Rs 37,990 and the better-resolution, but smaller UHD at 43-inches for Rs 31,990. The smart TV sets have conveniently put their more interesting functions into an app .
There is no overlap between the India offerings of TCL and LeEco for a reason: They work closely in China and in fact TCL makes some of the sets for Le Eco and in turn uses its content.
In this neck of the TV market too it seems, the upcoming festival season will see some compelling deals for customers. An old Chinese benediction said: 'May you live in interesting times'. Today, that should perhaps read: 'May you live in disruptive times!'
-IndiaTechOnline
