The future looks bright for televisions equipped with HDR capability; this is according to a recent report by IHS Markit.
The report claims HDR TV shipments growing from 12.2 million in 2017 to 48 million in 2021.
“HDR is the biggest improvement coming to TV viewing,” said IHS Markit associate director for consumer devices Paul Gray. “It has been conclusively demonstrated to have the biggest impact with viewers, and what’s more, the effect works regardless of screen size or resolution.
Furthermore Paul Gray states, “We expect that only 23% of the Ultra HD TVs that ship in 2017 will offer the full HDR experience. The remainder will be able to decode a signal, but lack the high contrast capability to display HDR content to an advantage.” The cost of backlights for liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) remains the biggest obstacle to HDR, he said, noting that IHS expects 88.6 million HDR-ready sets to ship in 2021.
According to the report, North America will have the most HDR TV shipments in 2021 with 14.6 million units, followed by China with 11.8 million units shipped.
“North America remains the sweet spot for TVs, with a preference for large screens, the availability of rich UHD content and willingness from consumers to buy full-featured sets,” Gray said. “While Chinese consumers are buying the biggest TV sets these days, price sensitivity is higher and UHD content is scarcer.”
Note: HDR or High Dynamic Range provides increased contrast with a greater range of peak brightness (highlights) and black levels, in addition to better picture detail and more vibrant colors.