LG Electronics debuted the first-panel Ultra HD TV in the U.S. back in October 2012, listing the 84-inch, 3840 x 2160-resolution LCD set with an MSRP of $19,999.
Two years later, Roku started its TV program, partnering with upstart OEM electronics companies, primarily based in China and Taiwan, and providing them with operating-system software that turned their no-frills LED high-definition sets into connected TVs right out of the box.
U.S. consumers could get a 55-inch HD set, controlled by a Roku remote, from TCL for $649.99.
Jump forward to this year’s Black Friday shopping spectacle on Nov. 29: Two weeks before the gaudy event officially kicks off, U.S. consumers are able to pull into Walmart and walk out with a 50-inch 4K Roku-powered set from Hisense, paying only $138.
For context, that’s only around $48 more than what Roku charges for its Ultra 4K streaming device.
Walmart shoppers will pay just $378 for TCL’s massive 75-inch Roku-powered Class S4 4K/HDR TV.
And on Amazon, online shoppers will cough up just $79.99 for a 32-inch Insignia HD set (720p) powered by Amazon’s Fire TV OS. Sure it’s yesterday’s display technology, but for 80 bucks, HD is HD, and it’s definitely a viable alternative for a secondary room or college dorm.
The price-cutting isn’t just confined to the bottom end of the market. Samsung, for instance, said it’s discounting its high-end OLED sets by as much as $2,500 on Black Friday.
Lower price limbo
While the cost of consumer goods like bacon can rise during recessionary periods enough to become an election campaign wedge issue, prices for consumer electronics segments like smart TVs tend to drop precipitously over time.
More efficient manufacturing processes are developed with scale, such as “mother glass,” which enables large sheets of LED glass to be cut into multiple panels.
Competition, of course, is a huge price-reducing factor.
Several years ago, it was Roku-powered sets from TCL and Hisense that undercut then-dominant Korean brands Samsung and LG in North America, dramatically reducing MSRPs of smart TVs. The rapid uptake of these lower-priced sets has been cited for Roku’s rise as the dominant gateway OS provider in the North American region.
Now, even more competitors are cramming into the market, with Comcast and TiVo’s parent company, Xperi, among those trying to challenge Roku, Amazon, Google and Samsung for a piece of the lucrative TVOS market.
TVOS ambitions
Through Target, Hisense just began selling technologically robust smart TVs sized at 55 and 65 inches and powered by Comcast’s “Xumo Entertainment OS.” These sets include high end features including Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 for color and contrast, and Dolby Atmos for sound, and retail for just $249.99 and $359.99, respectively.
Also expected to hit the U.S. market later in the fourth quarter are TVs made by brands including Panasonic and running on Xperi’s TiVo OS. These deployments haven’t been officially announced. But as it is with Comcast’s Xumo effort, Experi’s goal is to proliferate its OS into as many homes as it can, even if a little money is lost on hardware. So don’t expect the MSRP to be high.
Amid the emerging OS wars, Comcast and Xperi are battling market incumbents for control of the living room, with the gateway OS to the TV controlling vital revenue streams including advanced advertising, as well as data collection, just to name a few spoils of war.
Having the OS built into the TV out of the box has always been viewed as pole position, usurping outside HDMI dongles, hockey pucks and other external connected TV gadgets.
Upstart TVOS backers believe the global market is still dynamic to accommodate them — just because consumers in North America have adopted Roku en masse doesn’t mean the streaming company now owns their loyalty. Their next purchase could just as easily be a Xumo TV-powered set.
Speaking at the StreamTV Insider-produced Stream TV Show in Denver last summer, Rob Caruso, director of product management for UX at Google TV, said the OS isn’t what consumers base their smart TV purchasing decision on.
“I don’t think consumers care about the OS,” Caruso said. “I think for the most part, what still drives TV purchasing … is size and price.”