Value TV Brands Now Offer High-Tech Features: IHS

Taipei, Aug. 12, 2011 (CENS)--Premium TV brands are confronting growing rivalry from lower-end value labels with features previously seen only in costlier, advanced-technology sets but now competing at much-lower prices, according to information and analysis provider IHS.

Long the chief attraction provided by high-end brands like Sony and Samsung, features such as 1080p high resolution, 120Hz refresh rates and light-emitting diode (LED)-backlighting technology are now cropping up in value brands entering the market, especially in the 40- to 42-inch space, IHS said. But unlike their pricey counterparts, the new upstarts boast dramatically lower pricing.

Value brands like Apex and Element, for instance, offer 40-inch 1080p/120Hz LED sets for US$550 at Target and Walmart stores across the United States. In comparison, premium brands with the same features are priced at about US$1,100—double that of discount brands.

Premium brands are striving to keep up. California-based Vizio—once considered a value brand and now part of the elite cadre of premium TV names—in June dropped the price of its 40- to 42-inch high-resolution LED model by US$49. At an average US$836 and a low of US$628, it is the lowest-priced premium TV with those features on the market.

However value TVs have not yet started to make 3-D (three-dimension) or Internet connectivity a mainstream offering in their lines, two other benefits claimed by the premium market. But as value TVs improve their quality and availability of advanced features, premium brands will need to continually enhance their products, focusing on key advantages while keeping price in mind, IHS believes.