China's makers of TVs see big picture

As 4K ultra HD TV and immersive entertainment sweep the US, leading industry players from China are looking to catch up with their Western peers with innovation.

At Monday's press day for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which opens Tuesday, Chinese companies such as TCL, Hisense and ZTE showcased their latest technologies and new products for a billion-dollar market.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) expects annual growth of 15 percent in the household-entertainment industry, especially in the augmented and virtual reality areas, through 2018.

Shawn Dubravac, chief economist for CEA, said new technologies are converging to create a vivid, immersive entertainment environment.

He said that the 4K ultra high-definition TV, for example, is driving household entertainment. 4K is a device that displays high-definition content with a horizontal resolution around 4,000 pixels.

"The 4K TV saw 800,000 units sell in 2013, and we expect 3 million units" to sell in 2014 in the US,said Dubravac, author of Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data will Transform the Way We Work, Live and Communicate.

TCL Multimedia, based in Huizhou, Guangdong province, announced on Monday a series of new products, including the world's largest 110-inch 4K Ultra HD Curved TV, a 55-inch 4K UHD Quantum Dot TV, as well as its new TCL TV+ strategy.

The TV strategy for 2015 centers around TCL TV+ that "combines the latest display and acoustic processing technology with incredible interactive features such as media sharing, smart remote control and the electronic program guide," according to E Hao, CEO of TCL Multimedia.

Also, China's first quantum-dot television,the 55-inch 4K HUD Quantum Dot TV, was introduced to the Chinese market recently.

For Hisense, another leading consumer electronics player, based in Qingdao, CES is a platform to showcase its new VIDAA 100-inch Laser Cinema TV, a laser projector that can beam a 100-inch image from a distance of only 2 feet. By integrating different technologies, the TV also is designed to provide high-end audio and video.

Another Hisense product, Chill, a personal home beverage-dispensing appliance, was unveiled and will be available Jan 15 at Costco.

Both TCL and Hisense are working to expand their businesses by teaming up with major international industry players. TCL works with Roku, the smart TV platform,to promote a line of Roku-powered TVs that will hit the market in 2015.

Contact the writers at zilian@chiandailyusa.com and junechang@chinadailyusa.com 

Las Vegas: E Hao (left), CEO of China's TCL Multimedia, unveils with Jason Carlson, CEO of QD Vision and also a business partner of TCL, the 55” 4K UHD Quantum Dot TV at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show which starts on Jan 6 and runs through Friday this week. Photo by Lian Zi/China Daily