What They Say
Hub Entertainment Research published an excerpt of its latest survey of US media consumption. Ownership of smart TVs is now extended to 70% of homes and 52% of all TVs in homes, up from 45% last year. More than half of sets in homes now have the Roku or Fire TV OSs. 44% are said to have UltraHD compatible sets and 61% have watched 4K content and 10% say they are ‘very likely’ to buy an 8K set in the next year. There has been a big shift in how US consumers plan to buy their sets, with those planning to go in-store dropping from 42% in 2019 to 29%, while those going online have grown from 27% to 43%, with home delivery.
44% of users say they have at least one TV with voice control in their remote. If you include smart speakers, half of homes use voice to control their TVs.
As well as TV, the excerpts cover other devices and media. 10% of homes say they have a VR device, up from 8% in 2019 and 2020, with 72% of VR owners saying that they use them for gaming. 8% say they have AR devices or use the technology.
What We Think
I’m always nervous when consumers report their own systems. Very often, they have little or no idea of what they are using. I seem to remember a web browsing survey that reported that the ‘most popular resolution’ was 1024 x 1024! The data for AR looks a bit wrong to me.
I suspect that the 10% that are very likely to buy an 8K set may have not yet looked at the price/value of such a set, yet. (BR)
