Consumer electronics cos to test India with 3D TVs

Cashing in on the interest generated in the three-dimensional world by films like Avatar, consumer electronics companies like Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic are gearing up to cajole Indian consumers to buy a 3D TV set.

Samsung India, for instance, has started manufacturing 3D LED TVs at its Noida facility from this month. The company expects to sell 30,000 3D TV sets in the first year or 10 per cent of its total light emitting display TV sales. "We have launched 10 3D models in March across the LED, LCD and Plasma platforms. We expect our 3D sets to constitute 10 per cent of our total LED television sales this year," says Ravinder Zutshi, deputy managing director of Samsung India.

LG Electronics plans to sell 3D TVs in India from May by partnering with Valuable Group, which operates in 1,700 cinemas and has a 40 per cent market share. The company recently acquired the global broadcasting licence for the Indian Premier League. LG 3D TVs will be deployed in venues where cricket fans gather, including public bars and restaurants across the country, to coincide with Valuable Group's live 3D broadcast of the final four games of IPL.

LG is targeting 25 per cent of the global 3D TV market, as it hopes to keep its lead over close rivals and fight falling prices with premium models. LG, which competes with local rival Samsung Electronics and Japan's Sony Corp, expects the global 3D TV market to grow to around 3.8 million units this year and to over 13 million in 2011.

Havis Kwon, LG's vice-president and head of the LCD division, says: "Our goal is to boost market share in the 3D TV segment and our target for 3D market share is 10 percentage points above our LCD TV sales target." The company sold around 5.2 million LCD sets in the first quarter versus a 2010 target of 25 million sets. LG also intends to increase its global market share in LCD TVs to 15 per cent this year from 11 per cent last year.

Sony and Panasonic, which import almost all its products in India, are planning a global launch of 3D television sets by May-June this year. Sunil Nayyar, GM (sales) of Sony India, says: "We are launching our 3D televisions globally in June this year. The technology will be a big boost for the industry and high-end television options."

Sabiha Kidwai, GM-marketing and corporate strategy, Panasonic India, concurs that her company will soon launch 3D televisions globally, including India.

Indian consumers have finally matured to experiment and even adopt newer technologies, leading to manufacturers' faith in globally launching the same products instead of a phased rollout, according to analysts. However, cost plays a major factor in India. Hence, 3D TV sets may take a while to catch up.

Consider this: 3D TV sets are around 25 per cent more expensive than comparable 2D television sets now. Moreover, 3D glasses cost around Rs 5,000. For instance, the Samsung 3D LED television screen size between 40 to 65 inch is priced between Rs 1,30,000 and Rs 4,35,000. The 3D LCD series is available in 46 and 55 inch screen sizes, priced between Rs 1,29,000 and Rs 1,86,900.

While the 63-inch 3D plasma TV is priced at Rs 3 lakh. Samsung India expects to sell 1.2 million flat panel TVs this year, of which 300,000 would be LEDs.

Industry analysts also point out that the entertainment industry is expected to adopt a common and compatible standard for 3D in home electronics. As a result, manufacturers like LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic would be able to increase their 3D TV offering and make 3D TV sales account for over 50 per cent of their respective TV distribution offering by 2012. But the screens will use a mix of technologies until there is standardisation across the industry.

Some of the unresolved issues, meanwhile, revolve around 3D glasses (passive or active), bandwidth considerations, subtitles, recording format and a Blu-ray standard. Also, while some of the 3D TVs will have the capability of converting the 2D signal to 3D, for a real 3D experience consumers need to have a 3D source, like a 3D broadcast.