Commentary

Screenless TV The Next Wave?

According to the Futuresource Consulting report, “A Review of the Global Screenless TV Market,” innovative technologies for displaying TV content without the staid grey box are set to offer consumers a new viewing concept and a fantastic opportunity to reinvigorate living room design.

The trend has already taken hold in the Chinese market, says the report, which has recently witnessed substantial demand for Screenless TVs, an umbrella term referring to both laser TVs and smart projection, says the report. Laser TV's are ultra/short throw projectors that are sold with a range-specific screen, while smart projection are home cinema projectors with integrated smart functionality.

Futuresource expects brands, including Hisense, Inovel, XGIMI and JmGO, to break into the US market encouraging at least one major consumer electronics manufacturer to follow suit, and attract a growing number of tech and design savvy early adopters.

Claire Kerrison, Futuresource analyst and co-author of the study, says "Chinese companies are creating beautiful, innovative designs, and there's been a groundswell of development from them over the past couple of years which shows no signs of stopping… the next stage of strategic growth for these companies is international expansion."

Brands moving into this area are doing so at least in part due to concerns over the long-term profitability of the flat panel TV market. Hisense has claimed that projection is the future of the main home display and that it could "overthrow" LCD TVs – an attention-grabbing statement, not least because it derives from one of the world's leading TV manufacturers, notes Kerrison.

"Screenless TV solutions offer an array of benefits that cannot be matched by flat-panel TVs: flexibility; a low-cost 100-inch display; mobility to different locations; and reduced eye-strain," says Kerrison. However, it is the design of these solutions rather than their functionality that has led to the recent surge in demand. They are modern, sleek and completely different from the standard grey boxes to which projector users have become accustomed, says the report.

In its report, Futuresource Consulting explores the complex weave of factors that will impact both short and long-term growth of this burgeoning and disruptive product segment. 'Screenless TVs' are expected to account for 75% of global projector sales to the home by 2021. Will projection really be the future of the consumer display, asks the report. In China, which attributed to over 20% of global TV shipments in 2016, it could well be, concludes the report.

All information provided by Futuresource in any form is proprietary information that belongs to Futuresource and is protected by UK and international copyright law. Members of the press may use a press release in its entirety or take segments from it as necessary; "Source: "Futuresource Consulting, copyright 2016".

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