TCL has shown off its 4K UHD TV range for the Australian market, boasting competitive pricing across a wide selection of panel sizes.
Chinese TV manufacturer TCL is ranked third in the world for TV sales, but sits lower in the Australian marketplace, with a 7 per cent share of sales according to market research company GfK.
TCL seems set on climbing up that ladder, however, and has revealed a large range of 4K TVs for 2014 that may well give it a boost.
All of the new range is Smart TV-enabled, with apps such as SBS On Demand, SMH TV, YouTube, and more all built in. TCL highlighted its Full HD to 4K upscaling technology, along with its solid energy efficiency rating and 200Hz refresh rate.
But it’s the pricing that’s likely to be the biggest draw for consumers. The flagship U85E5691FDS is an 85-inch 4K panel for just AU$9999 — the first sub-AU$10k price for a 4K panel of that size.
Similarly, the 65-inch model is just AU$2999, with pricing rapidly falling down to just AU$799 for a 40-inch panel.
TCL representatives were quick to point out that the company is fully integrated in terms of manufacturers — it makes every single component itself, rather than sourcing from OEM suppliers.
TCL is also working with OLED and had a curved OLED screen TV on display — sadly, national sales manager Nick Redmond said that the company had no current plans for an OLED product in Australia, instead concentrating on 4K products for the time being.
While the lack of 4K native content has stymied growth of UHD panels in Australia, TCL’s strategy — making a 4K product nearly as cheap as Full HD one — might well prove quite successful for the company.