SUMMARY
It becomes crucial to know how technology is transforming everything around us
A household first purchases a television set after getting electrified
Our nation is today waking up to the dream of a truly ‘Digital India’
The average Indian household will become ‘connected’ to at least some extent by 2025, especially as digital technology becomes more inclusive and accessible. So, given the importance of television in Indian households, Smart TVs are going to be the cornerstone of our homes and their operations. Television is also the first consumer electronics device that people purchase after getting their household electrified.
Every successive technological advancement has transformed our lives, making it easier than previously deemed possible. A simple case in point is no longer having to hunt for the remote control and simply ordering Google around to switch to a particular channel or set the room temperature. Technology, in that sense, is a boon for our civilization and promises to transform our everyday lived experiences.
Exciting times also lay ahead for the TV audience. In the wake of nation-wide digitization, the way we get our daily dose of content has changed. Furthermore, the confluence of IoT and AI promises to further transform the experience and usher us into an age of seamless and efficient control.
As technology continues to surface in its new-age avatar, it becomes crucial to know how it is transforming everything around us – especially our TV viewing experience; let’s have a look.
Welcome To The New Age: How Technology Is Revolutionizing The Indian TV Viewing Experience?
In order to appreciate the changes being brought by technology in the TV segment, we need to first understand how our national landscape is changing at present, thus warranting tech-led transformations. India has today achieved 100% electrification across 600,000 villages. Riding on the back of decreasing data tariffs and BharatNet initiative, both urban and rural geographies are also rapidly digitizing currently and joining the digital bandwagon. Now, let us analyse how this change transforms the day-to-day life of people.
According to multiple surveys, a household first purchases a television set after getting electrified. This trend could be attributed to the fact that entertainment is a basic need of every individual. So, it barely comes across as a surprise that as our national smartphone adoption is around 400 million at present, the total number of people that have access to TV sets has increased to over 835 million. As per the data made available by BARC India, the overall TV penetration within our nation is 66% and covers 197 million households. It can then be said that TV viewing is an integral element of the typical ‘Indian lifestyle’.
Thankfully, pioneering television brands are transforming this TV viewing experience by taking it off to another level. For instance, we have been witnessing the rise of energy-efficient LED TVs (such as OLED, QLED, and AMOLED TVs) in India for quite some time now. They provide enhanced picture quality than even LCD TVs as well as an immersive viewing experience. They have a better depth of colours with a wider colour range, true black, and dynamic surround sound – a few elements that considerably enrich the TV viewing experience of a person. However, this is still far from the true innovation. The influx of IoT and Artificial Intelligence have changed the game altogether.
Ultramodern Indian: IoT And Artificial Intelligence For Connected Home And Entertainment
Our nation is today waking up to the dream of a truly ‘Digital India’. And so, it is clearly evident as our urban households start living up to this dream. Perhaps, this is why industry-leading brands are carving a niche for themselves in the rapidly booming Smart and AI Android TV segment. They are doing so by driving superior AI features to further evolve the typical home entertainment. Today, people can virtually be seen talking to their TVs – asking about everything from weather updates to ETA for office and even to update the shopping list – with the help of Google Voice and voice-based remote controls.
Now, they are even going beyond Google Voice by making advances in the field of AI-powered speech recognition in order to de-clutter background noises. It enables a person to interact with the AI interface of the TV even while being at a considerable distance. So, it helps in flexibly operating the TV set, say to change the music while exercising or to know the next step while cooking. Similarly, AI-powered picture and sound engine analyse the image as per their algorithms and enhance them considerably – leaving no stone unturned in-home entertainment even when the incoming video feed is not up to the mark.
AI and IoT are the cornerstones of connected homes. According to industry experts, the average Indian household will become connected to at least some extent by 2025, especially as digital technology becomes more inclusive and accessible. So, given the importance of television in Indian households, these smart devices will surely be the ones helping us control our homes and their operations. For instance, the market segment of 55-inch and above comprised just 8% of the overall market two years ago. Today, it has already grown beyond 20% and continues to grow further riding on the back of our socio-economic growth across the country. This trend will substantially augment Smart TV penetration in India.
With ground-breaking and cost-effective products coming forth with features such as HD, Ultra HD, WebOS, and Android OS, we are clearly seeing the rise of a technologically-empowered new, ultramodern India!
