The digital home industry saw three major events in September 2013: Toshiba unveiled plans to reorganize its LCD TV business, Netflix entered the pay-TV service sector and the HDMI 2.0 was released.
Toshiba is restructuring its LCD TV business that has suffered serious losses. The Japan-based vendor will close down two factories outside the country and put more emphasis on markets with potentials. The company will also simplify its product lines to avoid overinvestment.
Digitimes Research believes that after Toshiba closes down its oversea factories, the company will expand its outsourcing. As a result, Toshiba's LCD TV orders to Taiwan makers may grow significantly in 2014. However since the vendor also announced plans to simplify its existing ODM partnerships, some of its existing suppliers in Taiwan may lose orders.
Netflix's over-the-top (OTT) service will join the cable TV platform in the UK. UK Pay-TV service providers are changing their conventional business operation which has focused only on in-house VOD services. Now pay-TV service providers have started trying to increase their competitiveness by offering OTT content.
The HDMI 2.0 has a bandwidth of 18Gps, allowing the transmission of ultra HD-quality images under 60Hz frequencies. The new technology is expected to stimulate related service providers' interest in providing ultra HD content. In 2014, ultra HD LCD TVs will gradually adopt the HDMI 2.0 as a standard specification, Digitimes Research believes.