Smart TV market is estimated to grow at 21% CAGR by 2018

While the UHD TV sales are forecasted by Digitimes Research to grow from 1.5 million in 2013 to 68.2 million in 2018. Where as the other interesting TV segment smart TV sales are forecasted by Futuresource Consulting to reach a shipment of 228 million by 2018 compared to 90 million in 2013. "In developed regions 30% of homes will own a smart TV by the end of 2014, rising to 70% by 2018," says Jack Wetherill, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. "And people aren't just buying the feature, they're using it too. At present, around 80% of the smart TVs in people's homes are connected to the internet, with the pervasion of embedded Wi-Fi and auto-boot on track to lift this figure to over 90% by 2016. "Our recent round of international consumer research, surveying more than 4,000 people, shows that over half of owners are using a service on their smart TV at least once a week, with 40% of US owners saying they use a service every single day." "There is little opportunity for TV brands to monetize apps or content, with consumer interest concentrated on free or subscription video, and far lower interest in other genres or general web use - a radically different profile to the mobile market," says Wetherill. "Differentiating the offering by providing exclusive content is also challenging, and there are still very few compelling examples. In addition, the ongoing co...