China TV vendors to sell Ultra HD TVs at the same price as regular HDTVs on May 1

By Ted Kritsonis May 1, 2013

How’s this for a bargain? TV vendors in China are reportedly going to offer Ultra HDTV products at similar prices to regular 1080p HDTV models as part of special sales events for the May 1 holiday in that country.

This comes from industry sources but hasn’t yet been substantiated by any of the manufacturers. TCL is China’s top electronics manufacturer and sells its products under both the TCL and RCA brands in the U.S., and these sources suggest that TCL will sell 55-inch Ultra HDTVs for the equivalent of $1,600 U.S., which is the same price for regular 55-inch 1080p HDTVs.

Another company called Skyworth is apparently looking to sell 39-inch Ultra HDs for the same price as a 42-inch 1080p flat-panel.

Considering the current cost of producing an Ultra HDTV, which can be two or three times that of a 1080p panel, this move seems a bit strange because of the losses that would be incurred. The Chinese government has offered consumers energy-saving subsidies when they buy LCD TVs to boost sales of residual products, like speakers and Blu-ray players.

Industry sources also said TV sales always tend to increase in the May 1 period, which is somewhat of an equivalent to Black Friday in the U.S., and that may partly explain why these manufacturers and retailers would be willing to sell such expensive hardware at unimaginable prices.

It will be interesting to see if this actually happens, but it’s also worth noting that major TV manufacturers, like Sony, Samsung, LG, Sharp, Toshiba and Panasonic, don’t appear to be part of this sales event.

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A/V Writer

A tech journalism vet, Ted covers has written for a number of publications in Canada and the U.S. Ted loves hockey, history…

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