After more than 40 years of operation, DTVE is closing its doors and our website will no longer be updated daily. Thank you for all of your support.
Germans embracing smart TV, bigger screens
Two in five TVs in German homes are now smart devices, according to a study by consumer electronics trade body the GFU. The study found that 38% of homes have smart TVs, compared with 51% in Switzerland and 33% in Austria.
Over half – 51% – of German smart TV owners said that internet capability was an important factor in leading them to choose their device. About three quarters – 73% – of smart TVs are actually connected to the web in Germany.
A further 12% of TV sets are indirectly connected via game consoles, set-top boxes or other devices.
Flat screens are present in the living rooms of 86% of German homes, according to the GFU study.
Germans are more fearful than their Austrian and Swiss neighbours about possible invasions of privacy via smart TVs. Twenty-six per cent of Germans that have not connected their smart TVs to the web cited privacy concerns as the main reason, compared with 8% of Austrians and 6% of Swiss. Thirty-one per cent of Austrians, 26% of Germans and 22% of Swiss cite technical reasons for not connecting, including slow or non-existent internet connections.
Use of smart TVs for viewing time-shifted content is the leading application, with 72% using the devices for this purpose, followed by access to YouTube, used by 63%, and access to paid content, used by 50%.
Forty-six per cent of Swiss, 44% of Germans and 31% of Austrians agreed that their TV behaviour had changed as a result of the availability of catch-up services, while 28% of Swiss, 25% of Germans and 22% of Austrians said that the are more willing today than two years ago to pay for some content such as on-demand films.
Survey respondents also showed a greater willingness than previously to contemplate purchasing a new TV set, with 12% saying they would like to make a purchase before the end of the year. This compares with 20% planning to buy a new smartphone and 17% planning to invest in or buy a new tablet. The main incentive for new purchases is to get a bigger screen, cited by 78%, with higher resolution images cited by 66%. However, 63% cited internet connectivity as a reason to buy, up sharply from the 2013 survey where only 39% cited this as a purchase incentive.
Awareness of smart TV was also high, with 41% claiming a detailed knowledge of what the term meant and 44% being at least aware of the term. Only 15% said they do not know what the phrase smart TV signified at all. The availability of video-on-demand in Germany is known to 34% of TV viewers. However, only 13% knew the term 4K, beaten by 9% who are aware of the term UHDTV.
Germans’ desire for larger screens is evident in the 29% who said that 42-47 inches is their desired screen size, making this the largest single group. Last year the largest single group responding to this question said their prefereed size was 32-42 inches. Twenty-three per cent said they were looking for screen sizes of up to 55 inches, while 15% are looking for up to 65 inches and six per cent are looking for screens larger than 65 inches.