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Kodak Aims to Redefine Smart TVs with Next Level of AI

March 16, 2021 by Sujith Gopinath

The world is slowly coming out of the Covid-19-induced slump and businesses are all set to shore up their investments with the post-covid demand in focus. In a conversation with T3 India, Avneet Singh Marwah, Director and CEO of Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd, A Kodak TV Brand Licensee, reveals the company’s plans and strategies ahead.


2020 was a forgettable year for most due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. However, it has also been a year of technology and OTT content penetration and also forceful adoption of technology for a good majority. Could you give us a glimpse of how the lockdown period turned out for Kodak TVs and SPPL?

Once the relaxation was announced during the Lockdown 3.0, Kodak HD LED TV resumed sales through Amazon and Flipkart in orange and green zones across the country while 80% of the demand came from cities in red zones. We saw this as an opportunity to start supply in selected areas. We prepared our factory to resume work once the government had approved. We had enough stock to cater to the demand for up to a month keeping in mind the guidelines for sales in the red zones as soon as the government deems it fit.

Kodak was the first company to start manufacturing and began to sell once the lockdown was lifted. Currently, we are delivering to 13000-14000 pin codes. In the meantime, we have installed human sanitization machines and stringent social distancing norms for employees, to deliver safe and hygienic products to the consumers. Television is no longer a non-essential commodity in the traditional sense. Resuming TV sales in orange and green zones, was the start of the journey to overcome the economic slump and we assure all our customers that our products follow stringent safety protocols and are hygienic. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Kodak TV India has recovered 65 percent of its sales after resuming operations due to the growing ‘Make in India’ sentiment and its aggressive pricing.

What were the major takeaways from the lockdown period for the company?

We saw that people had started to shift to OTT apps, and a big TV screen only enhanced the experience of watching content over smaller screens like a laptop, phones, etc. We saw an increase in the rating of viewerships in India, which broke all the records. The demand for smart TVs grew, as malls and shopping complexes were closed, eCommerce played an important role and offered huge discounts to further support sales. The growing demand for Made in India products further fuelled this demand and there was a lot of pent-up demand from the lockdown period. We were the first TV manufacturing plant to open after the lockdown, and had a ready inventory to meet this demand, and continued to serve over 15000 pin codes in India.

Now that the markets are opening up, how do you plan to leverage the continuing work-from-home and learn-from-home scenarios to expand the business?

One of the biggest disruptions for the TV industry has been A.I. We are working with the Android team to streamline more Indian languages in Google Assistant. I feel the new U.I will be a voice command, as the biggest screen of your home will be now connected to your smart home devices. We will now be developing new televisions keeping work-from-home in mind. Apart from the content, the TVs will be business-tool–friendly as well. The main concept is our customers can work in the daytime and in the evening our customers can enjoy their favourite OTT content.

What major technological innovation do you foresee in the near future that is most likely to revolutionise the IoT space in India? And how has SPPL geared up to drive this?

In 2020, we focused on expanding our manufacturing capacity and market presence with an investment of Rs 500 crores. Now, we will be expanding our IoT investment so we can continue to give competition to phone brands that are entering into the TV category. With the new pipeline, we are confident that we can capture more than 10% of the market share by end of 2021.

As a person who has been at the forefront of the Make in India initiative, could you list out the challenges you faced in making this a success?

We are practicing Make in India for the last 30 years, one of the biggest challenges we have faced is the misdeclaration by other manufacturers and brands. That has always resulted in a price war and unhealthy competition. But from few months, the government has started to act upon it due to which month on month GST collection had increased and made new records. The ease of doing business was again a major challenge. Only top business houses were granted permission but today everything has become online. It is an equal playing field for everyone. Value addition is still the biggest challenge for India to compete in the global market. We must increase our value additions up to 70% from 15%, we need more raw material factories.

Could you elaborate on the service facilities you offer for Kodak TVs and the customer connect initiatives you have in place?

Currently, we have more than 550 service centres across India, giving installation and service in more than 18000 pin codes. In tier one, two, and three cities, the SLA is less than 48 hours and in tier 4 and rural areas, it is less than three working days.

What other technology initiatives and innovations can we hope to see from SPPL in 2021?

In 2021, we are investing 300cr in the R&D centre to focus on IoT technology which will be A.I. enabled to further accelerate the Make in India initiative of Google Android TVs. Kodak TV is making televisions that can be used as a one-stop platform for work-from-home in the morning and smart TV in the evening. By end of 2023, there will be more than 1 million smart home devices available in the Indian market to connect with Kodak Android TV.

Kodak is trying to build up an ecosystem under Atmanirbhar Bharat, this will focus on developing and innovating technologies for Android TV in India.  Kodak TV will have a first-mover advantage, not only for the domestic market but we can compete globally.



Filed Under: TV Tagged With: avneet singh marwah, Kodak, sppl, super plastronics, TV

ViewSonic continues to build its LCD portfolio through a partnership with Ingram Micro

January 8, 2021 by T3 India

LCDs have been lingering in the Indian market for a long time now, with new ranges of budget-friendly LCDs and LEDs monitors available within the ever-expanding market. With an aim to continue the growth of their LCD portfolio, ViewSonic India have partnered with Ingram Micro, the latter being an exclusive distribution partner for ViewSonic’s LCD business.

Ingram Micro, claimed to be one of the world’s largest provider of technology logistics and solutions will aid the sale of ViewSonic’s new and innovative products – with an aim to build in smart features and more –  which the latter plan on releasing in 2021. ViewSonic are determined that this partnership with Ingram Micro will strengthen their business in India.

Currently, Ingram Micro is ViewSonic’s sole distributing partner.

“We are glad to cooperate with Ingram Micro, a reputed national distributor, to jointly develop business in India. With Ingram’s strength and ViewSonic’s advantage, I believe we can create the value and share the value with partners and customers. Then eventually make life more convenient and make business more efficient”, said Mr. Eric Wei – Senior Director, Asia Pacific ViewSonic.

“This partnership further strengthens the relationship between the two organizations and gives an opportunity to offer LCD monitors to our channel partners. It complements our existing portfolio. The best-in-class products from ViewSonic and Ingram Micro’s wide channel footprint will be mutually beneficial to both the organizations in advancing the business”, said Mr. Sanjay Achawal, Executive Director, Ingram Micro India.

For more information, visit www.viewsonic.com

Filed Under: Monitor, TV Tagged With: gaming, Gaming Monitor, LCD, monitor, TV, ViewSonic, ViewSonic Gaming Monitor

Hisense Tornado TV series focuses on audio

December 16, 2020 by T3 Online

Hisense has announced a new TV series for the Indian market. The Tornado 4K series goes for an improved aural experience since most of the new affordable TVs lack a powerful speaker system. With Tornado, though, the TV comes with a six-speaker JBL system that includes four full-range speakers and two high-frequency speakers, delivering a total output of 102W. The TV also supports Dolby Atmos technology.

Moving from its audio prowess, the TV series will come in screen sizes of 55″ and 65″ and the usual Google TV smart features like integrated Chromecast and Google Assistant.

The Hisense Tornado also supports Dolby Vision along with Ultra Dimming technology.

Hisense has not released the pricing but the 55″ variant will be available from next week whereas the 65″ variant will be available from early next year.

Filed Under: TV Tagged With: Hisense, TV

Hisense forays into India, starting with TVs next week

July 30, 2020 by T3 Online

Hisense has been selling their TVs and home appliances in the European and the North American market for the last few years and the Chinese company just confirmed its arrival in the competitive Indian market, starting with televisions.

The company will first launch their QLED, UHD and HD Smart TVs in the Indian market, beginning next week, which coincides with Amazon’s Prime Day sale. The TVs will also sell on Flipkart, TataCliq and Reliance Digital.

The new TVs run Google’s official Android TV OS, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support and comes with remote control that gives one-touch access to streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar and YouTube.

Moreover, Hisense will also launch new products later this year, including the next-generation Laser TV, Dual Cell TV and home appliances like ACs and refrigerators.

Filed Under: TV Tagged With: India, TV

Samsung launches The Wall in India, pricing starts from Rs. 3.5 crore

December 5, 2019 by T3 Gaming

Samsung is trying to redefine the TV viewing experience with the introduction of The Wall. As the name goes, this series aims to takeover your house wall with the display size starting from 146-inches that goes up to 292-inches. There’s a middle variant as well that measures 219-inches.

The Wall is based on Samsung’s MicroLED technology and is designed to never turn off, thanks to the 100,000-hour lifetime of its self-light emitting diodes. When The Wall is not being used as a TV, customers can transform the display to showcase art, photos or even videos, like Samsung’s Frame TV.

When it comes to tech, The Wall is equipped with a lot of bells and whistles but if resolution is your concern, it supports 4K, 6K or 8K content, depending on the display size you choose. There’s AI up-scaling as well via Quantum Processor Flex that according to Samsung, “analyses millions of image data to automatically calibrate the original low resolution image according to the display. It can be connected to any OS through a physical HDMI input, thus, providing ease of usage to the customers.”

Moreover, they also have Quantum HDR technology, peak brightness of 2000 nits and 120Hz screen refresh rate that makes sure you’re not missing out on the best of tech, today’s displays have to offer. 

However, if these are not enough, Samsung is also offering The Wall Luxury and The Wall Pro. The Wall Luxury is a tailor made screen for home cinema and gaming with Ambient & Entertainment Mode along with all the relevant smart TV features. Similarly, The Wall Pro is geared towards high-end businesses and retail spaces. 

Samsung has started selling them from today and without taxes, they are priced between Rs. 3.5 crore to Rs. 12 crore.

Interested customers can setup private viewings at Samsung Executive Briefing Centre in Gurgaon.

Filed Under: TV Tagged With: Samsung, TV

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