(Yicai Global) March 19 -- Global sales of 8K high-resolution televisions will rise this year but still not surpass 300,000 as color TV sales decline due to the novel coronavirus, according to analyst Zhang Bing.

Chips that improve image quality in screens will be the key area of competition in the sector going forward, Zhang, research director for leading tech researcher Omdia in China, told Yicai Global yesterday.

"Chips are quite important and improving image quality of 2K and 4K content is mainly done using chips to produce a quality close to that of 8K," Zhang said. "Customers are becoming more accustomed to listening to music or watching videos using apps in TVs, including those in 4K or 8K resolutions, and this offers the chance for companies to focus on hardware, software and content."

There are three factors restricting the growth in sales volume of 8K TVs, Zhang added, saying these are a lack of 8K content, high prices, and the fact that TVs must be at least 65 inches in size to use 8K, and few consumers buy TVs that big.

The European Football Championship has been postponed by a year because of Covid-19 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games may also be delayed or event canceled, and this will affect TV purchases, Zhang said. The supply chain will also be affected, possibly reducing color TV sales by at least 10 million from last year, he added.

This will cement the status of top-tier brands and make life even more difficult for lesser-known names, Zhang believes. He also expects phonemakers like Oppo Mobile Telecommunications to try and tap into the color TV sector.

Chinese TV maker Hisense Visual Technology debuted its 8K Pro Double-screen TVs online yesterday and plans to debut six types of image quality and artificial intelligence chips over the next two years, Wang Wei, vice president of the Qingdao-based firm said. The company will add independently developed chips to 90 percent of its products, he added.

Guangdong-headquartered TCL Technology Group also recently launched new quantum-dot TVs with 8K resolution, and Chinese TV maker Skyworth Group revealed its new liquid-crystal 8K TVs at this year's CES.

Editor: James Boynton