Interview with Tim Baxter, President of Samsung Consumer Electronics USA
On show opening day of CES 2010 I had the pleasure of a private interview with Tim Baxter, President of Samsung Consumer Electronics USA. Highlights of our conversation:
DL: What do you see as the most important drivers of your 2010 television line?
TB: Primarily Apps and 3D. About 30% of our 2010 television line with have wireless connectivity for Apps and connecting to multiple devices. In 2009 it was widgets, such as a live RSS feed for The USA Today; next year there will be more. We are also learning how to make things easier for consumers to use. Obviously the active shutter glasses for 3D will be part of our strategy as well.
DL: Will you be adding Skype to your televsions, as LG and Panasonic announced at the show?
TB: We have no specific comments regarding the platform at this time, but we do plan on offering chat capability to our televisions in the future.
DL: What do you expect the size cutoff to be for 3D TVs?
TB: (Quickly confers with associates) We expect to offer 3D in televisions 40 inches or larger, with the majority of them 46 inches and above. We have the widest assortment of TVs available and 1/3 of them will be 3D capable.
DL: How much more will it cost for a 3D TV compared to a conventional TV of comparable image quality?
TB: There will be a price premium but it will not be dramatic. I can’t give any numbers as pricing is not set but I can tell you it won’t be 30% or more.
DL: Most TVs sold today are LCD, and myself and most videophiles prefer plasma for its superior image quality. What are your thoughts on the future of plasma?
TB: Plasma is an important part of Samsung’s business now and in the future, we are definitely a plasma supporter. Plasma still sells well, especially in the bigger screen sizes. Fifty percent of 50 inch televisions sold are plasma. That’s a big number.
DL: How do you plan on differentiating yourself from your competitors in the television marketplace this coming year?
TB: There are several key ways we will differentiate ourselves. Samsung plans on having the widest assortment of televisions and devices available. We will focus on having the very best picture quality on the market. Of course, 3D will be very important. We will have TVs with 2D to 3D rendering (comment from DL to readers- I saw this and on the demo material I saw it worked nicely, more on this soon) and concentrate on providing consumers with an out-of-the-box, turnkey 3D solution. We just announced a partnership with Dreamworks and Technicolor to produce 3D content. We will work with them to create excellent content for our customers to enjoy. The glasses are obviously part of the 3D equation, we will work to produce light, comfortable glasses.
