4KTVs will follow a similar, but faster, growth pattern as HDTVs, which have reached 82 percent of US broadband households after 15 years on the market, according to Parks Associates.

The firm predicts that 4KTVs will reach mass-market pricing in the next two to three years, leading to an on-going adoption curve that will result in a penetration of 4K in 80 percent of households in approximately ten to 12 years.

"4KTV adoption is following the same pattern as HDTV, but prices are dropping more quickly," said Stuart Sikes, president at Parks Associates. "With the increasing convergence in the connected home, innovations such as 4K have implications for a variety of players throughout the home entertainment ecosystem."

Parks Associates analysts noted 4K will initially be delivered over-the-top (OTT), with companies like Netflix, Comcast and Amazon already working on 4K-based offerings. However, 4K traffic is expected to grow over the next two years, traffic demands on broadband networks will grow dramatically. As a result, operators are aggressively looking into bandwidth-saving technologies, including next-generation video compression technologies.

From the article, "Level 3, Elemental Team on Bandwidth-friendly 4K Streaming" by Tara Seals.

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