Old TV sets (CRT box type) will soon be a thing of the past in Saudi homes, said Taro Kimura, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Modern Electronics Company Ltd. (MECL), sole dealers of Sony in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi home entertainment market is fast witnessing the phasing out of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) television sets which are being replaced by flat-panel LCD (liquid crystal display) televisions. Kimura was speaking here Tuesday after a media launch of Sony 3D entertainment products for the Saudi market. Prince Mohammed Bin Khaled, President and CEO of Al-Faisaliah Group, and Osamu Miura, MD Sony Gulf, were also present. Prince Mohammed said MECL is committed to offering the highest level of home entertainment that suits the requirements of the modern family in Saudi Arabia and copes with the great advancements of 3D technology. Kimura said in 2010 Saudi Arabia would receive a shipment of about 800,000 flat panel television sets, which is evidence of how CRT sets are being replaced in the Saudi market. In a wave of technological change, analog television viewing will be a thing of the past, he said. Kimura said that television technology has improved from analog to digital and from LCD high definition to the full high definition sets now available in the Saudi market. He said that broadcasters have converted their analog signals to digital ones. The change has already arrived and the meaning is clear for analog watchers, he added. “Sony stopped the production of CRT televisions two years ago,” Kimura said. He said Saudi Arabia is the first country after the US to have launched Sony 3D entertainment products. LCD television was launched in 2007, and the sets are now the most common type of TV sold in the Saudi market, he said. Kimura said Saudi football fans can enjoy watching the FIFAWorld Cup on large 3D Sony Bravia TV sets, as MECL will soon make the latest technology available in the Saudi market. At a live demonstration of Sony 3D television, members of the media were given 3D glasses to watch a pre-recorded football match. The price range of 3D products will not be more than 20 percent of normal LCD televisions. Consumers will get two pairs of 3D glasses free with every set, Kimura said.
