Nothing Like Anything – Audio Video this time!

Micromax, the largest Indian handset manufacturer and the 12^th largest handset manufacturer in the world, today announced its foray into the home entertainment segment with the launch of new range of LED TVs, Home Theatres, 3D Blu Ray and SMART Stick, the Android dongle which will make TV viewing a smart experience.

With this launch, Micromax aims to become the new age screen partner for consumers; be it phones, tablets or televisions. Micromax has set up a 1 lakh sq. ft. of manufacturing facility spread over 5 acres, with a production capacity of 2,000 LED TV units per day at Rudrapur, Uttrakhand. The facility will also double up to manufacture the tablet PC Funbook and mobile accessories, which in the last 6 months has received tremendous response.

Commenting on the launch, Rajesh Agarwal, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Micromax, “Micromax is increasingly focusing on the smart devices and has introduced a series of Android powered devices in the screen range of 5” to 10”. As we move forward, we want to be the Screen partner for our consumers, no matter what the screen size is. As consumer preferences evolve and they want their devices and experience to be smart and personal, we feel the future of TV will depend on user, programming, connectivity and personalization. Compared to mobile phones, Televisions are a long-term interface and consumers want these to be smart and Sauvé and at the same time have a seamless experience while shifting from one screen to another. With Micromax TVs, we aim to partner the growing aspirations of the digital consumers at all levels.”

Mukesh Gupta, Director, Micromaxsaid “TV is a dynamic component in ones living room and we aim to make this experience better and more personalized by providing features which delivers cinema like experience at home. Adding to the consumers delight, we have also introduced a new range of Home Theatre system with 5.1 surround sound speakers, a 3D Blu Ray Player, which supports both 2D and 3D content and an Android dongle- Micromax SMART Stick. The SMART Stick is aimed at consumers who wish to take their television viewing a notch higher by converting it into an Android TV.”

Adding to this, Sunil Dutt Sharma, Business Head (Consumer Electronics), Micromax said, “We have created strong brand equity through our handheld devices and have added value to our consumers. We are targeting aspirational buyers, who want to upgrade their television viewing and at the same time demand value. We plan to introduce our offerings initially in 9 key states i.e. Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. We will deploy a two-tier distribution channel which will help us to reach out to 170 cities and build a strong consumer connect. For the Large Format Retail, we have tied up with BrightPoint.”

The LED TVs will range from 24” to 55” and will be competitively priced between Rs. 15,990 and Rs. 1,29,990. All 6 models feature High Definition Media Interface, which supports all video resolution. Powered by AVEA (Audio Visual Entertainment Architecture), Micromax LED TV features the best picture quality and the finest cinematic sound through an in-built powerful sound system, which will take TV viewing experience to another level.

Pricing of the 6 models of LED TVs are mentioned below:

Live High-Definition with Micromax LED: The Micromax LED TV powered by AVEA (Audio Visual Entertainment Architecture), offers full HD resolution and dynamic contrast coupled with amazing image detail, color clarity and crystal clear HD surround sound. 

HDMI and USB connectivity: Micromax LED TV’s supports all video resolution and connects to all devices through the HDMI. They also feature a plug and play USB port. These USB ports can play almost any format of music files; videos connect mp3 player, digital camera, hard drive etc. to the ports for instant connection. The USB port supports 14 kinds of formats across all audio and video files.

Ultra low Power consumption: Compared to normal CRT, it saves 70% more power and compared to other LCDs, it saves 40% more power

Digital audio output: Micromax TV delivers the most powerful audio quality, through its digital audio output feature. While analog audio is suitable for 2 speaker systems only, digital audio output allows the audio to be split up to 8 speakers.

Zero bright dots LED panel: With its zero bright dots LED panel, Micromax TV ensures best in picture performance. The panels used in lower series in other televisions may have 2 to 5 bright dots permanent on their panel which is not detectable by the naked eye, but it results in poor picture quality near the bright dots, whereas the Micromax panel is equipped with 100% zero bright dots.

Large format display: The 55” LED from Micromax will be a smart TV and will be equipped with technologies such as IPTV applications which will enable consumers to connect with the world in a smart way. Both 50” and 55” offers eco-friendly LED technology with 3D viewing experience. Besides, 3D content and internet connectivity, these LED are bundled with features for a unique television viewing experience such as:

Home Theatre: Micromax announces two models of the home theatre system (HT037F1 and HT089F1) which ensures the delivery of the best performance and the 5.1 surround sound speakers enhance your home theatre experience. They give a PMPO output of 4000 Watt and 5000 Watt. Both the home theatre system supports USB and SD Card and has 4 ohm Subwoofer impedance and the HT089F1 also supports Digital FM Radio. HT037F1    is priced at Rs. 5990 and HT089F1 is priced at Rs. 6990.

Micromax SMART Stick: Micromax accessorizes its LED range with a dongle powered with Android 4.0.3 (Ice cream Sandwich), worth Rs. 4,990. It offers a frequency of 1.0 GHz which offers GPU offers 3D graphic with OpenGL ES2.0 and OpenVG 1.1. It has a Standard HDMI Interface, Internal 4 GB Nand Flash, Wi-Fi direct connection and USB HUB. Additionally, it supports RF 2.4 GHz Mouse, Keyboard and Game PAD.

3D Blu Ray Player which supports all 2D and 3D video/ Audio formats, comes at an attractive price of Rs. 6,490.

Micromax is No.1 Indian tablet manufacturer* and the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the World ** The Indian brand is reaching out to the global frontier with innovative products that challenge the status quo that Innovation comes with a price. Micromax has sales presence across India and global presence in Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Maldives, UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan and Brazil.

TUB Verdict: As we were not there at the product launch so wont be able to comment much on the newly launched products till we gets a hands-on. But we would like to point out that the SMART stick looks promising and we would like to compare to Apple TV and WD TV Media Live Hub devices we have in the house.