Blocking of Smart TVs of “gray” televisions: LG and Samsung

At the beginning of the year, Samsung, and now LG, took decisive steps and remotely decided to block “gray” televisions. The Korean brands are disturbed by the thought that someone is reducing their income. Only this blocking of Smart TV “gray” televisions could cause even greater harm to manufacturers. It is very unfortunate that the leaders of Korean corporations do not realize this.

What is the blocking of Smart TV “gray” televisions

In every country in the world, imported products have their own tariffs and duties. For example, the same product can be taxed differently in different countries. There is also such a concept as quotas – when a limited batch of goods can be imported into a country. All these financial operations are pre-calculated by manufacturers (in our case, televisions) to maximize profit.

Buyers quickly realized that equipment can be cheaper in neighboring countries. Sometimes, the difference reaches 1.5-3 times. It is easier to cross the border with a television from another country than to buy it in their own store. This mechanism has been tested for a long time and is used by everyone who knows how to count their money. This applies to all household and computer equipment, electronics, cars, furniture, and clothing. Only all manufacturers turn a blind eye to such manipulations. But Koreans are not pleased with this.

LG and Samsung are digging their own graves

In fact, this blocking of Smart TV “gray” televisions is not so scary. An update arrives via the internet, after which a white stripe appears at the bottom of the screen, which cannot be removed by normal means. It contains a message that the TV is prohibited from being used in this region. There are dozens of thematic forums online offering to download, record onto a flash drive, and run a program on the TV that will remove this lock. Even if the owner does not understand the topic, they can hire a specialist to do it for 5-10 US dollars. And this will be cheaper than buying a new TV in their country.

The question is different – are Korean companies Samsung and LG so monopolized the market that they can easily block users? Manufacturers should be happy that buyers are bringing Samsung and LG TVs from neighboring countries. But they could have bought TVs from Philips, Sony, or Xiaomi. Most likely, this blocking of Smart TV “gray” televisions will be the decisive step that will make buyers refuse Korean brands’ products. Both household appliances and mobile devices will be affected.

In general, it remains a mystery why the Koreans decided to dig their own grave. But already now, buyers planning to buy a “gray” LG TV have sharply abandoned their plans. And soon Black Friday, then Christmas. Besides Korean TVs, there are hundreds of options from Chinese manufacturers, with long-term warranties.