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A lack of familiarity and high prices are two key factors holding back sales of 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) TVs, according to new research from Parks Associates.

Nearly half (44 percent) of U.S. broadband-connected households planning to buy a standard, non-UHD flat-panel HDTV within the next year said either prices of UHD sets are too high or the improvement in picture quality over standard HDTV is not worth the added cost. Perhaps more telling, 42 percent of the respondents were not even familiar with 4K/UHD TV technology.

The situation is more upbeat among the general pool of households planning to purchase a flat panel TV in 2015: 56 percent cited UHD picture quality as an important feature.

Despite potential near-term setbacks in UHD adoption, Parks estimates that more than 330 million UHD TVs will be sold worldwide by the end of 2019, up from 2 million in 2013.

In summarizing the state of the UHD TV market, Parks wrote: “4K adoption will grow because the manufacturers that own the bulk of sales and market penetration want 4K to succeed, although it will not drive a new upgrade cycle. Lack of content and lack of standards are both barriers to a new upgrade cycle. Picture technologies such as high dynamic range (HDR), wide color gamut (WCG), and faster frames per second (FPS) are more likely to motivate consumers to upgrade.”