The thinner, the better. This isn’t a fashion show catwalk, but the TV stands at the Consumer Electronics Fair in Los Angeles. Beyond s...
The thinner, the better. This isn’t a fashion show catwalk, but the TV stands at the Consumer Electronics Fair in Los Angeles. Beyond size, 2016 is also going to be all about Ultra HD and 4K. And for giant Samsung, TV is much more than a simple screen: it’s an entire ecosystem. “Also exciting to Smart TV for 2016 is what we call SmartThings and the Internet of Things. What this means is that your TV has the ability to connect to and be part of an entire ecosystem of connected components and devices. Our SUHDTVs this year include the hub, or the brain of the SmartThings connected environment. All of our smart TVs for this year will in fact be able to be a thing or a device in the Samsung SmartThings home,” said Jason Baruch, National Products Trainer at Samsung America. China-based Internet conglomerate LeTV is the creator and pioneer of the popular ecosystem business model which includes a vertically-integrated online environment. At CES it unveiled what it’s calling the world’s thinnest TV. “The Max 65 Blade – our super-slim 3.9 mm thick TV – we just announced that yesterday. It comes with a modular sound bar that houses the brains of the TV so it makes for future proofing the TV. You can upgrade your ports, your OS, your processor, your RAM just by swapping out the sound bar and docking it to the TV. That helps also keep the panel super thin. 3.9 mm is about as thin as you can really get right now,” said LeTV spokesman Will Park. Undeterred by the fact that there are actually very few 4K movies available, South Korean giant LG went ahead and showed off its new 8K Super Ultra-High Definition TV set. “We’ve added perfect HDR, high dynamic range. That’s going to give you a picture so realistic you’re going to feel like you’re there. Everything you’re watching will be like you’re looking out the window. Nature brought into your home,” said LG Electronics’ National Product Manager Martin Valdez. But for 4K to be taken up, content is needed. Internet-based Netflix is intent on meeting that demand and announced it would be bringing its services to more than 130 new countries around the world, up from 60. “We’re excited to bring Netflix to many, many different devices. We continue to expand our offering of smart TVs and we have several thousand different models of smart TVs, many of the televisions sold in the rest of the world in the past 18 months or so will be capable of Netflix and Netflix app will become available (globally) either today or over the coming days and weeks,” said Netflix Chief Product Officer, Neil Hunt. Japanese giant Panasonic rolled out its string of new 4K televisions and related products to keep up with the competition but insisted that it was doing so… “...not for the sake of just introducing the feature, a feature that really adds to the experience, so, you know, what we tried to address this year was the confusion around, you know, ‘Why should I get a 4K?’ I still get asked questions like ‘Why aren’t you doing plasma anymore?’ There’s still a group of people out there who I think want us to bring plasma TVs back,” said Julie Bower, President at Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. With such a multitude of new models packed with state-of-the-art features, they can’t all make it onto the mainstream market according to some analysts. “The pace of competition is still as intense and everybody is just trying to move in on this space and develop technologies as fast as possible. The risk is that a lot it is ahead of standards and you need standards to actually sell things because that gives consumers the confidence to buy,” said analyst Paul Gray. As far as TVs are concerned, it seems there was something for everyone at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, from the world’s largest TV to the transparent screen or the flourish of weird and wonderful curved screens. Happy 2016 in front of your new screen! CES 2016General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra unveils the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV The car will have a 200-mile range and cost about $30,000, she said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016People look over the BMW i Vision Future Interaction concept car. The car includes BMW AirTouch technology that lets the driver control various functions with simple gestures. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A Casio WSD-F10 Smart Outdoor Watch. The Android Wear watch, which links with a smartphone, has sensors for air pressure and altitude, and has a built-in accelerometer, compass and gyrometer. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A Sony PS-HX500 turntable. The new turntable lets users record vinyl using high-resolution music formats such as DSD and WAV. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016An attendee looks over a Sony Z5 Premium smart phone. The phones are the first with a 4K Ultra HD display, a representative said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A man takes a photo of a 78-inch “Quantum Dot” SUHD television by Samsung Electronics. The quantum dot technology creates a brighter picture, a representative said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A Gear S2 Classic Platinum smart watch. The watch is compatible with most Android smartphones. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A man checks out the Nikon D500 digital SLR camera. The new 20.9 megapixel camera will be the top of the Nikon DX line, a representative said. The camera will be available in March and retail for $1999.00 (body only). REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016An attendee tries the ReliefBand wearable electronic device, described as used to treat nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness and pregnancy. REUTERS/Rick WilkingCES 2016Nissan Motor Co. General Manager Tetsuya Iijima removes his hands from the steering wheel of an autonomous drive Nissan Leaf as it pilots itself through Sunnyvale, California. REUTERS/Noah BergerCES 2016BBC television reporter Rory Cellan-Jones tries out a HairMax Laserband, a hands-free device that claims to treat hair loss and cause new hair growth. REUTERS/Rick WilkingCES 2016The Faraday Future FFZERO1 electric concept car. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016The Triby by Inoxia, a WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled device for the kitchen, is displayed during “CES Unveiled,” a preview event of the 2016 International CES trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The $199.00 device has an Internet phone, a speaker for music, and a connected message board. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A Withings’ Thermo, a smart temporal thermometer, is displayed during “CES Unveiled,” a preview event of the 2016 International CES trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada January 4, 2016. The $99.00 has a 16-sensor array for accuracy and is WiFi-enabled. It is expected to be available in the end of the first quarter in 2016, a representative said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A Mother monitoring system by Sen.se is displayed during “CES Unveiled.” The device for seniors has features such as medication reminders and alerts. Sensors on pill bottles let Mother know if the medication has been accessed or merely moved, a representative said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A Canhe-Fit pendant for pets is displayed on a toy dog during “CES Unveiled.” The fitness tracker monitors your pet’s activity level, then an App gives nutritional advice depending on the breed, age and weight of the pet. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016An aroma module is inserted into a Sensorwake alarm clock during “CES Unveiled.” The $109 olfactory alarm clock releases the scents at the programmed time but will also sound an auditory alarm if you don’t wake up after three minutes. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016Workers set up a commercial drone display at the AEE Technology booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center. In the foreground is a F600 all-weather, carbon fiber drone. The large size means the the drone can carry a larger payload and has better stability in wind, a representative said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016Bran Ferren ©, founder of Applied Minds, listens to a journalist dressed in an R70i aging suit during a preview of the Genworth booth. The suits simulate various aging conditions and will be used in a national tour to educate and build empathy for the aging process, said spokeswoman Alexandra Osorio. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016The Volkswagen BUDD-e electric vehicle is displayed during Chairman of Volkswagen Passenger Cars’ board Herbert Diess’ keynote address at the 2016 CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 5, 2016. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016Volkmar Tanneberger, head of electric and electronic development at Volkswagen, shows off the Volkswagen e-Golf Touch electric vehicle. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016Fitbit Blaze watches are displayed. The $199.95 smart fitness watches are expected to be available in March, a representative said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016Fitbit Blaze watches. The $199.95 smart fitness watches are expected to be available in March, a representative said. REUTERS/Steve MarcusCES 2016A Mercedes-Benz IAA (Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile) concept car. The car can change shape under certain driving conditions, to increase fuel efficiency. REUTERS/Steve Marcus Less
