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Events & Trade Shows

HDTV Expert - Samsung was King of the CES Hill
Events & Trade Shows 4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - Samsung was King of the CES Hill

Samsung dominated CES 2014 with a sweeping UHD TV lineup spanning 50 to 110 inches, featuring PurColor wide-gamut technology, a quad-core processor, and UHD upscaling claimed to deliver near-native-4K image quality. A joint announcement with M-Go and Technicolor confirmed that native-4K streaming requires 15 Mb/sec bandwidth while optimized upscaled content needs as little as 3 Mb/sec, giving streaming providers meaningful flexibility. Samsung also previewed a 4K content partnership with Amazon and an Evolution Kit for firmware upgrades, signaling a long-term ecosystem play that extends well beyond the display hardware itself.

Ken Werner •
Columns
HDTV Expert - Display Surprises at CES 2014
OLED TVs Events & Trade Shows

HDTV Expert - Display Surprises at CES 2014

CES 2014 surfaced several notable display advances, including 3M's Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF) deployed in the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9-inch tablet, boosting color gamut from 60% to 72% NTSC while substantially improving battery life. Sharp demonstrated an HDR TV prototype using Dolby professional monitor technology, potentially targeting consumer pricing by 2015, and LG disclosed an internal yield target of 75% for its new OLED TV panel plant opening in Q3. For consumers, these developments signal meaningful near-term improvements in display quality, power efficiency, and OLED availability across price tiers.

Ken Werner •
Columns
HDTV Expert - CES 2014 In The Rear-View Mirror
OLED TVs Streaming HD Events & Trade Shows

HDTV Expert - CES 2014 In The Rear-View Mirror

CES 2014 showcased a wave of 4K LCD and OLED televisions, with HEVC H.265 encoding poised to halve required bit rates and enable 4K streaming at roughly 10-20 Mb/s over existing broadband infrastructure. Quantum dot film technology, already deployed in Sony's 55-inch and 65-inch 4K LCD TVs, offers a compelling alternative to OLED by delivering stable, narrow-bandwidth color without the differential blue-emitter aging that threatens OLED longevity beyond 5,000 hours. Consumers weighing early adoption of these technologies will find the display interface landscape still evolving, with HDMI 2.0 capped at 18 Gb/s and DisplayPort 1.3 promising higher headroom for 10-bit 4K at 60 Hz.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Home Theater OLED TVs Events & Trade Shows

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #618: Best of CES 2014 and Top Tech to Watch this Year

Podcast episode 618 recaps home theater highlights from CES 2014, covering award winners across Digital Trends, Engadget, and CES Innovations categories, including the LG 77-inch Curved Ultra HD OLED TV (77EC9800) and Sony FMP-X1 4K Ultra HD Media Player pre-loaded with 10 feature films. Notable audio picks include the Philips Fidelio E5 wireless 5.1 surround system and Bang and Olufsen BeoLab 18, while the Samsung UN65H7150 touts a Real 240Hz Full HD panel with quad-core processing. Consumers tracking display and audio upgrades in 2014 will find a concise cross-source roundup of the year's most significant product launches.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
Events & Trade Shows 4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - At CES, Sharp Calls Its Quattron+ Almost-4K TV a "Game Changer"

Sharp's Quattron+ display technology uses a four-sub-pixel pixel structure (red, green, blue, and yellow) to generate two luminance peaks per pixel both horizontally and vertically, effectively upscaling a 1920x1080 Quattron panel to a 3840x2160 near-4K output via its proprietary Revelation Technology. Demonstrated at CES 2014, the resulting image quality is described as nearly indistinguishable from true 4K at typical living-room viewing distances, at roughly half the price of native 4K sets. Sharp's roadmap reportedly extends this approach to 4K panels delivering 8K output by CES 2015.

Ken Werner •
Columns
HDTV Expert - CES 2014: First Impressions (4K, Curved Screens, OLEDs, and All That)
OLED TVs Events & Trade Shows 4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - CES 2014: First Impressions (4K, Curved Screens, OLEDs, and All That)

CES 2014 brought a wave of large-format display technology, highlighted by three manufacturers unveiling 105-inch 21:9 curved 4K LCD TVs, LG's 77-inch curved 4K OLED as the world's largest, and Vizio's 120-inch 4K LCD using Sharp's Gen 10 ASV glass from Sakai, Japan. Chinese manufacturers replicated nearly every Samsung and LG breakthrough with far less fanfare, while Panasonic's conspicuous absence of a consumer LCD lineup signals a potential exit from the TV market. For buyers, the practical takeaway is that large 4K LCDs are on track to become the standard within 2-3 years, with competitive pricing pressure accelerating from Chinese brands.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Home Theater Events & Trade Shows 4K Ultra HD

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #617: CES 2014

CES 2014 brought a wave of 4K Ultra HD televisions from LG, Sony, Samsung, and Vizio, with standout entries like LG's 105-inch 21:9 webOS-powered 105UC9 and Vizio's P-Series featuring 64 Active LED Zones and HEVC codec support starting at $999.99. Sharp debuted the first WiSA-compliant universal player transmitting uncompressed 24-bit/96kHz audio wirelessly, while Sony's SRS-X9 added aptX Bluetooth, AirPlay, and DLNA to its 2.1 wireless speaker lineup. Consumers evaluating upgrades will find a broad range of price points and ecosystem integrations, from Netflix 4K streaming support to multi-room audio solutions.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
Home Theater OLED TVs Events & Trade Shows

HDTV and Home Theater Podcast - Podcast #600: IFA 2013

IFA 2013 brought a wave of next-generation display announcements, headlined by LG's 77-inch Ultra HD Curved OLED TV combining WRGB OLED technology with 4K resolution for an infinite contrast ratio, and Samsung's 98-inch 4K OLED priced above the $40,000 mark. Harman Kardon debuted the Onyx, a 60W Bluetooth and AirPlay wireless speaker at $650, while Sony unveiled the KDL-65S990A, a 65-inch curved 1080p HDTV with an eight-speaker four-channel audio system for $4,000. For home theater enthusiasts, the show previewed where premium display and audio hardware is heading, though practical value remains limited by steep pricing.

The HT Guys •
Podcasts
Events & Trade Shows

Ed's View: Flashback

At CES 2013, a holographic display system transmitted live via satellite from Germany demonstrated a photorealistic 3D figure that appeared to walk through bystanders, echoing a chance encounter decades earlier with early 10:1 digital video compression shown on side-by-side 13-monitor comparisons at a 1970s CES. Both technologies initially defied belief, yet the earlier compression work proved foundational to modern broadcasting. For readers tracking display innovation, the anecdote underscores how satellite-delivered holographic imaging may follow a similar trajectory from curiosity to mainstream adoption.

Ed Milbourn •
Columns
LCD TVs Events & Trade Shows

HDTV Expert - Digital Signage Expo Grows in Size and Energy

The 2013 Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas drew 22% more exhibitors than the prior year, with major panel makers and technology vendors showcasing advances including 4K 84-inch touch displays from LG and ViewSonic, Corning Gorilla Glass directly bonded to Christie 55-inch LCDs, and E Ink electrophoretic panels that survived the 2011 Sendai tsunami. Sharp leveraged its Gen 10 fab to deliver panels up to 90 inches, while BSI demonstrated a resized and curved 26-inch LCD at 1366x384 pixels using Tovis heat-bending technology. Transparent display refrigerator doors and interactive demographic-sensing signage signal where the industry is heading in real-world retail deployments.

Ken Werner •
Columns
OLED TVs Manufacturing Events & Trade Shows

HDTV Expert - Panasonic Delivers Big OLED Surprise at CES - by Ken Werner

Panasonic stunned CES attendees with a 56-inch 4K (4Kx2K) OLED-TV panel fabricated using solution-based printing technology, marking the first large solution-processed OLED display shown publicly and a potential breakthrough for cost-competitive large-screen OLED production. Samsung and LG both debuted curved 55-inch OLED-TVs, each claiming a world-first, though the practical value of screen curvature for OLED remains questionable given the technology's already wide viewing angles. LG also confirmed its flat 55-inch OLED-TV would go on sale in the U.S. in March, its fourth announced commercial release date.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Events & Trade Shows 4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - China Attacks!

Chinese TV manufacturers including TCL, Hisense, Haier, Konka, and Changhong made a strong push at CES 2013, showcasing 4Kx2K panels up to 110 inches produced by CSOT's Gen 8.5 fab in Shenzhen, with Westinghouse Digital announcing a 55-inch 4K set priced at $2999 and a 65-inch model at $3999. Hisense demonstrated a near-zero-throw laser projector while Westinghouse detailed a DLED backlight design using three to four horizontal LED channels that undercuts Edge LED costs while improving power efficiency over CCFL. For North American consumers, these brands are moving beyond private-label arrangements to establish their own identities, signaling more competitive pricing and broader product choices ahead.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Events & Trade Shows Market Trends & Analysis 4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - At CES 4K Gets Cheaper, Much Cheaper - by Ken Werner

At CES 2013, 4K Ultra HD televisions appeared across multiple manufacturers in 50-, 55-, and 65-inch sizes, with Westinghouse Digital pricing the 50-inch model at $2,499 - a dramatic drop from the $20,000-$25,000 range of Sony and LG's 84-inch debut sets. Built-in HD-to-4K up-conversion chips partially offset the lack of native 4K content, drawing a parallel to the effective DVD-to-HD scalers that slowed Blu-ray adoption. These price reductions suggest that earlier projections of negligible near-term 4K sales may need significant revision as the technology moves within reach of mainstream consumers.

Pete Putman •
Columns
OLED TVs Events & Trade Shows 4K Ultra HD

HDTV Expert - CES 2013: From Hype to Ho-Hum in Minutes - by Pete Putman

CES 2013 showcased a flood of 4K Ultra HD TVs from virtually every major brand, with Chinese manufacturers like Hisense, TCL, and Haier matching Japanese and Korean rivals across panel sizes from 50 to 110 inches - all sourcing LCD glass from China Star Optoelectronics, a TCL-Samsung joint venture. IGZO semiconductor technology emerged as a key differentiator for Sharp, promising lower power consumption and faster pixel switching, while LG and Samsung debuted curved 55-inch OLED panels still unavailable for purchase. The practical takeaway is that rapid commoditization of 4K displays, driven by Chinese manufacturing scale, points toward significant price drops across all screen sizes by late 2013.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Events & Trade Shows

2013 INTERNATIONAL CES OPENS WITH RECORD BREAKING SHOW

The 2013 International CES broke both exhibitor and floor space records with more than 3,250 companies spanning 1.9 million net square feet in Las Vegas. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs delivered the preshow keynote highlighting the Snapdragon 800 processor, designed to power tablets, smartphones, and full PCs with LTE, ultra HD, and 7.1 surround audio support. With roughly 20,000 new products launching across the week, attendees and industry professionals had rare access to major announcements spanning 8K displays, OLED TVs, augmented reality, and perceptual computing.

Shane Sturgeon •
Bulletins