CES TV round-up: What’s in store for 2019?
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a trade show held in January every year at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, US. The event showcases new products and technologies in the consumer electronic industry and is the largest event of its kind.
The biggest names in the technology world are represented at CES, showing off and talking about their latest products, future plans and trends for the year ahead.
Televisions took centre stage at CES 2019 with the major TV manufacturers packing their televisions full of technology that really matters and on a mission to finally make 8K an inevitability. Picture quality is being taken to even higher levels with the new wave of OLED, QLED, HDR, HLG 8K HDR10 TVs soon to make their way into our showroom for you to experience.
Here’s a little of what to expect:
PANASONIC
The Japanese company launched its new GZ2000 model at CES and it packs a very clever trick up its sleeve which could prove hugely popular.
Instead of going bigger and thinner, Panasonic‘s new GZ2000 is all about the audio it can produce.
This 4K TV is the world’s first with built-in upward-firing speakers capable of delivering Dolby Atmos.
This means sound appears to move around the room in a three-dimensional space, so you are made to feel like you are fully immersed inside the action. The sound signature is also tuned by audiophile brand Technics, so you can imagine its potential.
“Together, Dolby and Panasonic are bringing best in class audio and imaging technology to Panasonic’s TVs,” said John Couling, Senior Vice President, Commercial Partnerships.
“Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos perfectly complement the GZ2000’s advanced display, transforming it into an entertainment powerhouse.”
As well as better audio, Panasonic says they have also worked hard to improve the visuals on the new TV.
With a faster and more powerful HCX PRO Intelligent processor the GZ2000 has all of the trimmings expected from a 4K OLED display, including lovely deep blacks and wide viewing angles the Panasonic GZ2000 can produce improved detail and accuracy with less motion blur visible on the screen.
Support for Google Assistant and Alexa is built into the GZ2000, which will be available in 55 and 65-inch sizes, so it should work as the hub for a great smart home experience.
SONY
The Sony Bravia Master Series Z9G is an 8K TV which comes in sizes up to 98-inches and will have AirPlay 2 compatibility.
There is also an 85-inch version coming in 2019 and both use Sony’s X1 Ultimate image processing to up-convert any content to an 8K resolution.
The new ZG9 will offer 8K HDR resolution providing four times the pixels of current 4K.
There’s also some very clever audio technology tucked inside which allows viewers to magically hear the sound coming from inside the screen, and not from where the speaker is located, this should make content feel far more immersive.
Along with this giant TV being revealed, Sony also refreshed its lineup of premium OLED TVs.
The AG9 is Sony’s new flagship 4K HDR OLED TV and will be available in 77”, 65”, and 55” screen sizes.
Sony says images come to life with the super-wide viewing angle, precise contrast and absolute blacks of OLED technology.
Acoustic Surface Audio+ provides a totally immersive sound experience with the sound coming from the entire screen, enveloping viewers in exciting new entertainment experiences.
The AG9 is also incredibly slim in depth and, when wall-mounted, it will fit close to the wall at around half the distance of Sony’s previous model
Sony’s new TVs are now fully compatible with Apple Airplay 2 and HomeKit which should make accessing content from your iPhone, iPad and Mac a lot easier.
SAMSUNG
Samsung is also going supersized in 2019!
Its brand new 98-inch QLED television is the firm’s biggest and most powerful TV to date.
It also offers full 8K resolution which could make your current 4K TV look like something from the 80s.
Samsung will expand its 8K TV offering in 2019 with a new series of sets featuring the best images and resolutions possible.
It will head-up a range that also includes 65, 75, 82 and 85-inch variants and, like those, features Samsung’s proprietary picture upscaling technology that intelligently scales Full HD and 4K images to 8K, to cater for the home consumer who can’t yet get hold of native 8K content.
One of the biggest announcements by Samsung at CES is that all of its 2019 models (along with 2018 TVs) will include an app for Apple’s iTunes Movies and TV Shows service. You won’t, therefore, need an Apple TV to view films and programming purchased or rented on iTunes.
Along with 8K, Samsung has also revealed its new Micro LED technology which offers improved image quality and the ability to push the screen to the very edges meaning no more chunky bezels.
Along with these new unveilings, Samsung also gave the first glimpse of its refreshed lifestyle TVs.
These clever televisions, which look like pictures hanging on your wall, are nothing new with the firm unveiling its first selection of ‘Frame’ televisions last year.
But the Korean firm says its latest and minimalist models will feature an Art Mode which displays digital pieces of artwork, including paintings and pictures.
This year’s ‘Frame’ also features the pristine picture quality of QLED, which offers deeper contrasts, deeper and darker blacks and 100% colour volume.