CES Rundown: Smart TVs, OLED and 3D

A major part of CES is always the unveiling of the new TVs. What new advancements can they come up with this year? Consumers were wowed the past few years with the major push towards 3D technology. This year 3D seems to be on the backburner. OLED screens seen to be on every manufacturers lineup, and the new focus for these flat screen panels this year is the integration of “Smart TVs”.

These new “Smart TVs” are integrated with gestures/voice commands and social integration. It seems the TV manufacturers are going to route of the new trends, set by cellphone and game developers, with hands free control. Many of the new panels will be able to be commanded using simple voice controls. Gestures are also being used to control the set, rendering a remote obsolete. Companies have come to realize that social media is one of the biggest markets. Many models of the past years have already included social media on the displays. This year the companies are going for even more integration. Chatting and up to the minute updates on your social media accounts during a television program, these are part of the new social integration these new panels will possess.

OLED has been a technology that has been seen at CES before, but never before have manufacturers reveled large displays for consumers. This year companies are putting out large 55’’ panels using the OLED technology. The OLED technology is said to rival the colors produced by a plasma display. The technology of these new large panels is still fairly expensive. They are expected to be well over $6,000 currently. It’s nice however to see this technology growing and finally in larger size panels that are more attainable to consumers.

The lack of 3D was very curious this year. 3D did show up here and there, but more as an after thought. Glasses free TVs were shown, but viewing angles are still an issue with the displays. Manufacturers chose to focus on their “Smart TVs” and OLED panels this year. This does not mean that 3D is being dropped, the 3D technology will continue to be improved upon, and content will continue to be produced for it. 3D seems to be a technology that takes much longer to perfect.

My favorite part of CES has always been the new TVs. I always look forward to the new advances in picture quality and technology in the displays. This year I was very pleased with the information about the OLEDs. I have been waiting for a while now to see panels that were large and available for consumers. I’ve always been a Plasma girl, but I’m always on board for any technology that produces the most accurate colors. From what I’ve heard the picture quality of these new panels are fantastic. I’m looking forward to this technology finally taking off and becoming more affordable. I still believe we have a bit to go before this happens, but this seems to be a step in the right direction.

The push for these “Smart TVs” is interesting, but I feel a bit gimmicky. Vocal recognition and hand gestures at this point tend to be a bit glitchey. The idea of hands free is neat, but I’d still rather have a physical remote. Of course I will demo one as soon as I can, and I hope that the technology turns out to be better than I thought it was. Now onto the social aspect of “Smart TV”. Social networking integration has never been too fascinating to me. Most people own a cellphone or a laptop and have that readily available while they watch TV. Being able to use twitter on my TV while watching a show seems unnecessary to me. I’m interesting in seeing it, but do I think consumers will use it? No. The social integration won’t be the most important factor in purchasing a TV for a consumer. It’ll be a nice add-on, but it’ll remain just that. “Smart TVs” seem a bit gimmicky to me right now, but I welcome the advancement in technology and hope to be pleasantly surprised when the panels are finally available to consumers.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one, but I was very confused by the lack of 3D at CES. It was there, but it’s presence seemed to be second to OLED and “Smart TVs”. It seems the technology of 3D is taking longer than manufacturers previously expected. They have yet to perfect the viewing issues with glasses free TVs. It seems to still be limited to smaller displays. An issue with 3D has always been content. This year manufacturers are trying to produce more 3D content to make the displays seem relevant to consumers. I think this is a smart move, the 3D technology may not be changing very quickly, but more content will help get it into consumer’s hands. The slow improvement on the technology is also great for the consumer. Truly glasses free TVs (With great viewing angles) are farther away from the consumer, which means people can hold on to their sets a bit longer. I used to despise 3D TVs. But the newer panels and the improved glasses have been changing my mind. I believe if more content is realised, 3D technology will not be going anywhere.

Nicole M.