This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is already over – but it’s left a big enough legacy of cutting-edge technologies to fill the dreams of gadget fans for at least the next few months.
LG bolstered the plasma market with eight new plasma models – led by the PK 950 (pictured here).
All the rage this year in the TV sector were, among others: 3D TVs, Toshiba’s CELL TVs, and a general step-up in refresh rates.
So, we’ll come right out and admit this isn’t what we’d predicted. OK, 3D topped the bill, and that’s what we said it’d do – but it was pretty hard to miss the clues there. Things we hadn’t seen coming include Toshiba’s CELL TVs, which will use the equivalent of up to an eight-core processor for video processing and other tasks. This is a big step forward, and the company’s announcement that it plans to introduce them in Europe this coming autumn is sure to give the competition plenty to worry about. The new Toshibas will also use their phenomenal processing power to handle 3D signals, and will even attempt to add depth information to normal 2D content. Very exciting news indeed!
But what other things were we looking out for? OLED, for example, is a relatively new display technology that’s taking its time about hitting the HDTV market. Sony released a tiny 11-incher, the XEL-1, last year, and we’ve seen prototypes at the odd trade fair or two. It seemed fair to expect to see the next piece of the puzzle. Sadly, however, LG presented a similarly tiny 15-inch model, and the price tag was so unbelievably high (over 2,000 USD) that the device remains the stuff of dreams for all but the best-heeled consumers.
One thing we’re glad not to have seen is the death of the plasma – but to be fair, we didn’t predict that happening just yet. LG, for example, reasserted its commitment to the display technology by announcing eight new, slimmer, and better-equipped plasma TVs. Of the big manufacturers, only Panasonic, Samsung, and LG remain in support of plasma, which many home-cinema enthusiasts still rate more highly than LCD. Pioneer’s recent departure from the plasma market had left many devoted fans unsure of the technology’s future.