So far we’ve covered all the computer tech (CES Part 1), the random tech (CES Part 2) and also all the EV and Self Driving tech (CES Part 3). For our final piece on CES 2020 we’re now going to dive into all the things TV so strap in!
Micro LED Everywhere!
To start off with Micro LED TV’s seemed to be everywhere. What are micro LED TV’s? They’re just like regular LED’s (small light emitting diodes that make up other TV tech like OLED TV’s) but are instead comprised of small “bricks”
You can see the back of one of them below to get an idea of what I mean. These aren’t a single big “TV” piece of hardware, but instead dozens or even hundreds of smaller boards that join together to form the display size and ratio the buyer wants.
How much is this awesome tech? Well I had to ask so… the 139″ 4K micro LED above that was on display from a company called Lumens is around $300,000 USD. Ouch.
This specific form factor isn’t actually too new as older generation LED displays like this have been used for advertising for quite a while now. However they have had much lower resolutions, these newer ones are clearly upping the game and giving more normal resolutions like 4K, just for much bigger display units.
Personally I absolutely want this to be the future. Make these individual screen brick units super cheap, super easy to link together and sell them to consumers en mass. While reducing costs by 100x isn’t a small ask, with time, R&D plus increases in manufacturing volume it’s not unheard of.
At that point you could essentially coat any wall in your house with TV for $3,000 USD. Awesome!
Samsung The Frame TV
Another general theme I was pleased to see is the continuation on of Samsung’s The Frame TV as well as others starting to copy it. Samsung is now on their 4th generation of this product and it’s pretty damn cool I think.
With this years 2020 models there are new sizes (70″ down to 32″) and also new colour / brightness changes to make the art seem more realistic and better looking. The new models will be available later on this year and should come to Australia too given you can already buy the older models here now.
Interesting to note is that for Samsung ones at least, the actual TV is essentially just the liquid crystal display, a light and fan. All the other brains and input/output ports, power etc are in a separate box that connects to the screen via a super thin fibre optic cable.
It’s because of this separation apparently that gives the screen its ability to be on 24/7 and still have fantastic longevity. This is because all the heat generating components are far, far away from the LCD area and don’t damage it when it’s running.
The Frame also has a motion sensor in it that automatically turns it on for a configurable amount of time when it detects motion in the room which is nice. You can even pay for a subscription to have art displayed on it.
After asking more questions I was disappointing to learn that it only syncs with Samsung’s Things photo app, not anything else. As such the only way to have it display your own photos or art is to load it up on a USB drive and stick it in like a damn cave man! Hopefully they bring Google Photos, Google Drive, Apple, Dropbox etc support through soon.
8K TV’s Are Rolling In!
8K screens were on show by every major manufacturer which was awesome to see. With the Samsung Galaxy S20 line up of phones coming out this year shooting 8K 30 I think 2020 will go down as the “year of 8K”.
Sure, most people won’t buy 8K TVs and there will be even less content to watch on them, but this year will be a turning point of 8K tech finally coming into regular peoples hands and bringing things forward.
With TVs, expect to see more and more 8K models showing up in your local Best Buy or JB HiFi stores, still at eye watering prices though. At least they should read maybe $8,000 rather than $80,000 though so that’s a good sign in my opinion.
After seeing a huge array of super expensive 8K TVs I’m convinced that it is a legitimate upgrade from 4K despite what many might assume to be irrelevant.
For one thing TVs can get bigger and still hold fantastic resolutions with 8K. Trying to sell a 120″ 4K TV probably isn’t a good idea as the size just becomes too big and you start to see the pixels but with 8K that isn’t a problem.
Even standing 10 cm away from the giant 120″ TV above you can barely see them. On top of this 8K seems to be different to 4K in that while 4K is “crystal clear”, 8K takes it to a visibly different level in that it actually looks like reality rather than a high res screen.
With 8K and a proper quality video sauce it honestly does seem like you’re just looking out a window. Not at a TV or any type of screen device, just out a window at a beautiful scenery.
This is even more true with the higher refresh rate ones and LED technologies that have huge dynamic range on them. They have a fluidity to them that seems to give the image life and your brain just keeps having to remind itself that no, this isn’t reality outside the window… this is a screen. It’s awesome and I want it!
Rotating Screens Are Idiotic
One absolutely idiotic, stupid and just atrocious trends I also got to see was a few different manufacturers making rotating TVs. This was supposedly to watch all the vertical video content people are viewing on their TVs better.
Personally, I don’t know of anyone who watches any vertical video (young or old) on their TV let alone someone who would want/buy this. Besides, vertical video is the devil and should be burned. Moving on!
That’s It For CES 2020!
And that concludes our full coverage of CES 2020 this year! Let me know in the comments if you’d like more info or pictures of any of the tech I’ve highlighted over the past few posts and I’ll see what I can do.
Also let me know if you’ve enjoyed the coverage as it’s definitely something I’d love to do again in the future. Until CES 2021 though, it’s back to our regular scheduled broadcasting of future technology rather than “this years” technology, which I guess is technically in the future so whatever.
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