CES 2011 Roundup – Televisions
Since CES is the consumer electronics industry’s #1 annual expo, where hundreds of products are released every year, we thought we’d give a brief summary of the juicy news to come out of the 2011 CES which took place in Las Vegas from January 6-9. Here, we start with new TV announcements…
Samsung to add an extra inch to their Plasmas for 2011.
It’s every man’s dream – an extra inch! Samsung have come up with a thinner bezel, allowing the frame of their Plasmas to be slimmer, thus increasing the size of the viewable screen on their range of Plasmas, without increasing the overall dimensions of the product. New models will be available in 51″, 55″, 59″ and 64″. They’ve also claimed that Plasma technology will be around for 10 or more years, despite many claims that the technology is old. This is due to the lower production costs and the consequential affordability of the larger screens.
Download PDF of Samsung press release here.
Smart phones? Try Smart TV’s
Samsung have announced a new line up of applications for their TV app store, aimed at further improving interactivity between viewer, TV and programming. Applications include games, sports updates, music sharing programs and more. Whether or not these will all be available in Australia remains unclear. Over-hyped marketing ploy? We think so. But still – the Samsung televisions that will feature them are the best in their class.
Download PDF of Samsung press release here.
Panasonic increase their range by decreasing their size.
Panasonic’s new range of 3D Viera TVs will for the first time have some 3D LCD/LED panels, at 32″ and 37″ sizes. Both are smaller than any currently available 3D TV. Also added to the range will be the 42″ and 46″ sized plasma panels. The 2011 3D range will also comprise multiple models, the VT30, GT30 and ST30. 2010 only had one, the popular VT20A.
Click here to view the full Panasonic press release.
Glasses-Free 3D TV announced and demonstrated
Toshiba will be the first to market with glasses-free 3D TV. Or so it seems. Others to announce their intent to move into the product category are Sony. Commercially available panels in sizes that are large enough to allow for true enjoyment of 3D viewing. However, these TV’s are unlikely to capture to much market share, as current incarnations have massively restricted viewing angles, to the point that you pretty much have to be in an exact spot to see it. One day folks… One day.
3D TV goes passive.
In more prommissing news for 3D TV, it has been announced that 3D like it is at the movies will be available for the home in 2011. 3D can currently be produced in 2 ways, passive or active (for a full explanation, click here). Active is the method used in 2010 model 3D TVs, whereas passive is what is used in cinemas. The actual difference in performance is negligible at the end of the day (some say active is better). The major difference however is in the glasses, which are lighter and will cost about one sixth the price of active models. LG and Toshiba have both announced a shift towards this passive 3d technology in 2011.
And the awards goes to…
Vizio! Vizi who? Unfortunately, the best of CES 2011 award for the TV category went to a brand who has little to no interest in ever coming to Australia. America’s leading TV brand, Vizio are leading the way in internet enabled TVs, with their Google TV range among others announced at CES 2011. Their XVT3D6SP series, equipped with Google TV, won the best at show award in the TV category. But don’t consider angering the big retailers by buying one from overseas, the TV’s wont work in Australia, thanks to the different tuner standards in the US. Unlucky for us.
For the full list of Best of CES, click here.
Stay tuned as we will be posting more CES roundups in the coming days.
