At this year’s CES, 4K TVs are back in the spotlight and for a positive reason: 4K is going mainstream. With companies introducing their version of 4K TVs on the show floor this year, we can expect 4K TVs to be one of the hottest buys this year.
4K TVs, also known as 4K UHD ( Ultra-High Definition) has more than twice the picture quality of current 1080p TVs. 4K UHD TVs have a picture quality of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels and more than 8 million pixels. Here is a picture to show the difference between 4K and traditional TVs.
OLED v Quantum Dots
The Pixel battle comes in two forms, organic light emitting diodes (OLED) technology and Quantum Dots.
Some companies like LG boast that their Ultra-HD screens works much better with OLED, while Samsung is implementing a new technology called Quantum Dots and ditching the prevalent organic light emitting diodes (OLED) technology claiming that it will be able to produce cheaper TVs at the similar quality.
What is OLED?
OLED are light-emitting diode whereby its backlighting emits light by putting organic compounds through an electric current.
What is Quantum Dots?
Quantum dot based displays use tiny atoms to light individual colors. Quantum dots does not degrade, which means the TV has a longer life.
Samsung’s newly released SUHD line uses quantum dot technology.
Releases
While 4K TVs are hitting the mainstream consumers, companies are already working on the next big thing in TV. SUHD and beyond 4K were introduced.
LG
LG announced seven new UHD OLED TVs for this year’s lineup.
With the standout being the, 77-inch 77EG9900. This 4K OLED UHD TV is able to be both a flat screen and a curved TV, all with a push of a button.
Samsung
Samsung has announced its SHUD line with nine TVs.
The standout being the new 88″ SUHD (Super Ultra HD) TV. Along with all the other Smart TVs released this year, the SUHD will be running on Samsung’s very own Tizen OS. Samsung has also updated its Smart TV experience by introducing four new features.
1.) “First Screen Menu” is updated so that users can control their TV with a remote, voice or gestures in a much simpler way.
2.) The Samsung Quick Connect allows users to connect their phones and tablets to their TV so that they can watch their favorite shows on any device without stopping.
3.) Samsung Sports Live brings the second-screen experience on to the main screen and provides near real-time stats about the team and players.
4.) Samsung has also partnered up with PlayStation Now, which lets users stream and play games without a console
Sony
Sony released a whopping 28 new TVs for this year’s lineup. Split between 4K and Full HD, Sony’s TVs will be running on the Android TV platform.
The standout will be the X900C 4K TV, the thinnest 4K TV in the world at only 4.9mm (thinner than the new iPhone 6).
Panasonic
Panasonic has released nine new TVs at CES. One of the biggest announcements coming out of CES would be Panasonic has partnered up with Mozilla to have its 4K UHD TVs run on Firefox OS this year.
Sharp
Sharp also released nine new 4K UHD TVs this year, all of which contains native 4K streaming for Netflix and YouTube. Sharp has also opted for the Android TV platform for its 4K TVs.
This year, Sharp unveiled a Beyond 4K UHD TV available later this year, at 80-inches Sharp packed more than 66 Million subpixels in the TV with its resolution “approaching 8K”.
UHD Alliance
This year Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Sharp along with Hollywood studios Disney, Warner Bros., Fox and more formed the UHD Alliance. The alliance hopes to set a 4K standard across all platforms bringing quality videos to consumers.
Read our complete coverage of CES and all the new, cool tech coming to the market at AZTB.
