Over the past several years, TV makers have waged wars on two fronts: technology and price. In Marketnews' 2011 wrap-up in our last issue, manufacturers voiced their determination to halt price erosion in 2012. They also expressed confidence that consumers would open their wallets to buy superior products. At CES, they followed up on their resolutions, introducing striking new products that will prople buyers upmarket.

These include televisions that use new display technologies, notably organic light-emitting diode (OLED). But TV makers are also refining LCD and plasma technologies, beefing up their IPTV offerings, and improving the integration of TVs with other devices, like tablets and smartphones. They're also introducing entirely new form factors. Here are some of the themes that will play out in the TV market in 2012.

New Display Types

Is it too bold to say that Korean have overtaken Japanese companies for leadership in the CE marketplace? Certainly, a casual visitor to CES might get that impression. Panasonic, Sony, Sharp and Toshiba had huge exhibits at CES, filled with innovative and covetable products. But LG's and Samsung's exhibits were massive, with leading-edge products spanning several categories. At the entrance to LG's exhibit was a gigantic video wall about 100 feet wide, showing 3D images of gymnasts tumbling and baseball players sliding into home. Though without the dramatic entrance, Samsung's exhibit was just as impressive.

As anticipated, LG and Samsung unveiled 55" OLED (organic light emitting diode) televisions in Vegas. The benefits of OLED include completely deep blacks (no light at all is emitted from black pixels); much faster response time than LCD; and incredibly thin design.

LG Canada says it will bring its ultra-thin 55" OLED television to market around mid-year. "There is not going to be sticker shock," promises company spokesperson Frank Lee.

Samsung makes 90% of all OLED panels produced worldwide. Its forthcoming OLED TV is a self-emitting design, with separate red, green and blue diodes for each pixel that light up as needed; consequently, no colour filter is needed. The OLED TVs at the Samsung exhibit looked stunning; and of course, the product is drop-dead gorgeous when it's off as well. It weighs 12kg, and is 7.6mm deep. No word yet on pricing, but it should be available in Canada in late Q2 or early Q3, says Jean-Pierre Jutras, CE Training Specialist for Samsung Canada Inc.

The same superlatives apply to LG's OLED TV, which uses a white OLED light source coupled to an RGB colour filter. Frank Lee, Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications, at LG Electronics Canada Inc., says this approach makes LG's OLED television "really efficient to manufacture." That could translate into good news for pricing. Pre-CES online articles speculated that LG's 55" OLED TV would retail for $8,000 to $9,000. "The bulk of prices being quoted online are incorrect," Lee told Marketnews. "There is not going to be sticker shock."

As to availability, Lee said, "We're looking at mid-year." Lee also said there was "a strong level of excitement" among buyers who saw the technology at LG's dealer show in Orlando last fall, and that LG "could push up the date," if demand from dealers justifies such a move.

Jean-Pierre Jutras, CE Training Specialist for Samsung Canada Inc., poses in front of Samsung's stunning 55" OLED television, launched at CES.

At CES, Sony showed a prototype 55" Crystal LED television, whose picture is made up of six million ultra-fine LEDs. The operating principle is similar to OLED, except that the LEDs producing the picture are inorganic (non-carbon-based). Again, the picture looked amazing, with deep blacks and wonderful colour. Like the OLED TVs from the big Korean companies, the Sony Crystal LED television is ultra-thin. No word at all on availability; Sony made it clear that this is a prototype. But it does show that the big Japanese companies are clearly in the game for next-generation television.

Beyond HD

As screen sizes get bigger, a case emerges for going beyond high-definition. It's not that pixels and flaws are obvious, even when viewed up close. At its pre-CES conference, Sharp cited a survey in which respondents were asked to watch an 80" screen from 10 feet away, and reacted very favourably.

That's not to say more pixels can't make a difference. "As consumers get bigger TVs, they need a higher-resolution screen," maintains LG Canada's Lee. At CES, LG displayed an 84" 4K2K LCD television. It's a Cinema 3D model, using LG's passive 3D technology, and will arrive in Canada in the second half, Lee said. Samsung demonstrated a 70" 4K2K LCD, but did not announce a ship date.

Sharp will launch 4K2K in the second half. For its 4K2K demonstration, Sharp used 1080i content on a 4K2K television featuring proprietary ICC (Integrated Cognitive Creation) processing, side-by-side with a 1080p display of the same size showing the same content. Developed by iCubed Research, ICC is based on research into human visual perception, explained Chris Matto, Director, Brand and Corporate Communications for Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd. Even from 10 feet, the differences were quite obvious, though certainly not night-and-day. There was more texture, better gradation of tones and colours, and a greater sense of depth.

I had exactly the same impression in a side-by-side comparison of HD and 4K televisions at the Toshiba exhibit. Here's an analogy that may strike a chord with photographers. If a good HD picture is comparable to a photograph taken with a 35mm SLR with a good lens (say a Nikon or Canon), a 4K2K picture of the same size is comparable to a photograph taken with a medium-format camera (say a Hasselblad and Zeiss lens).

Sharp also showed an 85" 8K LCD panel running native 8K content shot in Japan with an 8K camera. The TV's (and camera's) resolution of 7,680 x 4,320 pixels translates into an astonishing 33 megapixels, for pictures that look absolutely film-like. This is a technological demonstration only, Matto told Marketnews. "It shows the direction we're going in," he commented.

The Evolution of 3D

While 3D hasn't been a major hit in the market, it has appeal; and the technology continues to improve. Some of the improvements are incremental, as in active-shutter glasses getting lighter and more comfortable. This year, Sony is offering 3D glasses with titanium frames that weigh 1.2 ounces, half the weight of the previous model. Another possible (and welcome) development for eyeglass wearers: clip-ons! At its exhibit, LG offered attendees a choice of polarizing glasses or clip-ons for viewing 3D on its Cinema 3D TVs. Hopefully, TV makers will offer this option for near-sighted viewers like me.

At CES, Sharp demonstrated a prototype 85" 8K LCD television, using content shot in Japan on an 8K video camera. Resolution of the TV and camera are an astounding 33 megapixels.