CES 2009 TVs at CES 2009
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This article, CES 2009, was last updated on 12 January 2009 and is now out of date and held in our online archive for reference. Explore our latest Technology articles.
Trends in new TVs at CES 2009 - 3D, internet widgets and energy saving
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3D TVs at the CES 2009
3D TVs and monitors have created a real stir at CES 2009, and several major electronics manufacturers were displaying their latest 3D screens.
Sony and Samsung both had 3D screens on display, and we had a chance to watch some 3D footage on these. Instead of the old fashioned red and green glasses, you are now required to wear a much more modern but relatively simple pair, which look rather like sunglasses.
These glasses use a polarizing effect to create the impression of 3D. The right eye and left eye are each made to focus on different parts of the image on screen. The result is a layering effect, with the image split into 2D layers which appear to be different distances apart.
We found the effect to be relatively convincing, though it doesn’t quite achieve the impression of true 3D as you remain conscious of the 2D nature of each image layer.
The success of this technology is naturally dependent on the availability of 3D compatible entertainment. Sky has already begun dabbling with 3D programming in the UK, and there have been a number of 3D cinema releases in the last year.
Joining the 3D TV market, LG announced at CES 2009 that it is working with major entertainment studios to develop 3D-capable TV sets in anticipation of future releases that use this technology.
It is clear that 3D technology is improving rapidly, and interest in 3D entertainment is growing all the while, but it will be some time before we start seeing 3D capable screens on the market.
Hitachi demonstrates gesture-control TV
As CES 2009 got under way, visitors to the Hitachi area were treated to a demonstration of its prototype gesture-control TV.
The unique interface does away with the need for a remote control. Instead, it allows you to operate the TV simply by moving your hands.
The embedded camera sensor recognises hand motions, allowing you to turn it on and off, change channels and control the volume simply by waving horizontally or vertically.
We tried it for ourselves and were pleasantly surprised by how responsive it was and how easy it was learn the moves. Who knows? Perhaps the days of searching under the sofa for the missing remote control may be coming to an end.
The TV is a prototype at the moment, but Hitachi hopes to have it in production in 2010.
Samsung unveils new range of LED TVs
Consumer electronics giant Samsung has revealed its new range of high definition LED TVs.
An alternative format to plasma or LCD, LED TV is claimed to offer clearer, brighter and more detailed picture quality.
Samsung used CES 2009 in Las Vegas to unveil its new Luxi LED range, which it claims can achieve 40% less power consumption than an equivalent-sized LCD TV set.
Tim Baxter, Executive Vice President of Samsung’s Sales and Marketing, suggested that the LED format 'creates a new TV category' to rival existing plasma and LCD formats.
The LED TVs from Samsung are built without mercury or lead, making them more environmentally-sound in production and eventual disposal.
The Luxi range of LED TVs will be available to buy in 2009, with prices yet to be confirmed. The most basic model, the Luxi 6000, is only one inch thick and has a built in tuner.
The Luxi 7000 is just as slim, but adds an interactive internet content service which you can access directly from the TV itself. The Yahoo widget platform is utilised to provide direct and simple access to online news services, weather reports, photo sharing and video streaming sites.
The flagship Luxi 8000 model is a premium ultra-thin design, coupled with a 200Hz picture refresh rate, designed to minimise judder and provide smooth motion playback. The model we saw at the CES 2009 displayed impressively smooth motion.
TV signals are broadcast at 50Hz in the UK – or 50 scanned lines every second. 200Hz software is designed to quadruple this scanning rate, to give the impression of smoother motion. We’ve tested a Sony 200Hz TV, the KDL-40Z4500 and were impressed by the smooth motion sequences.
A number of major manufacturers displaying their products at the CES 2009 are featuring 200Hz-capable TV sets, so hopefully they’ll be able to follow Sony’s lead and deliver the goods.
LG LHX wireless LCD television
LG's new wireless TVs
LG has used CES 2009 to debut the new LHX range of flagship LCD TVs.
The 55-inch model is a mere 24.8mm thick, and its most innovative feature is wireless capability. This includes an uncompressed wireless TV receiver, meaning that you won’t need to connect an aerial lead to the set.
LG is keen to expand on the possibilities of internet-enabled TV sets and Blu-ray players, and the wireless-network-capable LHX has access to YouTube and the American NetFlix service. This means you can stream internet video content directly to your TV.
The LHX range boasts 240Hz (or 200 Hz in the UK) ‘TrueMotion’. TV signals are broadcast at 50Hz in the UK – or 50 scanned lines every second. The TrueMotion software is designed to quadruple this scanning rate, to give the impression of smoother motion. We’ve tested a Sony 200Hz TV, the KDL-40Z4500 and were impressed by the smooth motion sequences.
Peter Reiner, LG’s senior vice president for North American marketing, claimed that this would ‘virtually eliminate motion blur’.
The major manufacturers displaying their latest TVs at CES 2009 are keen to outdo each other in the technology stakes.
3D TVs in the pipeline
The buzzword of CES 2009 has been 3D TV, and LG has been keen to stake its claim to this rapidly developing technology.
LG has announced that it is working with major entertainment studios to develop 3D-capable TV sets in anticipation of future releases that use this technology. With Sky already dabbling in 3D TV broadcasts in the UK, we’ll be keeping an eye on developments and further announcements at CES 2009.
LG press conference
LG press conference
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Panasonic reveals super-skinny plasma TV
The super-skinny Panasonic Z1
Panasonic has been showcasing its ultra-thin Z1 plasma TV at CES 2009.
This 54-inch 1080p TV is just 1-inch thick, and uses WirelessHD technology – great for reducing the clutter in your living room.
Like Panasonic’s new Blu-ray players, the Z1 has Panasonic’s Viera Cast feature. This allows you to view web-based content, including Amazon Video on Demand and YouTube, via your Blu-ray player or the TV.
Viera Cast enables you to access selected internet services directly from the television – you can watch YouTube videos on your screen, scroll through online photo albums on Picasa, access live weather and news updates, or even share information via Bloomberg.
It sounds impressive, but the Z1 won’t be able to work as a full web browser with access to the entire internet. Instead, the range of services is limited, though it will be expanded with live updates, according to Panasonic.
Alternatives to this technology are already available. Connecting a games console, such as a Sony PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii, to your television will give you access to the entire internet, including services such as YouTube.
Panasonic hasn’t yet announced when the Z1 will be available in the UK, or how much it will cost.
Toshiba launches range of space-saving LCD TV/DVD combos
Toshiba's 26-inch TV and DVD combo
Toshiba has unveiled its full range of LCD TV/DVD combination players.
Designed to provide a convenient all-in-one entertainment experience, each of Toshiba’s new models is thin and has hidden speakers.
All models come with a 16:9 widescreen LCD and provide DVD players sporting WMA, MP3, Jpeg and DivX playback. That means you’ll be able to listen to music, view pictures and even watch video downloaded from the internet and recorded to disc. Most have HDMI and PC inputs, so they can be hooked up to high-definition devices or connected to a computer.
Models include the new 26-inch 26LV610U, which is designed to function as the primary TV in the home, and the 22-inch 22LV610U (black) and 22LV611U (white). Smaller players include the 19-inch 19LV610U (black) and 19LV611U (white), plus the existing 15-inch 15LV505 (black) and 15LV506 (white).
UK pricing and availability is not yet known, but in the US the models will launch in March and April and will cost from US$299.99 (about £200) to US$549.99 (about £365).
Toshiba HD televisions
Toshiba HD televisions
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To see more pics from our time at CES 2009, check out the Which? CES 2009 photo gallery on Flickr.
Toshiba's new 22-inch AV600 LCD TV
New range of Toshiba LCD TVs
Toshiba is also set to launch a new range of LCD televisions.
Promising ‘more than you expected and everything you need’, the new REGZA range starts with the XV645 series. Available in 40, 46 and 52-inch screen sizes, they feature fifth generation PixelPure 14 bit video processing technology and Resolution +.
The Resolution + software is designed to ‘upscale’ standard-definition transmissions to an effective 720p high-definition picture, while the inclusion of a 14 bit processor is impressive. The size of the processor can determine how effective the processing software is. To date, the best TVs offer 10 or 12 bit processing.
The 120Hz frame rate (100Hz in the UK) should cut down on motion blur according to Toshiba, and there’s also AutoView – an automatic light sensor designed to optimise the brightness and colour of the screen. It comes with three HDMI slots and a high-resolution PC input.
The three ZV650s (available in 42, 47 and 52-inch sizes) are on the next rung up. They use a backlight scanning technology called Clear Scan 240, which, according to Toshiba, effectively boosts the natural 120Hz rate to 240Hz - in the UK the equivalent is 200Hz.
TV signals are broadcast at 50Hz in the UK – or 50 scanned lines every second. The Clear Scan software is designed to quadruple this scanning rate, to give the impression of smoother motion. We’ve tested a Sony 200Hz TV, the KDL-40Z4500, and were impressed by the smooth motion sequences – so hopefully Toshiba and the other major manufacturers have repeated their trick.
The TVs also come with Dolby Volume which makes the sound consistent between channels and different inputs. At the back you’ll find four HDMI ports, an SD card slot and a USB port.
Top of the range are the 46 and 55-inch SV670 sets, which have FocaLight LED backlighting.
Typically, flat panel TVs have one backlight – which illuminates the screen to display a picture.
New LED backlighting takes the technology a step further and replaces the one light with a multitude of LEDs. The idea is to produce a more subtle picture, where different parts of the screen can be illuminated to different levels according to the picture on display. Toshiba says that this produces more localised dimming to fine tune the LCD experience.
UK pricing and availability is not yet known, but in the US the models will launch in April and May.
Toshiba's 56-inch prototype Cell TV
Cell TV
Toshiba has launched a new cell-based prototype HDTV with a high-resolution display that's double anything available on the high street at the moment.
The best full HD LCD and plasma TVs currently available have a screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 – that's the number of lines (width x height) that make up the picture and matches the 1080 output from high-definition Blu-ray players. The 56-inch prototype Toshiba HDTV takes a giant leap forward in resolution and 'up-scales' the 1080p signal onto a 3,840 x 2,160 display - that's double the number of pixels on a full HD set.
To get the picture on screen Toshiba are employing the Cell microprocessor used in the Sony PS3 high-definition games console. Toshiba developed the chip in conjunction with Sony and IBM.
From Sony PS3 to Toshiba LCD
The Cell microprocessor hasn't been used in any Toshiba TVs until now, but the other half of the equation – the processing software – has already been built into Toshiba's new Regza 42ZV555 HD-ready 1080p LCD TV. We've currently got it in the lab and will have results in a few weeks. Toshiba reckons this is the first ‘up-scaling’ TV on the market, which, according to the company, means this TV can turn standard-definition broadcasts and DVDs into something resembling HD quality.
Blu-ray HD rival?
Resolution + is the key piece of software at the heart of the ZV555. More than 99% of TV programmes are broadcast and viewed in standard definition, and most movies watched in the home are on DVD. Resolution +, Toshiba claims, is designed to instantly upgrade standard-definition pictures – adding resolution, sharpness and depth to bring picture quality in line with a high-definition experience.
There’s no information on UK pricing and availability yet, although Toshiba does expect Cell TV to go on sale in 2009.
LCD TVs
The TV LG claims is the slimmest in the world
LG LH95 and a 480Hz LCD TV
LG has a couple of LCD TVs that look as if they'll make a bit of a storm at this year's CES. The first model of note is the LG LH95 (or the LH9500, as we expect it to be called in the UK.
LG claims this is the slimmest LCD in the world – a claim currently made by most major players in the TV industry – and a measurement that's defined slightly differently depending on who you ask.
Further to the LH95, LG has also announced that it will be unveiling an LCD TV featuring a 480HZ refresh rate – that means that the TV's picture will be updated 480 times each second and, according to most manufacturers, higher refresh rates result in a smoother image. If this model is launched in the UK, the refresh rate will be the equivalent of 400Hz.
Which? has recently tested the Sony Bravia Z4500 with its 200Hz refresh rate. The results from the lab showed indications of improved motion sequences, but common sense tells us that there has to be a limit regarding the improvements that can be made by using such processing technologies. Still, we applaud LG for pushing boundaries and look forward to testing the model if it's released in the UK.
JVC 5kg 1080p 32-inch LCD TV
The LCD TV JVC claims is the 'world's lightest'
Manufacturers are always claiming to have the thinnest, fastest, lightest and greenest products, and this is especially the case when headlines need to be grabbed in a competitive arena like the CES.
JVC this year is sporting what it describes as the world's lightest 32-inch LCD TV. The sleek looking model is said to weigh only 5kg yet still boasts full 1080p resolution. It's claimed to measure just 7mm in thickness, which is only slightly thicker than the LH95 model from LG.
There are around 200 TVs reviewed in our LCD and plasma TV report, alongside a wealth of in-depth information including digital switchover information, and how to choose between a plasma and an LCD TV.
OLED TVs
Sony OLED TV
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Organic Light Emitting Diode televisions, or OLED TVs, have caused quite a stir at electronics trade shows in the last year or so. Their production costs are high but Samsung still claims that it is going to create a new branch of the company dedicated to making OLED models.
As current models have been made on adapted LCD production lines, this change in production technique should help bring the manufacturing costs down.
OLED televisions of the future
OLED TVs certainly look like the most likely successor of LCD and plasma TVs. The lighter bodies make them cheaper and greener to transport, and although we haven't tested their claims, manufacturers state that they're more energy efficient than LCD and plasma models.
Samsung 14-inch OLED TV
At CES 2008 Sony launched an 11-inch OLED TV for consumers called the XEL-1, and a 27-inch Sony OLED was showcased at the 2008 IFA show in Berlin, and features in the video above.
At CES 2009 we expect Samsung, which showcased a 31-inch OLED at IFA 2008, to launch a 14-inch OLED model for sale to consumers.
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