Pollack Media's Report from CES 2012

Every year, Pollack Media Group President, Tommy Hadges, makes his annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics show and reports back on what lies ahead in digital entertainment. This year, television, as it often does, dominated the show. Here are some of the most interesting developments:

UD (Ultra Definition): The most impressive picture was an LG 84” LCD panel using 4K technology, which displays an image consisting of 3840x2160 pixels, compared to HD’s usual 1920x1080. That means 4 times the resolution of today’s best HDTV. The additional visual information resulted in a picture that was remarkably clear despite its huge size, but the bad news is that there is at present virtually no commercially-available 4K content. Still, the set (called “UD” for “Ultra Definition”) could provide improved 3-D images & will be for sale in June or July, with no price yet announced. Other manufacturers were also displaying 4K equipment, some in the form of video projectors, which were capable of creating very detailed & large images in dark home theaters.

Thinner Screens with OLED: The best “normal” HDTV pictures were from LG & Samsung, which showed 55” displays using OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology. OLED displays had previously been shown at CES in smaller screen sizes, but never anywhere near this big. The images, as expected, were absolutely superb, despite the fact that the panels were only 4mm thick. Although they are not for sale yet, both LG & Samsung are promising availability before the end of 2012, with an expected price of $8-10,000. Sony had a similar “technology demonstration” of a 55” set called a “Crystal LED” display; although its LED’s were not organic-based, it also created an exceptionally good picture. Incidentally, Samsung’s OLED set was displaying something they call “Dual-View & Dual-Mode” that allows 2 people wearing special glasses to watch 2 completely different HD shows on the same TV at the same time...not sure if there would be any strong consumer demand for such a product, but it’s a fascinating technological feat.