Did we just witness the worst edition of CES in terms of TV advertising? The question deserves to be asked because the various players in the market have lacked inspiration or, quite simply, presence. After a black sales year for the TV market, we expected this CES to give new impetus to a sector that is struggling to recover after taking full advantage of the Covid-19 crisis and the various restrictions. .
Even if these are not the televisions that can be found in most homes and apartments, the models announced at CES traditionally have two undeniable assets: they highlight the various technological advances of recent months and above all , they make you dream, not to say drool over their picture quality or huge diagonal.
Samsung’s new micro LED
Taking stock of this 2023 edition, one damning observation is essential: there is no model, let alone technology, that stands out from the crowd. While previous editions of CES have not always highlighted a specific television, they have almost always been a sign of more or less pronounced innovation in the television market. An innovation most often embodied by a model or technology, like last year’s QD OLED, last year’s Mini-LED, or announcements like The Wall during very big crus. But then what happened during this CES 2023?
The year of the great absences
It’s difficult to flag an expense if you choose to ignore it. This year Sony made Philips. Admittedly, the Japanese manufacturer, a key player at the Vegas show, was there, but mainly to present its electric car project Afeela and its new PS5 controller. The TV division? Sony preferred to keep this part of its activities in the background. The Japanese is rumored to be hosting his own TV event at the end of February.
This absence adds to the more classic of Philips. The TP Vision brand traditionally prefers the IFA to launch its new range. So it’s no surprise not to see her in Las Vegas. With these two, however, they are two of the most important players of the segment who have not spoken in one of the essential moments of the television year.
Samsung, LG and Panasonic: the same recipe with a little more butter
Let’s be realistic. This TV edition of CES could undoubtedly have been “saved”, despite the absence of Sony or the poor form of one of the other players. What makes this record so pale is that no manufacturer was able to pull out of the game.
If we roughly boiled down the big announcements from the main players to one sentence, we could sum it up like this: “the same models as last year, down to a letter and a few nits”.
In fact, it’s the announcements on the OLED that best reflect this lack of inspiration. For LG and Panasonic, which benefit from the same LG display panels, what really matters is what is certainly a significant gain in brightness, but this will only appeal to the most discerning observer. In fact, approaching or exceeding 2,000 cd/m2 on an OLED screen is in itself an incredible technical challenge considering the limitations of OLED technology in terms of brightness. The only notable innovation this year is called MLA and consists of the use of micro-lenses that can redirect light more efficiently.
Of course, the impact on picture quality, especially with HDR content, will be significant. But the probe’s panic when measuring the brightness of the next G3 or MZ2000 will probably only please within the 01Lab. To the general public, those few extra nits won’t have the same value.
QD OLED, Samsung’s competing technology, despite its relative newness, is content with the same goal: exceeding 2,000 nits. The Korean manufacturer, which is unabashedly dominating the market, appears to have returned to OLED only to thwart its main competitor…while it waits to bet on its next display technology, micro-LED.
Micro-LED: close to the eyes, away from the wallet
For a number of years, micro-LEDs have been heralded as the next big evolution in terms of image. The wall was certainly a show of force, but the announcement of commercial models during CES 2022 should mark the beginning of the great story of micro-LED.
A year later, Samsung is still so confident in its technology. The few models sold last year (only for professional use) are accompanied by new diagonals, including one of 50 inches. Good news ? Not necessarily, because in a year the price of micro-LEDs hasn’t really come down. You always have to reckon with around 1,000 euros per thumb. For the small 50-inch model, that would simply cost more than 50,000 euros. In short, democratization needs to be ironed out.
TCL and Hisense are closing the gap
If the big ones don’t satisfy, you often have to look to the “smaller ones”. On this side, the two observant followers, TCL and Hisense, had a slightly different record. TCL has decided to primarily address the American market and has even canceled the announcement of a particularly anticipated QD OLED model a few hours before its conference.
Hisense at CES 2023
After all, given its rank and resources, it’s undoubtedly Hisense that has the most balanced record. Its reach for 2023 without knocking over the table in terms of technology should be solid. And if the Chinese manufacturer continues to control its costs, and therefore its prices, some of these models should stand out. In fact, the upcoming Ultra HD QLED range promises to be very efficient in relation to its estimated price. The same goes for QLED with the essential U7 series, which will continue to narrow the technical gap with Samsung and LG models.
Make cables disappear, good idea or hide and seek?
In the absence of revolutionary technologies, we are limited to looking for trends. During this CES 2023, the desire of the manufacturers to do without cables for the connector part seems to be noticeable. As such, two manufacturers in particular have come under discussion. LG with a new family of TVs, an M series, whose main feature is to move the connections to a separate box. This procedure already exists at Samsung, it is the One Connect, which still requires a cable between the TV and the box. Certainly at LG we go a little further, this connection is no longer really necessary, but it does so at the expense of a more imposing body and undoubtedly some technical limitations (on this last point, only the lab tests compare wireless capabilities). the M series). Of course, as with Samsung, the LG television always requires a different cable, that of the food.
It’s the disappearance of this last trick that has led to the most astounding presentation of CES in terms of television: a 55-inch OLED TV that runs on batteries and is therefore wireless. It is the company Displace that is at the origin of this curiosity. The Ultra HD panel provided by LG Display is separated here from its ports, which are concentrated in a fairly large box. Signal transmission is via a proprietary technology that shouldn’t be too far removed from the LG M-series. What is surprising about this model is obviously the lack of a power cable. The panel works thanks to four batteries that charge on a base and would allow 180 hours of viewing. The other peculiarity of this TV is that it can be fixed to the wall thanks to a suction system. It also relies on the battery as it activates a small motor that sucks in air to improve grip. While Displace’s approach is quite interesting, it raises two concerns. The first is environmental impact. The other is that when its battery dies, the TV, if you don’t bother to pick it up, can foolishly fall on the floor…
Push away
It remains to be seen whether these completely wireless models will hit the market. The idea isn’t entirely new, Panasonic even tried it in the early 2000s before their innovation was banned. The reason ? The transmission frequency between TV and box was too close to that used for military communications in several countries. If the arrival of the LG model leaves little doubt, we’re much more skeptical about the possibility of seeing the Displace in stores one day.
Nanoleaf and Ambilight: the other light source
Finally, if it were necessary to note another trend, again not so new, it would be that of extra luminosity. If you can’t control the TV’s brightness directly, why not try playing with it. Philips knows this principle particularly well thanks to its Ambilight technology. It’s no longer reserved for him since Sygnify, the company behind Philips Hue, decided to put Ambilight on Samsung TVs. Of course, you’ll have to invest in compatible lights and in a €130 application (you read that right) to benefit from it, but this is an additional option available to Samsung TV owners.
Phillips
In a slightly different style, Nanoleaf’s ever-improving light panels are a great alternative for anyone looking to play with their TV’s light.
We calmly take stock
Is a seemingly lackluster CES report tantamount to avoiding a TV vintage (2023)? No, just the opposite. As for OLED, to name just one, the level reached by the different models that we tested in 2022 is very satisfactory. The successors to the LG G2, the Sony A95K, the Philips OLED936 or even the Samsung S95B will not only be just as good, but will undoubtedly have a surplus of what allows them to improve the image the most: light. So if the gain in luminosity is hardly noticeable in terms of advertising and tinsel, it should still have an effect on the rendering of content.
This observation inevitably leads to questioning our perception of technological advances on television and our expectations of major events like CES. Can we expect a significant improvement in the quality of the tiles every year? Is it possible to develop one feature every 12 months that can change the way we use or perceive our TV? Above all, isn’t it this constant demand for innovation that has led to manufacturers pushing unnecessarily inconsistent or inconsistent technologies (hello 3D and 8K)?
In 2023, players in the TV market may dream less, they seem to have become more sensible, but it’s probably no worse.