Are You Thinking of Buying a New HDTV?

CES 2012 is over but its implications will remain. This year Consumer Electronics Show was the largest ever both in terms of exhibits and attendees. We did see loads of new products but unlike CES2011 which did not really bring about any major technological breakthrough in HDTV technology other than refinements, CES 2012 has been characterized by what in our opinion represents true technical achievements.

Products that dominated the show among new HDTVs included 55-inch OLED TVs from Samsung and LG, Sony's 55-inch Crystal LED TV, Toshiba No-Glasses 3D TV, massive 80-inch plus LCD TVs from LG and Sharp, 4K and even 8K displays, Vizio Cinema Wide 71-inch LCD TV, Tablet TV remote controls and TVs capable of being controlled via physical gestures and more. Most of these products will ship between early spring and late summer, though a few will be available earlier.

We will go through the highlights of CES 2012 to get a better understanding whether these new products are really worth waiting.

New HDTV Highlights for 2012

Samsung and LG OLED HDTVs: The Hottest New HDTVs for 2012

There is no doubt that the hottest TVs during CES 2012 were the two 55-inch OLED HDTVs on display from Samsung and LG. It is no surprise therefore that it was one of these HDTVs, the LG 55-inch 55EM9600 OLED Cinema 3D Smart TV that won the 'Cnet Best-of-Show' award for 2012.

These OLED HDTVs are expected to hit the HDTV market sometime in the second half of 2012. OLED display technology promises to deliver superior picture quality than both plasma and CCFL/LED LCD HDTVs, and comes in a super thin panel that is just a few millimeters thick. The new 55" LG OLED TV featured here has a TV panel that is 4mm thick and comes with a frameless design thanks to a 1mm bezel. The ultra-thin profile calls for a separate media box that connects with the TV using a wireless link.

It is interesting that Samsung and LG are using two different design OLED approaches. While Samsung is using a 'standard' three color red-green-blue sub-pixel structure, LG is has added a fourth white sub-pixel saying that this helps cut costs while producing a brighter picture.

These new HDTVs come with all the bells and whistles you would expect to find on a flagship HDTV; no price indications so far but these are definitely going to be  the most expensive 55-inch HDTVs for 2011―with a price tag that can range from $5000 to $8000!

OLED or Organic LED can be seen as a derivative of LCD display technology. It uses the same red-green-blue three-color sub-pixel structure to produce color. But unlike the liquid crystals used in LCDs, OLED uses organic compounds to create images; these emit light when activated (very much like a plasma display). This means there is no need for a backlight source. The result is that OLED technology allows for very thin display screens that are just a few millimeters thick even at 55-inch sizes. OLED technology also delivers superior brighter images, lightning-fast pixel response times, true blacks thanks to their practically infinite contrast, consume significantly less power than even the most energy efficient LED TVs, are easier to produce at larger sizes, and have a wider angle of view than both CCFL and LED LCD TVs.

It seems as if OLED is the perfect display technology but apart from the expected very expensive price you have to pay for these new HDTVs, so far OLED display technology has been characterized by a relatively short lifetime of the blue sub-pixel (typically 15K hours against the 50K-to-200K for the red and green). The industry is saying this issue has now been resolved and OLED display technology is ready for the consumer market.

We say... It may be ready but not for the mass market, at least not at the expected high prices. In addition, it will surely take time to prove that all technical issues have now been resolved.  At the same time, we cannot but remark that these new HDTVs from Samsung and LG confirm that the era of OLED HDTVs is really here.

Sony Crystal LED TV

Sony's new HDTV exhibit for 2012 is again another 55-inch version, but Sony's Crystal HDTV is a prototype, meaning it would not reach stores shelves anytime soon.

Unlike present LED LCD TVs, Sony's Crystal LED technology does not make use of an LCD panel to produce the image. Instead, it is more of a derivative of OLED display technology except that instead of using organic film LEDs, you get ultra-miniature 'standard' LEDs to build up the display. Sony uses three sub-pixel red-green-blue LED lamps for each pixel, utilizing in all over 6 million color LEDs to produce a 1080p color TV display.

This is what one can define as a 'true' LED TV. It offers striking color images with superb contrast and wider color gamut, as well as faster pixel response times. In addition, like OLED technology, Sony's Crystal LED technology also renders itself suitable for very large displays.

As stated, the Sony exhibit is just a prototype but should things go wrong with Samsung and LG OLED TVs, Sony's new HDTV Crystal LED display technology may represent a plausible technology alternative to present LCD ad plasma technologies.

No-Glasses 3D TV - A Reality but...

Toshiba has been actively working on no-glasses 3D HDTVs. During CES 2011, Toshiba displayed a no-glasses 3D TV that did produce impressive 3D imaging without glasses but that suffered from a restricted viewing angle; in addition, it supported only three practical viewing positions, making no-glasses 3D technology rather unpractical for family viewing in the home.

The new Toshiba No-glasses 3D TV supported a much wider viewing and has nine practical 3D viewing positions. The Toshiba HDTV uses a built-in camera to detect the viewer's position; this is necessary to enable the TV to provide each viewer with the best no-glasses 3D viewing experience. These new HDTVs make use of extremely powerful image processors even though the Toshiba exhibit did prove a bit slow to detect changes in the viewer's position.

3D no-glasses technology is still not perfect but the latest Toshiba attempt goes to show that the technology works and through continued developments, it is possible to achieve the perfect 3D viewing experience without the need for those―much dreaded by many―3D glasses.

4K and 8K High-Definition  Displays!

4K resolution HDTVs are a realty that will definitely stay with us for the years to come. During CES 2012, both LG and Toshiba indicated that they will release 4K displays during 2012. LG presented a massive 84-inch 4K 3D LCD TV during the show while Sharp has gone a step further with an 85-inch 8K (7780 x 4320 pixels) LCD TV prototype, delivering 16 times the resolution supported by a 1080p display.

Do not expect 4K―and even more so 8K―HDTV technology to be embraced by the entertainment industry anytime soon. 4K implies four times as much picture detail as 1080p but there is no such 4K content yet. In addition, the benefit of 4K resolution in the home is questionable, especially at anything smaller than and including 55-inch.

But the use of these higher resolution technologies is extremely important at the larger screen sizes; 1080p to 4K (or 8K) upscalers do a lot towards enhancing the resolution of a 1080p signal when displayed over massive displays.

At 4K resolution, upscaling a 1080p image would practically remove the perception of the horizontal line effect even when viewing images on massive screens from relatively close distances. Keep in mind that at 84-inch diagonal, each horizontal line constituting a 1080p image would be 1mm thick! Even at the smaller, more 'domestic' 55-inch and 60-inch TV screen sizes, a 4K display would completely remove the image softness associate with 3D images on HDTVs using passive 3D-glasses technology. Passive 3D glasses technology delivers only half the resolution in each eye, meaning that 4K displays will enable the viewer to see a full 1080p 3D image.

Expect 4K TVs to be big and definitely expensive, and will surely remain so for the next couple of years.

Cinema-Wide HDTVs, Outdoor HDTVs, Gesture Control and more!

No doubt, the new HDTVs featured above represented the hottest products presented during CES2012, but there were a lot more. These ranged from outdoor TVs and massive cinema wide HDTVs, to compact portable video projectors but whose picture performance was just a far cry from their bigger brothers, and equally important for serious home theater enthusiasts, high-end audio systems.

Equally interesting were tablet TV remote controls and new HDTVs with remote control interfaces that enable the user to control the TV using physical gestures and voice control!

Gesture control means that these new HDTVs have to make use of built-in cameras that are able to recognize 3D body movements as well as facial recognition. Some look at gesture control is a natural and logical way of interacting with your HDTV but...

The new 2012 features are to say the least impressive. And the TV makers' propaganda game makes the new HDTVs presented during CES2012 look even more appealing. It more than understandable that many would be ready to wait for this tempting new HDTV hardware while skipping on their chance to enjoy a great premium 2011 HDTV at a bargain price. However, the issue remains:

Is it really worth waiting for these glamorous new 2012 HDTVs when there is no better time to buy than now?

I have to admit that the propaganda machine surrounding the latest new HDTVs at CES 2012 seems to impart the message that these are the greatest HDTVs ever. But if we were to look back at CES2011, none of the 2011 models that followed did bring about any significant improvement in picture quality over 2010 HDTVs.

This has been our experience year after year, and while it is still too early to tell, we have to admit that we are not expecting major improvement in picture quality with the new HDTVs over premium and flagship HDTVs from 2011. What may possibly be an exception here are the new OLED HDTVs from Samsung and LG, but then these are definitely going to be the most expensive 55-inch HDTVs ever put on stores shelves!

We are not saying that the industry is not registering significant advancements in picture performance and product features; if it were not so, the HDTV industry would die as new technology is essential for the survival both of the industry and the economy.

The problem is that the latest new technology affords a higher price that is not always within reach of the average household. The new OLED TVs presented during CES2012 may possibly deliver the best TV picture ever. But then what would you expect from a 55-inch that sells for anything between $5,000 and $8,000! Instead, for under $2,000, it is possible at this time to enjoy some of the best flagship HDTVs from 2011. What has been rated by Cnet as the best HDTV for 2011, the Samsung PN59D8000 59-Inch 3D Plasma HDTV with Samsung Smart TV, is selling on amazon at a reduced price of just over $1,800.

Still, we have to admit that... Even the lowest entry-level models from the new HDTV lineups for 2012 are made to appear shinier and more desirable than top-performers from the previous year. The result is that premium HDTVs from 2011 that up to a few days ago were considered among the best and that were among the top in consumer buying lists, would all of a sudden start to appear obsolete in the eyes of many in the market for an HDTV.

It is therefore no surprise that notwithstanding the present price cuts and great bargain offers associated with 2011 HDTV sets, many of these HDTVs would soon end up stranded on store shelves in the wait to be replaced by the latest and greatest 2012 HDTVs.

New Features and Product Improvements are Essential but...

Coming up with new exciting features is important for the manufacturing industry to get people buying new HDTVs. Up to not long ago, flat panel TV makers were experiencing a sales boom as consumers upgraded to digital TVs in anticipation of the government's mandated DTV transition, while enthusiastic shoppers were also upgrading to high-definition TVs as more and more HD programming became available.

However, the bad economy had its impact on TV sales during 2009 and even more so in 2010 and 2011, and while many consumers continued to spend money on HDTVs, the majority either postponed their new HDTV purchase, or simply went on for a smaller or less expensive HDTV; this also explains why the bad economy seems to have become 'good' economy for plasma TV sales.

It is thus only natural that TV makers find new enticing features to incorporate into their TVs to help sell their products―after all new products always attract more and when combined with new technology, new products sell better.

But... New tempting technology alone is not enough to satisfy consumer needs. Unless new technology offers added convenience and entertainment, it will never be a success despite heavy propaganda by manufacturers and retailers. Just see what happened with 3D TVs during 2010; these failed to deliver both; the result was that sales of 3D TVs during 2010 was almost a total flop! Eventually 3D became more of a secondary feature during 2011 as prices of 3D TVs plummeted and the TV makers' emphasis shifted towards Internet-connected HDTVs, or Smart TVs. Internet-connected HDTVs delivere more entertainment while often enabling you to stream audio and video content straight from your networked PCs, thus adding value to your home entertainment experience.

So what is the whole argument here?

Before CES 2012, the best HDTVs of 2011 were all pretty good. And let's face it, the best plasmas and LCDs from top brands like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, etc., we have featured on our site during 2011 are still solid capable performers worth every dollar even in the face of new HDTVs from 2012.

I am not saying that the new HDTVs for 2012 are not going to deliver a better picture or that the new features are not appealing. But sets from 2011 such as the Samsung PN59D8000, the Panasonic VIERA TC-P55GT30, the Sony BRAVIA KDL-55HX820 and the LG Infinia 60PZ950 60-Inch 3D Plasma HDTV are still among the best HDTVs you can buy irrespective of the 2012 new HDTV competition. And the present reduced seasonal pricing in online stores for these and similar premium 2011 HDTVs make these even more worth considering.

Surely, one cannot expect new HDTVs from 2012 at the respective categories to sell at the present reduced low prices for 2011 HDTVs before almost a year from now.

Those in favor of waiting for the new 2012 HDTVs would point to the new improved features; we have no doubt that convenience features would improve in 2012 but what about the most important deliverable of any TV, picture quality―will 2012 bring about a significant improvement in the TV picture of plasma and LED LCD TVs?

While we do expect improvements in overall picture quality, we cannot but remark that present day HDTVs have already reached exceptional picture performance levels with such deep blacks that it is becoming extremely difficult for the unaided eye to pinpoint picture quality differences between top HDTVs from major brands.

Even if you were to line up the different HDTVs in side-by-side comparisons, it would still be hard for many consumers to see any differences in overall picture quality. This explains the use of specialized test equipment and test patterns by professionals to determine differences in picture performances between different HDTV models.

In other words, we still believe that if you are in the market for a new HDTV, there is not much to gain by waiting for the new HDTVs from 2012 unless you are one of those few home theater enthusiasts who have more than enough money to spend on the latest technology. It is true that feature-wise, the new HDTVs appear more appealing, and if you have the budget to enjoy the latest 55-inch OLED TVs, you would also possibly get an exceptional picture.

However, with feature-rich top-performing 2011 premium and flagship HDTVs selling at 50% of their list price, premium 2011 HDTVs are in our opinion a worthy TV option even in the light of the new 2012 propositions. Just take a look at our compilation of the some of the Best HDTVs from 2011 if you would like to discover more.

Are you ready to wait?

Within the coming weeks and months, we will start seeing the first new HDTVs from 2012 on stores shelves. These would come with a number of technological advancements and enhanced features, and yes... a higher price tag than you would pay now for a corresponding 2011 HDTV.

However, to what extent the new 2012 features will translate into a better picture and improved TV viewing experience is still unknown; for this, we have to wait till the first sets get reviewed. Having a new HDTV with an improved feature set is in itself no guarantee it will deliver a better picture. At the same time, we have to agree that many of the latest advanced features are definitely extremely appealing.

If you are ready to wait a few months more till the first product reviews start to appear, and willing to accept the price uncertainty, then probably it is worth having one of the latest 2012 HDTVs. The problem is that until then, one will never know for sure if it has been worth waiting.

For bargain hunters, the situation is somewhat different. Buying a premium 2011 HDTV at a deeply discounted price in 2012 before the new models start filling stores shelves, is the best way to enjoy a great deal! And at a time when many consumers are very much recession weary, a good bargain is always welcome.

Would you like to let us know what you think?

What do you think? Will you wait for the new 2012 HDTVs? Will you proceed to take advantage of the present lower prices on 2011 sets? Is there a new HDTV from CES 2012 you are particularly interested in? We would like to know your opinion, and many others are interested too!

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