Podcast #930; CES 2020

CES 2020

After a few year Hiatus we returned to Las Vegas for CES. Because we were there on our day job's behalf we did not get to see everything that CES has to offer. We focus on the main players. We'll do a susquent show on the cool things that were reported on but not seen by us.

TCL

TCL had a good sized booth and as an attempt to solve Braden's Analysis Paralysis Ara checked them out first. He found what Braden was looking for, an 85 inch QLED!

The picture was amazing! Bright colors, the content was extremely optimized to show this off, great contrast and slim space saving design. Then it was on to the Mini LEDs which were shown in a darkened room. The content they had was showing severe banding in the sky shots. But the color and blacks looked quite good. There were better implementations of Mini LED at the Sony and LG booths.

TCL also had a Cinema Wall that had stuck pixels and min LED grids that were visible to the naked eye. On the second day the wall was turned off. TCL also demonstrated Smart products including locks. And let me tell you these locks are beefy!

LG

At LG I focused solely on their TVs. I was given a presentation that pertained to my day job at Delta Airlines and thus limited to what I can talk about. What I can tell you is the bendable OLED is a big part of their strategy. I saw the OLED that rolls up and it is amazing! Unfortunately I was not allowed to take a photo of the screen, how thick it is, or the mechanism.

What I can talk about is the OLED, Mini, and Micro LEDs. All delivering fantastic pictures. Seeing the Micro LED with my own eyes makes me excited about that technology. Pretty much all the goodness of OLED without any of the drawbacks. It almost looked 3D. Not gimmicky 3D but like you were looking through a glass window.

The 8K OLED looked incredible as did their mini LED.

Sony

Sony had their Masters Series TV. Sony has been involved with film mastering for years. These are small monitors with exacting color calibration. With this line Sony wants to bring what the film maker has created into your living room unadulterated! They claim it's as close to what the film maker sees in the studio. I can tell you that the color, detail, and contrast is nothing like I have seen in the past! I have uploaded a hi-res video that does not do the TV justice but it's still pretty good :-)

Sony also had their micro LED technology which they call Crystal LED. People we are living in an age where there are incredible TVs on the market!

Klipsch

Klipsch, known for speakers, was at the show but not a speaker to be seen. Well almost, they did show up with sound bars and some really cool wireless headphones. The "Klipsch Bar 54A Dolby Atmos" bar was one of Digital Trends best soundbar of CES 2020 but it will set you back $1500. Klipsch feels that they have solved the active noise cancelling for wireless earbuds but again that will cost you a pretty penny. Their x McLaren T10 True Wireless smart earphones will cost $999 and will be available in the fall. They have other models that cost much less and look really cool!

Samsung

Samsung had the Wall prominently displayed. When you see this in person it is quite impressive. This is a massive display measured 24 feet or 7.4 meters diagonally. Check out this picture to get an idea of how massive it is!

They also demonstrated a soundbar called Q-Symphony that worked in conjunction with their TVs speakers to give you a surround sound experience without the need for speakers on the back wall. The demo worked well. But we were in a perfect rectangle room with nothing on the walls. No prices were given but we were told it would be in line with their higher priced sound bars. Plus you need an upper tier Samsung TV. More than a thousand Dollars but less than two thousand dollars.

Finally there is Samsung's Robots. One little guy that looks like a tennis ball and will follow you around and can show you videos when you are not home. The thinking here is that the robot is like your personal valet and will take care of you while you are at home and can keep an eye on things when you are away. This may be a good idea for people with pets.

Smart Home

Everyone had some sort of smart device! There was even a smart closet that helped you pick out something to wear and though RFID delivered it to you!