Advanced Television

Equipment

Sub-$1,000 4K TV from Polaroid

Digital age photography and consumer electronics specialist Polaroid is showing what it describes as a superior quality, affordable new line of televisions at CES 2014. Polaroid will début a 50” Smart TV that is Roku Ready, as well as a 50” Ultra HD 4K Television. According to Polaroid, the sets will provide consumers with unparalleled […]

January 3, 2014By Colin Mann

Sky promotes Attenborough 3D doc with glasses-free display

Media device specialist Stream TV Networks has teamed up with Sky and London’s Natural History Museum to promote the New Year’s Day première of the latest programme from Britain’s best-loved broadcaster. Extinct creatures are brought back to life in David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive 3D, to be broadcast at 6.30pm on New Year’s Day […]

December 31, 2013By Colin Mann

Sony and Panasonic scrap OLED partnership

Sony and Panasonic are scrapping their OLED display TV panel joint-venture “alliance”, blaming technical challenges and production costs. The pair will independently focus on building 4K/Ultra-HD LCD panels.  Both companies have faced heavy losses within their TV divisions, and local reports quote spokesmen for both businesses saying that LCD-based 4K displays show greater promise.  The […]

December 27, 2013By Chris Forrester

LG to unveil 105” Curved Ultra-HD at CES

LG Electronics will be unveiling what it says is the world’s first 21:9 aspect ratio Curved Ultra-HD TV (Model 105UB9) at the CES 2014 show in Las Vegas. LG’s newest premium TV is also the company’s very first Curved Ultra-HD model and is, at present, officially the largest curved TV ever made. “LG Display has […]

December 19, 2013

Amazon plans 4K future

Amazon Studios, the original film and TV production arm of Amazon.com, has revealed plans to shoot all 2014 full original series, including comedies and dramas, in 4K Ultra HD. Rival entertainment streaming service Netflix recently confirmed that it is filming its second season of award-winning drama series House of Cards in 4K. “As a premium […]

December 17, 2013By Colin Mann

LED TV penetration rate surpasses 60% in 2014

Spurred by Chinese TV manufacturers’ demands, LED TV penetration rates reached 95 per cent in 2013, according to LEDinside, a subsidiary of global research institute TrendForce. The organidation estimates LED TV will completely replace CCFL by 2014, and annual LED TV shipment volume will grow at YOY 3 per cent to 209 million. However, LED […]

December 17, 2013

Toshiba quits China LCD production

Japanese electronics giant is closing its Chinese LCD TV production factory at Dalian Toshiba. “Going forward, [Toshiba] would optimise a balance between in-house production and production by original design manufacturer (ODM) partners, as a means to cut fixed costs and enhance operational efficiency,” said the company in a formal announcement to the Tokyo stock exchange. […]

December 2, 2013By Chris Forrester

Best Efforts and Miracles

We are all headed to an IP driven multi-screen world. The irony is that this enables more and better services – and therefore the opportunity for providers to monetise subscribers in more and better ways – and yet these services are delivered by a process that is intrinsically ‘best efforts’. Because of variable bandwidths in […]

November 29, 2013

Sony updates Bravia 4K displays

Sony Japan is making available a software update for its Bravia X-range of 4K displays. The upgrade means that the giant TV sets can now handle HDMI v2.0 connectivity.  Sony has two X-models in the market measuring 55” (X8) and 65” (X9).  As yet there are no instructions on whether the update is available to […]

November 29, 2013By Chris Forrester

4K TVs in 10% N American homes by 2018

Asia-Pacific, notably, China, is expected to lead 4K (or Ultra HD) TV unit shipments according to ABI Research’s First Screen Video Devices and Cloud Video and Video Hardware Research Services. However, the North American market is anticipated to be the first region to eclipse 5 per cent (in 2017) and 10 per cent (by end […]

November 8, 2013