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OPINION: By the point you’ve learn this, CES will likely be winding down for one more yr and the services introduced on the occasion will proceed to shuffle alongside as they head in the direction of their launch dates.
CES is all the time an fascinating time because it provides a clue as to what firms will likely be focusing their time and sources on, in addition to the important thing battlegrounds that can emerge over the course of the yr.
With so many bulletins issued, I’m not going to bombard you with tonnes of notices however fairly the important thing AV highlights from CES 2023.
OLED TVs are curing one among their largest weaknesses
There have been two core points that detractors of OLED expertise have all the time pointed a disapproving finger at. One is picture retention, a problem that’s nonetheless prevalent however now pretty manageable because of preventative expertise inside TVs. The opposite situation has been an total lack of brightness.
Clearly, OLED TV producers are conscious of this, as current years have seen TV manufacturers go down the route of attempting to extend the luminance output of OLED panels. LG’s OLED EX panels and OLED Evo software program have helped, whereas Samsung’s QD-OLED screens have additionally assisted in boosting peak brightness to over 1000 nits.
The brand new expertise designed to help brightness is the Micro Lens Array display screen that’s supported by the LG G3 and Panasonic’s flagship MZ2000 OLED. Micro Lens Array is claimed to spice up brightness by 150%, which suggests someplace within the area of 2000 nits for peak brightness, with the set’s common brightness additionally boosted.
This may assist in a couple of methods, firstly in producing a good higher wide-angle viewing expertise when it comes to retaining that prime brightness, and secondly it would assist make OLED screens extra watchable in brighter environments (at the moment OLED works greatest in dimly lit rooms). After all, it will come at higher expense and can initially be out there on the flagship fashions, however it’s an encouraging signal of what’s to come back.
DTS isn’t laying down in its battle with Dolby
In what looks like a very long time in the past, I wrote about how Dolby’s supremacy within the streaming market was pushing DTS in the direction of the periphery. Dolby’s shiny and environment friendly streaming codecs are the selection of many video streaming companies, and that’s had the knock-on impact of soundbars specializing in Dolby expertise, shutting DTS out within the course of.
Issues appear like they’re about to vary nevertheless. I attended a digital briefing for LG’s TV and audio vary in the direction of the tip of 2022, and the corporate made point out of supporting DTS audio, particularly IMAX Enhanced audio for its 2023 soundbars. It was intriguing, since at the moment no service had dedicated to providing IMAX Enhanced audio.
Now LG is bringing DTS:X help to its 2023 TVs later this yr, and in line with Xperi, the corporate that owns the DTS model, it’s anticipated that Disney+ will convey DTS:X help to its streaming platform this yr; whereas the variety of manufacturers lining as much as embody IMAX Enhanced audio embody Vestel, TCL, Sony, and Hisense. All it takes are a couple of dominoes to begin falling for individuals to take discover, and it appears as if DTS is placing on its greatest “let’s go” face because it strains up for a battle with Dolby.
There’s a rising viewers for wi-fi streaming file gamers
CES and streaming turntables appear to dovetail properly with one another. Just a few years in the past, Cambridge Audio revealed the primary wi-fi streaming turntable within the Alva TT (and if reminiscence serves accurately, used the platform to announce the sequel in 2022). Victrola additionally used CES to announce its newest effort within the area with the Carbon Onyx.
A sequel to the Carbon Stream from 2022 and piggybacking on the vinyl revival that’s induced a surge of curiosity within the format, this wi-fi streaming turntable presents comfort and ease. Flip it on, fiddle with the settings, hook up with your audio system and also you’re virtually there.
More and more I hear from speaker manufacturers that whereas conventional hi-fi stays their bread and butter, they wish to faucet into the youthful viewers who aren’t au fait with the trimmings of hi-fi and discover it a little bit too complicated to understand with. There’s a rising quantity of people that need issues simplified, and issues don’t get a lot easier than taking part in music to a speaker straight from a smartphone. The Carbon Onyx slides simply into this groove, as do audio system from the likes of Sonos and PSB, whereas the Bowers & Wilkins Formation collection was supposed to capitalize on wi-fi connectivity.
In reality, whichever space of the TV and audio market you’re keen on, anticipate the promise of wi-fi interconnectivity and streaming throughout the house to turn out to be an ongoing proposition.
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