CES was very different this year. Show floors in hotels in Vegas were swapped for a full virtual event and back-to-back Zoom presentations. That can make demonstrating the technology for new OLED or 8K TVs a bit difficult. But from what we did coming out of this year’s CES, there’s plenty to rave about.
Sony CES 2021 began with the announcement of new OLED, 4K and 8K TVs in its Bravia XR display family, all of which will include the new Cognitive Processor XR. The most important thing to know about this powerful new chip is the way it enhances audio and video in an effort to create an overall immersive experience. The main way the chip does this is by zooming in on the natural focal point of an image and improving the quality of that object or person to make it look more realistic. The chip should also improve the upscaling of formats such as 4K to 8K by reducing noise and blur. That should ring the ears of anyone buying an 8K set this year as there is still very little 8K content to talk about.
In addition to the fancy new chip, some Sony TVs this year will have ambient light sensors to adjust the screen brightness to suit the light in a particular viewing environment. This certainly sounds like a nice feature, but we’d like to try it in person and with a number of different entertainment setups, including with Hue lighting. Additionally, this year’s Sony TVs will be powered by Google TV, a great upgrade from Android TV. And all of its Bravia XR displays will have HDMI 2.1 support for 4K 120fps, variable refresh rate, auto low latency mode and e-ARC – quite a leap from the paltry recording in last year’s TVs.
The Bravia XR TV lineup includes the X95J and X90J 4K LED TVs, Master Series Z9J 8K LED, and the Master Series A90J and A80J OLEDs, as well as a slightly differently specified 100-inch version of the X90J called the X92. Prices will be announced later.
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Samsung announced new microLED TVs in 99-inch, 88-inch and 110-inch screen sizes, all of which derive their technology from Samsung’s existing modular super display The wall, a product that was pretty neat, but not particularly suitable for consumers who just want to unpack a TV the normal way instead of having it installed by a professional. These new TVs will tick that box.
Additionally, Samsung is introducing more customization options for its The Frame display, the company’s most popular TV for its ability to camouflage in a room’s decor by looking more like a framed work of art than an imposing black mirror in the center of your space. Samsung’s Neo QLED TVs, meanwhile, use more and smaller LED lights to deliver better and more controlled brightness while minimizing bloom. Finally, Samsung will introduce a new remote control for all of its QLED 4K and 8K TVs in 2021, and it will be charged on solar energy. Samsung says this remote can charge both indoor and outdoor lights, as well as through a USB-C port. That is exciting! But we’d like to see this remote in action before we get too hype. In the meantime, we are cautiously optimistic.
Let’s talk about TCL for a moment as this company really blew my mind with the promise of this year huge screens at an affordable price and the introduction of 8K on its popular 6 Series display (we are big fans of it it here at Gizmodo). At least three screens in 85-inch variants will ship this year, including a 4K QLED with Roku, an 8K QLED TV, and a 4-series that will retail for $ 1,600. That’s a bargain! While the other two will certainly still be quite pricey, TCL is likely to undercut many TV makers in the space for 85-inch displays with similar specs. Also an 8K 6 series? I’m looking forward to seeing that upscaling in action, but TCL has a lot of competition in this area. And to be clear: just because you can buying an 8K TV doesn’t necessarily mean you have to.
Panasonic takes a decidedly more modest approach – at least in size – to its large OLED card for 2021. The JZ2000 will be available in both 55-inch and 65-inch sizes, which is certainly enough TV for most people in my opinion. Panasonic says this OLED will be brighter and have better on-unit sound, and the TV will get support for features such as eARC, auto low latency mode (ALLM) and variable refresh rate (VRR). That might make it a pretty attractive choice for gamers, but we’ll have to see how it performs first. The My Home screen is also getting a refresh, although that may be less important for people who have already cut the cable and are using a streaming device.
And last but not least, LG, which finally does miniLED. The OLED king will introduce both 4K and 8K miniLED screens this year, as well as new C1 OLEDs from 48-inch screens and G1 OLEDs in 55-inch screens and above. Like Panasonic, LG is also redesigning its own WebOS operating system. I’m a bit on the fence about this one. Nothing about LG’s previous operating system was bad per se, and this one is very similar to, well, just about everything else. But we look forward to a hands-on demo with this new OS version later this year.
We live from our couches during CES 2021! Click here to read our full coverage.