CES 2012: Televisions Took Center Stage

I returned from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this weekend and summarize this year's show as, "TVs as usual."

Despite all the hoopla and run-up to this year's show hinting that Ultrabooks, home automation and cloud computing would arrive en-mass, after walking the show floor for three days and participating in dozens of meetings, I believe incremental TV improvements were the big news.

Lest you think I am a newbie and don't have enough CES experience to draw such conclusions, I have been going to CES for perhaps 15 years.

Sure, I saw thin laptop computers and power-saving gadgets that would turn my lights on and off from my smart phone, and I even saw quite a few peripherals that would connect me to my stuff in the cloud--perhaps from the quiet comfort of an electric car--but these were tiny sideshows compared to the legitimate noise emanating from acre-sized booths filled with big screens.

The TV manufacturers seemed to have the uncanny ability and marketing magic to continue making TVs exciting, even though we have all probably already upgraded to one or more plasma or LED TVs in the last few years.  Here are some of the improvements made magnificent on the show floor:

• TV's that responded to gestures:  Waving your hand, arm of whole body to change channels, volume or programming.
• TV's that respond to voice.  Even during noisy programming you could tell your TV to change to channel nine.
• TV remote controls that put some computer keyboards to shame.
• Internet connected and app-rich TVs.
• 3D TVs where no glasses are required.
• 3D TV's where non-powered glasses were required at price points the same as non-3D TVs.
• Touch-enabled TVs.
• Video chat enabled TVs.
• Family message board TVs where you could write directly on the screen with an electronic stylus or record a video message.
• Connected home TVs:  Make a call, make a to do list, surf the internet or view a calendar all from your TV.
• Richer, pixels-off blacks.  This new innovation provides greater contrast ratios and turns off the pixels on your TV that are not showing anything so that the blacks are darker.
• Ultra-ultra thin TV's.  I am not sure how much lighter and thinner TVs can get, but each manufacturer seems set on proving they can get thinner.
• Energy sipping TV's. A myriad of new materials and tech are making TVs more energy efficient than ever.

Panasonic's booth at CES 2012.

Samsung's booth at CES 2012.

What did you see or experience at CES 2012?

Ashley