There’s been a lot of TV news coming out of Las Vegas this week from the CES 2016 tech show. Here’s everything we’ve seen and heard so far.
The big story this year is the introduction of UHD Premium, a new HD standard that identifies those TVs which will truly provide a premium 4K experience.
You can find out everything you need to know about UHD Premium with our helpful guide, but essentially if a TV has the Ultra HD Premium logo then it’s going to offer a better 4K and HDR picture than those without it.
And if HDR is an unfamiliar term, you can check out another of our explainers, HDR TV: What is it and should you care.
Related: Best TV 2015
But with the deluge of announcements, it can be difficult to keep up with all the new TV models, standards, and tech.
So, in the spirit of making things easy, we’ve rounded up all the CES 2016 TV news by brand so you can stay up to date on all things UHD, SUHD, 4K, HDR and the rest.
Panasonic – New 4K TVs and Blu-ray players
Wednesday saw the release of what Panasonic is calling ‘the world’s first UHD Premium TV’ with the DX900. That basically means the new model will likely be released before any other UHD Premium TVs, but it’s all a bit of hot air as everyone is have this year.
The DX900 is interesting for several reasons. Its ‘honeycomb’ panel divides the picture into hundreds of individual lighting zones. The company claims that the resulting lack of lighting bleed between zones means the LCD technology used in the model can achieve the kind of contrast performance needed for UHD Premium certification.
The DX900
The company’s claims are yet to be tested in full, but the DX900 has passed the UHD Alliances exacting standards so we’re excited to see it for ourselves. John Archer, our TV expert, will be sharing his first impressions soon. Both a 65-inch and 58-inch option will be available when the TV goes on sale in Spring 2016.
It’s also worth mentioning the company’s new DMP-UB900 – a 4K Blu-ray player with a clever sounding High-Precision Chroma Processor. The device will also support 4K VOD content eventually and comes with twin HDMI ports for separate audio and image outputs.
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Sony – A nice new logo and HDR TVs
The Sony press conference saw the company unveil their new 4K UHD HDR logo, which you’ll be seeing a lot of in 2016.
Alongside the new label, the Japanese firm showed off its Bravia X93D series of TVs. The new models willl use the X1 processor and a new slim backlit drive that boosts the brightness and black levels, helping the new Bravias achieve HDR standards.
Sony says that its Slim Backlight Drive, X-tended Dynamic Range PRO contrast-enhancing technology, and wide colour gamut TRILUMINOS Display technology are what combine to make the 4K HDR standard.
Related: Best 4K TVs 2016
The company also showed of its prototype Backlight Master Drive technology, which boosts brightness and black levels even further. There’s no word on when the technology will make it to a production TV, however.
LG – Everything is OLED… well, almost everything
Although LG certainly turned heads with its roll-up OLED screen, we’re more excited about products we actually have a chance of buying this year.
The company is the only one to manufacture TV-sized OLED panels, so naturally there was a big OLED push from LG. Thus far, we’ve been introduced to the incredibly thin LG G6 and LG E6 ranges. The eight different models are 2.57mm thick, which is less than some smartphones, and ship in both flat and curved form. What’s more, the top-end ones are UHD Premium certified.
Related: Ultra HD Blu-ray: All you need to know
The G6 ships in 77-inch and 65-inch variants, while the E6 ships in 65-inch and 55-inch variants and all are Dolby Vision friendly. TrustedReviews was given a hands-on demo of the new 65-inch G6 Signature model, where John Archer was impressed by the “truly amazing” Signature model design and ‘mesmerising picture’.
On top of that, LG unleashed a 98-inch monster in the form of the 8K Super UHD UH9800, which will begin shipping in the second half of 2016. We’re not sure why anyone needs an 8K TV, but when did that ever stop TV companies doing anything?
Super UHD is the company’s own term for superior 4K image reproduction and is being used in relation to a range of LED/LCD TVs, which were also announced at CES. They comprise the UH9500 (55- to 86-inch), the UH8500 (55- to 75-inch) and the UH7700 (49- to 65-inch). All of these new models are LED TVs.
The company is also very excited about its ‘LG Signature’ design aesthetic, which will be applied across a number of products, TVs included. As well as this, LG will be working with Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube, to deliver 4K HDR content through their webOS 3.0 Smart TV platform.
Samsung – More SUHD TVs this year and all are HDR ready
Samsung added to the confusion over HD naming conventions with its SUHD label last year. But the company is sticking with the name, unveiling the flagship SUHD TV for 206 – the KS9500.
Executive VP of Samsung Electronics America described the set as the world’s first bezel-less design. The TV also features Samsung’s ‘quantum dot display’, which is capable of delivering enhanced brightness while using less power and expanding the colour range.
Related: Quantum Dots Explained: What they are and why they’re awesome 
John Archer got a closer look at the KS9500 and concluded the set was impressive but “didn’t deliver the sense of awe felt having seen something truly ground-breaking, which is something I experienced at the launch of the original SUHD TVs last year”. There will be five different sizes on offer when the TV launches, ranging from 49-inches to 85-inches.
Tizen also featured heavily in Samsung’s press conference where the firm announced that 20 million TVs used its Tizen-powered Smart TV platform. The South Korean firm also introduced a new smart universal remote which runs Tizen and can control all of your TV-connected devices. This could mean controlling smart home devices through the device too.
The company also plans to launch its first Ultra HD Blu-ray player – the UBD-K8500 – in March this year.
Netflix – More 4K, HDR and 130 new countries
Not technically a TV brand but worthy of inclusion nonetheless, Netflix announced a slew of new 4K and HDR content for 2016, making a UHD TV that much more appealing.
This year will see 600 hours of original content from the streaming giant, including a new series about Queen Elizabeth II called The Crown.
It’s also launching in 130 new countries, making Netflix a truly global TV network. Very few countries, China included, down have it, but Netflix hopes to add China to its list soon.
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And there it is, all the TV news from CES. Check our CES 2016 hub for the latest updates and let us know what you think of this year’s TV tech in the comments.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
