The latest LED-backlit models might have 'smart' features, BBC iPlayer apps and 3D, but that's only the beginning of the journey for the humble TV. Over the next decade the TV is set to become bigger, sleeker, greener - and even higher-def."Judging by the advances in the past decade, the next 10 years look set to offer consumers another collection of jaw-dropping developments," says Stephen Gater, CE Consumer Marketing Director at LG.
"Whether it is large-scale OLED displays or glasses-free 3D; one thing is sure, home entertainment is set to get even more immersive and bring consumers closer to the action." Let's start with OLED.
Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) TVs
OLED: Deliciously slim, with jaw-droppingly good pictures (the inky blackness alone is wroth the investment), but damned expensive. LG already sells its £1,500 15-inch 15EL9500 OLED TV, and is currently the only company to do so given Sony's decision to cease production of its look-what-we-can-do XEL-1 from a few years ago, which presumably never reached an economy of scale.
"It is well known that OLED displays offer the ultimate in picture quality, lower power consumption and an ultra slim design," says Gater. "As such LG is committed to launching a large screen OLED TV in 2012 to meet the consumer demand for this new screen technology."
LG will soon start selling its 31-inch 31EL9500 for around £6,000, and could offer a 55-incher in 2012; the age of OLED has begun.
"We will see a couple of big brands go to OLED TV, if only to make life difficult for their competitors," thinks Paul Gray, director of Europe TV market research at analyst firm DisplaySearch. "I'm not sure that OLED can be significantly thinner - 5mm is probably a finite limit below which any TV is too fragile to be practicable. With LCD already at 8mm, I doubt if consumers care much about a little less."
Gray also points out that OLED will cost more as it's a new and immature technology, with no production facilities in existence. Whether OLED can catch-up, and overtake, LCD is by no means certain - does anyone remember what happened to Toshiba's SED, hailed back in 2007 as the future of the flat TV? Nothing, that's what.
OLED ahead? Is LG's 15-inch 15EL9500 OLED TV is a sign of things to come?
OLED: Deliciously slim, with jaw-droppingly good pictures (the inky blackness alone is wroth the investment), but damned expensive. LG already sells its £1,500 15-inch 15EL9500 OLED TV, and is currently the only company to do so given Sony's decision to cease production of its look-what-we-can-do XEL-1 from a few years ago, which presumably never reached an economy of scale.
"It is well known that OLED displays offer the ultimate in picture quality, lower power consumption and an ultra slim design," says Gater. "As such LG is committed to launching a large screen OLED TV in 2012 to meet the consumer demand for this new screen technology."
LG will soon start selling its 31-inch 31EL9500 for around £6,000, and could offer a 55-incher in 2012; the age of OLED has begun.
"We will see a couple of big brands go to OLED TV, if only to make life difficult for their competitors," thinks Paul Gray, director of Europe TV market research at analyst firm DisplaySearch. "I'm not sure that OLED can be significantly thinner - 5mm is probably a finite limit below which any TV is too fragile to be practicable. With LCD already at 8mm, I doubt if consumers care much about a little less."
Gray also points out that OLED will cost more as it's a new and immature technology, with no production facilities in existence. Whether OLED can catch-up, and overtake, LCD is by no means certain - does anyone remember what happened to Toshiba's SED, hailed back in 2007 as the future of the flat TV? Nothing, that's what.
OLED ahead? Is LG's 15-inch 15EL9500 OLED TV is a sign of things to come?
4k2k 'ultra HD' resolutions
As well as bigger and better OLED TVs, trade shows like the CES and IFA in recent times have seen the debut of 4k2k displays using - you guessed it - 4,000x2,000 (or thereabouts) pixel resolution panels.
4k2k is thought to be essential for 'multiview' glasses-free 3D TVs to flourish (see below).
So will 4k2k TV resolutions ever hit the mass market? "As with any advances in screen resolution, 4k2k's success will depend on the volume of content that is compatible with the format," says LG's Gater.
"However, this is a very exciting technology - and one that will raise the bar in picture quality."
Panasonic's Lucas is more conservative, mindful of how slow progress is. "This will be driven by the broadcast industry," he says. "HD is still not mass market."
Panasonic actually already sells a 4k2k screen, its whopping 152-inch TH-152UX1 plasma display that sells for close to £380,000.
As well as bigger and better OLED TVs, trade shows like the CES and IFA in recent times have seen the debut of 4k2k displays using - you guessed it - 4,000x2,000 (or thereabouts) pixel resolution panels.
4k2k is thought to be essential for 'multiview' glasses-free 3D TVs to flourish (see below).
So will 4k2k TV resolutions ever hit the mass market? "As with any advances in screen resolution, 4k2k's success will depend on the volume of content that is compatible with the format," says LG's Gater.
"However, this is a very exciting technology - and one that will raise the bar in picture quality."
Panasonic's Lucas is more conservative, mindful of how slow progress is. "This will be driven by the broadcast industry," he says. "HD is still not mass market."
Panasonic actually already sells a 4k2k screen, its whopping 152-inch TH-152UX1 plasma display that sells for close to £380,000.
