TV SPECIAL ..The Golden Age of TV tech is here

The Golden Age of TV tech is here





The big TV manufacturers have got quite a year planned for us

In the world of television, the year 2015 came with the first flushes of Ultra HD future. But 2016 is likely to see the tech thrust firmly into the mainstream as more and more 4K TVs find their way into our homes, and UHD content ramps up online and on physical media.

However, this is about more than just throwing extra pixels onto screens -we're also going to see better pixels as high dynamic range comes to the fore.Here is what the next 12 months have in store from all the big names in TV:

For Sony, it's HDR all the way

Sony has announced its 2016 range of HDR-compatible TVs, to be available early this year. There are three new models -the high-end Sony XBR-X940D, the smaller XBR-X930D and XBR-X850D series.

All three ranges use Sony's Triluminos display tech, with HDR compatibility.They come with the 4K processor X1 silicon too, although the news that Sony is sticking with Android TV is not welcome.Fingers crossed the new Sony TVs get the Android Marshmallow update to improve the experience, and let's hope the Android TV app library gets a boost this year too.

For LG, it's all about the OLED

LG is releasing a whole slew of new HDRready OLED TVs this year. Interestingly though, of the four different new OLED series TVs, only one of them (the C6 series) will come sporting the divisive curved display. The top-of-the-line G6 and E6 series TVs sport the gorgeous new Picture On-Glass flatscreen design.

LG isn't just relying on its OLED panels, however -it's jumped into bed with Dolby to enable Dolby Vision HDR on its sets. Not content with 8.3 million pixels in its Ultra HD panels, LG was also showing off a 98-inch 8K TV recently that looks like it might actually get a commercial release this year.

For Panasonic, it's certification

Panasonic is going back to its LCD roots with its 2016 DX900 TVs. But that doesn't mean its new Ultra HD TVs aren't capable of impressive HDR goodness. Panasonic's latest TVs have been created using its new Honeycomb structure to ensure the locally-dimmed areas of the screen are kept completely isolated from each other. Panasonic is promising luminance peaks of up to 1,000 nits, while having deep black images in close proximity.The independent classification bodies seem to agree, as the DX900s have picked up certification from THX and also come with Ultra HD Alliance's new Ultra HD Premium badge.

For Samsung, it's about staying curved

Samsung is sticking to its curved TV guns and its 2016 line-up of Ultra HD TVs starts with the curvy flagship KS9500 SUHD. It's also sticking to its own Quantum Dot nanocrystal filter, rather than dipping back into the OLED duel.

The new 10-bit Quantum Dot SUHD panel in the KS9500 is able to display around one billion possible colours, enabling it to produce vivid, life-like images as well as the contrast necessary for today's HDR demands. And, with the ability to hit a peak luminance of 1,000 nits, this bezel-less, curved beauty should be capable of some stunning pictures.

For Philips, it's about Ambilights all round

Initially Philips's Ambilight technology seemed like a gimmick, but as the back-firing, wall-painting tech became advanced it's also become far more immersive. The pinnacle of Ambilight is the Philips 8901 AmbiLux. It was in limited production initially, but Philips recently announced that it will be making the TV more widely available.

This creates an impressively immersive experience, almost making the bezel disappear. Philips is also promising that Amazon Instant Video will feature on its Android TV offerings, where previously .only Sony's Google-powered TVs could boast the same streaming chops

in techradar com

ETP15JAN16