This year, TV makers are doing their best to give huge-screen fanatics more breathing room. New "ultrahigh-definition" sets were shown off Monday by LG Electronics, Sharp, Sony and Samsung Electronics at the international CES gadget show in Las Vegas.
Explaining the new Samsung UHD TV, Samsung executive, Joe Stinziano says the screen almost floats within the frame.
"We created a timeless gallery design and it will complement any living room for many years to come. The screen, which almost floats within the frame, is mesmerizing. Ultra high-definition resolution offers four times the pixels of traditional LED and this pixel density resolves the smallest of details for an unbelievable lifelike quality images."
The TV is also offering "T-commerce", which is a way to shop for the clothes you see on TV. Stinziano says it's an entirely new way to interact with the TV.
"We're also introducing an entirely new way to interact with your TV. We call it 'T-Commerce.' For instance, while watching the Fox hit show, 'New Girl' viewers will be able to find out who designed Jess' outfit and even purchase it with a click of the remote."
Always losing your TV remote? Panasonic offers voice interaction capability, so you can tell the TV what to do by using voice commands.
Sharp showed off a model expected in stores in March: the 8-series, which includes a TV remote control app (application) to use with smartphones or tablets. Mark Viken from Sharp explains:
"We're launching a new TV remote control app. That lets consumers conveniently control their Aquos TVs from Android or iOS smartphones and tablets. Also, our exciting Beam App turns your smartphone or tablet into a fully functional content sharer."
Ultra-HD sets come as small as new models from LG and Sony, which stretch 55 inches diagonally. It could be a few years before prices come down enough for the masses to justify buying ultra-HD TVs.
Hampering sales even further, ultra-HD faces another problem: There's very little content. Since 2004, only about 50 movies have been shot with an ultra-HD camera. They include the James Bond hit "Skyfall" and the Batman sequel, "The Dark Knight Rises." Only a handful of movies shot on film, including "Taxi Driver," have been converted to ultra-HD.
There's also no standard way of getting content to the TV.
Could ultra-HD be a passing fad? Possibly. But one advantage it has over other recent innovations is that most people can appreciate increased clarity on giant screens.
With nearly 8.3 million pixels, an ultrahigh definition or the Sony "4K" screen contains four times more pixels than an HD TV.
Phil Molyneux, Sony Chief Operating Officer explains what the Sony 4K - or ultra-HD world means.
"It's really like looking through a window. In the US, we took ownership to show what only Sony can do with the 4K world that we are creating. We want our customers to experience not only amazing upscaling capability but also to have remastered and true 4K content to enjoy with their new 84-inch Sony 4K TV."
However, there's no standard way of getting content to the TV, although Sony took the lead in making movies shot in native ultra-HD make it to market. So it's still early to tell who is going to take the lead in the ultra-HD market.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.