Learnings from CES 2009: Eight Trends for LCD HDTVs

Posted by: Chris Martens at 10:10 am, January 23rd, 2009

An example of the two-piece approach, illustrated under Trend No. 8, below, would be Toshiba's proposed "Cell TV," which features a wireless HD display panel and a separate "brain box" that Toshiba calls the "Cell Platform." 

Trend No. 6B: Aesthetically-minded consumers appreciate TV bezels with a touch of color.

The second styling motif we identified is a trend toward adding deliberate touches of color and/or shading to spice up the look of TV bezels, which have traditionally been black, silver, or gray.  

One good example would be the color scheme of Sharp’s BD-series TVs, where the lower edges of the TVs’ black bezels morph into deep metallic blue. Other Sharp models use the same visual technique, but do color shifts from black to champagne gold, or even from black to a deep metallic copper color. It's a very appealing visual treatment that often has passers by doing double-takes when they first see the TVs.

Another variation on the theme would be Toshiba’s “Deep Lagoon” design, where the black bezel frame color does a gradual "fadeaway" on all four sides, giving the perimeter of the TV frame a almost 3D look. 

Trend No. 7: Everybody’s going “Green.”

Every manufacturer, it seems, has a “green” story to tell, with initiatives taking three forms. First, almost all manufacturers are working build TVs that consume less power. Second, some manufacturers are looking to reduce the amount of power consumed in manufacturing TV in the first place. Third, manufacturers are focusing on recycling, both in terms of using recyclable material in new products and setting up recycling centers/systems to process older TVs (and other electronics components) that are being take out of service. The bottom line: heightened concern for the environment is on everyone’s mind.

Trend No. 8: The “Next Big Thing” may be upscaling to 3840 x 2160 resolution levels.

 Just when you thought “High Definition” couldn’t get much higher, manufacturers are beginning to show proof-of-concept technology demos and even prototype products geared toward upscaling HD content to even higher, 3840 x 2160, resolution levels. Interesting.