As the calendar ticks over for another
year, the focus of the consumer electronics industry, and anyone remotely
interested in technology (that’ll be all of us, then), will once more turn to
Las Vegas, Nevada.
CES is the curtain-raiser for a new year in
tech and the traditional launch event for hundreds of new products covering
every aspect of the AV industry, from TVs to hi-fi, home cinema to portable
audio. It runs from the 8th to the 11th of this month and to bring you
exclusive news, we’ll be right where the action is. The What Hi-Fi? Sound and
Vision team will once again be out in force to search out all the best new
products to look out for over the coming year.
Television
If there’s one product that dominates CES,
it’s televisions literally, last year, with massive prototype 4K TVs
dominating. OLED sets broke cover, too. 3D was pushed down the pecking order in
favor of smart functionality and gesture and voice controls.
The
Antelope Audio Rubicon preamp and Morel Sopran speakers have scooped CES 2013
Innovations awards
‘Ultra HD’ will be the buzz phrase this
year if the Consumer Electronics Association has its way. The CEA would like it
to replace 4K as the official term, though Sony has already said it’s sticking
to ‘4K Ultra HD’.
Samsung will, perhaps briefly, aim to hold
the crown of the world’s largest Ultra HD set with its rumored 85in monster,
though with Panasonic already making commercial Ultra HD plasma sets even
bigger, CES 2013 could well be a case of ‘my one’s bigger than yours’ – not for
the first time. Expect plenty of noise from Google TV, more talk of streaming
from smartphones and tablets and, of course, thinner and thinner profiles.
LG
and Sony will no doubt show off their 84in Ultra HD TVs, but will be see them
bigger or, better still, cheaper?
Smartphones and tablets
Rumors persist that Samsung could replace
its massively successful Galaxy S3 with a new, you guessed it, S4. Talk of a
5in screen with a 1080p resolution certain whets our appetite and expects to
see other Full HD phone screens.
Analysts expect Android to overtake iOS in
the tablet marketplace sometime in 2013, so expect plenty of cut-price
offering, with Asus said to be planning a budget 7in rival to the Nexus 7.
Elsewhere in the portable market, look out for flexible screens, integrated
keyboards and cases and improved ‘second-screen’ experiences.
The
Nexus 7
Hi-Fi and home cinema
There’s plenty of space for Hi-Fi and home
cinema kit, too – The Venetian hotel, in fact. Expect further convergence, from
streaming functionality in AV receivers to DACs with, well, everything. Expect
affordable, portable and wireless DACs alongside offerings from serious
high-end companies such as Burmester.
We’ve
already had our hands on a prototype of Sony’s 4K Ultra HD TV. It’s a promising
look at the new format
And on that subject, there are always
plenty of high-end electronics and speakers to get excited about, with the
likes of Krell, Meridian and McIntosh wowing us with products last year. We’re
looking forward to more of the same. Grab your seat and watch this space!
Pixels on Sony 4K Ultra HD TV: 8,294,400
Resolution of Ultra HD TVs: 3840 x 2160
