HDTV News

We’re starting to see more and more 4K / Ultra HD TVs coming to market, some at a crazy $40,000, others at a much more reasonable $5,000 from Sony, or just $1,500 from lesser known brands.

But before you can even talk about a 4K TV, you can’t avoid the issue of lack of content. Sure, Sony has their Sony FMP-X1 4K Media Player, but what about public broadcasts? Last week, LG demoed the world’s first 4K sporting event on their 84-inch 4K TV.

SES have made the worlds first Ultra HD transmission making use of the new H.264 HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) standard. Previously other 4K / Ultra HD transmissions have been made using the more standard, older H.264 codec, or joining together four 1080p streams to form the 4K resolution.

Samsung proudly showed off their huge easel style 4K Ultra HD TVs at CES 2013. We got up close and personal with Samsung’s S9 series both on the press conference stage, and in their booth at CES, but it now looks like we’re going to get another look at the 85-inch Samsung UN85S9AF which has just gone on display in Selfridges in London.

At CES 2013 Samsung showed off their new S9 series of 4K ultra HDTVs three sizes including a 110-inch inch model, and also the 85-inch model (UN85S9AF) which has now gone on sale for a whooping $39,999.99, or £35,000 over in the UK.

Most of you will already be doing the maths. The Samsung 85-inch 4K TV costs, $40,000, while the 84-inch Sony 4K TV costs $25,000, and the 84-inch LG 4K TV costs even less at $20,000. That’s a lot of extra cash for one more inch.

LG have just confirmed that we will indeed be seeing their impressive curved OLED TV in stores, and sooner than we would have expected!

HDTV News was actually the very first to break the news of the LG EA9800 curved OLED, after it was accidentally leaked by LG, after a few swift phone calls with LG, we quickly buried this news until LG was ready for the grand announcement, giving us a two hour exclusive on the news.

When the LG curved OLED TV was unveiled, the mere fact that it actually has a proper model number was a clear indication of LG’s intentions. LG had a very impressive lineup of these curved OLED TVs on display at CES 2013 and were praising its enhanced viewing capabilities.

One of the cool things we captured while at the Gadget Show Live in England was a very impressive demo of the Grid 2 racing game being played in 4K on the LG 84-inch 4K UHD TV.

While we have seen many of the new and upcoming 4K Ultra HD TVs showing a variety of native 4K content, and upscaled content, we have never seen gaming on any of these TV.

The 84-inch 4K LG 84LM960V / 84LM9600 was being used for the demo, and we were given the impression from the LG staff at the Gadget Show Live in England that it was being fed native 4K content.

Panasonic has announced at the NAB 2013 Show in Las Vegas, that it has plans to refresh its entire range of HD products to 4K Ultra HD standard, by as early as 2014.

We are seeing an ever increasing push into 4K, which has been primarily lead by Sony and LG. Sony have announced two smaller 4K Ultra HD TVs at 55-inch and 65-inch, with a starting price of just $4999, while Seiki have come along with their own 50-inch 4K TV at just $1,299.

While Panasonic didn’t introduce any 4K TVs in the 2013 Plasma or LED LCD TV lineups, they did show off a very impressive 4K OLED prototype TV.

Panasonic has stated that everything they currently make in HD, they will be making in 4K in the future.

Until very recently the cheapest 4K Ultra HD TV you could buy was the $20,000 84-inch LG 4K TV, or the $25,000 Sony equivalent.

Just days ago Sony announced their pricing on their smaller 55-inch and 65-inch 4K models at a very reasonable $4,999, and $6,999 respectively, which will be shipping next month (May 2013).

Now Chinese TV manufacturer Seiki have come along with their own, slightly smaller, 50-inch 4K Ultra HD TV, the Seiki Chinese SE50UY04, and they’re only asking for $1,499.99 for it! It can currently be ordered and delivered for only $1,299.

Panasonic’s latest 2013 LCD HDTVs have gained a lot of attention since their launch this January as CES 2013.

Like most manufacturers, when they announced their latest models, while they revealed the actual TVs, features, specifications and model names, they held back the pricing information.

We have already posted some of the 2013 Panasonic plasma TV prices, now we’re glad to be able to bring you the 2013 Panasonic LED LCD TV prices also!

All of the models listed below, unless marked by an Astrix have a release date of around March 30th in the U.S.

There has been a huge interest in Panasonic’s new HDTVs, especially their new 2013 plasma TV models ever since their unavailing at CES 2013 a couple of months ago.

While Panasonic spilled the beans on the new series, model number, specifications and features, like most manufacturers, they held back the pricing and availability information. Well that all changes today!

Along with the previously posted 2013 Panasonic LCD TV prices, and the ST60, S60 plasma series, we’re glad to bring you pricing for the entire plasma HDTV lineup!

Updated April 15th:  Prices and dates corrected.

While attending the Gadget Show Live in England as press, I of course filmed everything of relevant interest, which I have been adding to our YouTube channel, (be sure to subscribe if you have yet to!) while most of what I saw I have already captured and covered at CES 2013 and other events, I did see something which I have yet to see before.

Samsung made voice and gesture control a common place with their 2012 Smart TVs, but they have now taken it to another level with their 2013 Smart TV models.

Gesture control as we know it, involves holding up your hands in front of you, and moving it around to move a hand / cursor around the TV. Closing your hand acts as selecting, or clicking the mouse. This works from the integrated (now popup) camera detecting your hand and its movement.

But here is the interesting part, Samsung was showing off their latest 2013 Smart TVs, and I managed to capture them demonstrating two handed gesture control.

Just the title alone lays a devastating blow to many loyal Panasonic plasma TV fans around the world.

We have been hearing rumors for sometime now that Panasonic had closed down its research and development department and has plans to pull out of the plasma market altogether.

Yesterday Panasonic was throwing an event in New York, where Panasonic Display Vice President Kiyoshi Okamoto confirmed to the Verge, that the Panasonic ZT60 uses the “last plasma panel” from research and development.

Kiyoshi Okamoto was also quick to note that just because this was the last panel, it doesn’t mean that it is the last Panasonic plasma TV.