CES 2021: What you need to know about the next generation of television technology

TVs are getting bigger, brighter, thinner and more colourful this year but there are a lot of new terms and technologies to know.

Robot maids, virtual influencers, bespoke refrigerators and roll-up smartphones were all on show at the world’s largest technology event overnight as the Consumer Electronics Show made its online debut.

But it was home entertainment technology that dominated the first day of the former Las Vegas show, as some of the world’s biggest tech firms showed off some of the world’s biggest TV screens, the smallest lighting sources, and a new generation of baffling acronyms.

New screen technology included Mini LED lighting to slim down screens, improvements to OLED displays, and new coloured lasers capable of delivering a 300-inch display to genuinely turn your home into a theatre.

LG unveiled a new range of QNED televisions at CES 2021, featuring Mini LED backlighting.

LG unveiled four new ranges of televisions for 2021 at the show, and product marketing senior director Tim Alessi said they were designed to appeal to consumers hungrier than ever for in-home entertainment.

“Life at home has changed over the last year and television usage has increased dramatically. We’re watching more live TV, streaming more, and gaming more,” he said.

“In light of these trends, providing an unparalleled entertainment experience is even more relevant.”

The company will launch a major upgrade to its top-of-the-line OLED TV range in 2021, re-engineering the screens to offer greater brightness.

LG Electronics Australia home entertainment marketing head Tony Brown said the company would also launch an 83-inch OLED screen for the first time, as well as QNED and NanoCell televisions in sizes as large as 88 inches.

LG's new OLED Evo technology promises a brighter display.

Mr Brown said many Australian homes were large by world standards and bigger TV sizes were big business.

“We are seeing an absolute boom in TV purchases and they are getting bigger and bigger. The 75-inch range and this 83-inch OLED area key priority for us in 2021,” he said.

“We see the appetite from Australian consumers continuing to be high for big screens. I am genuinely surprised all the time when I see the sales figures coming through.”

Samsung also showed off a televisual monster at CES — a 110-inch Micro LED television so expansive the company designed a new feature called 4Vue that will let viewers watch four channels at once.

The company earlier showed off its new range of Neo QLED televisions featuring a faster processor and Mini LED backlighting for greater brightness and more precise colour.

Samsung unveiled its Neo QLED TV screens at CES 2021.

Chinese TV maker Hisense also showed off Mini LED screens at CES overnight but made a bigger deal of its much bigger models.

The laser TV proponent unveiled a 300-inch television at the show, as well as a new range of TriChroma Laser TVs up to 100 inches in size that use separate lasers to deliver greater colour and 20 per cent more brightness.

Hisense laser TV chief scientist Dr Xianrong Liu said the screen technology, which involved a short-throw projector, had come a long way since its 2015 launch and was now being embraced by TV fans as a way to access the biggest of big screens at home.

LG TV Magic remote controls will feature wireless connections for mobile phones in 2021.

“Overseas sales of laser TV have increased 288 per cent, with great performance in 17 countries around the world including the United States, Mexico, and Australia,” he said.

“As a brand new TV category that launched only five years ago at CES, laser TV has moved from a niche market to a mass market.”

The company will also launch more traditional 8K and 4K televisions in Australia during the second quarter of the year.

TELEVISION JARGON YOU NEED TO KNOW IN 2021

Mini LED: Popular in many TVs from CES 2021, Mini LEDs are smaller light-emitting diodes used to illuminate TV panels. By packing in more lights, TVs can deliver more detail, greater contrast and better blacks.

Laser TV: These TVs using a short-throw projector to create a huge display, and often do so at a cheaper price than a typical television screen.

Neo QLED: This is Samsung’s new range of LED-backlit TV screens. They feature Mini LED lighting and a new picture processor.

OLED Evo: This is LG’s name for its upgraded OLED or organic light-emitting diode TVs. The technology, re-engineered with a new layer of green, promises to deliver a brighter picture.

QNED: LG televisions that use Mini LED will be called QNED televisions this year, not to be confused with the QLED screens from Samsung and TCL.

Quantum Dot: Favoured by Samsung, Quantum Dot is also known as nanocrystal semiconductor technology. The nanocrystals are used with LED-backlit TVs to increase their colour range and brightness.

NanoCell: This refers to a filter of nanoparticles used by LG in its LCD televisions that is designed to make colours appear more vivid.

Originally published as CES 2021: What you need to know about the next generation of television technology