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TECHNOLOGY Thursday 5 January 2017
The big thing in TV sets this year is ... big TV sets

BY MAE ANDERSON said.
AP TECHNOLOGY WRITER It’s far from clear, however,
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- What’s which of the color tech-
new in television sets this nologies will become stan-
year? Incrementally bet- dard. Buyers like Morrissey
ter pictures, larger screens could end up stranded
and cheaper prices - and if, for instance, HDR fails
that’s about it. to take off - just as buyers
True, set manufacturers of 3-D sets were after the
are bombarding consum- technology flopped.
ers with a whole series of TV manufacturers are tak-
buzzwords - OLED, 4K, 8K, ing some other steps to
HDR, QLED, wide color make their sets more use-
gamut - intended to spur ful. Gagnon said he ex-
excitement and generate pects announcements
sales. Flashy new sets with from TV makers about
these supposedly “must how their sets will work
have” features are getting with new home hubs such
the spotlight Wednesday as the Amazon Echo and
at the annual CES gadget Google Home. And Sam-
show in Las Vegas. sung, Philips and others
But when it comes down are allowing people to use
to it, none of these amount smartphones and tablets
to revolutionary improve- and voice control to better
ments for your living room. navigate through channels
Set manufacturers may not David VanderWaal, vice president of marketing for LG Electronics USA, unveils the LG Signature and streaming services.
have run out of technolog- OLED TV W during an LG news conference before CES International, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, in RUNNING FOR 4K
ical tricks yet, but for this Las Vegas. About 19 percent of TVs
year, at least, they’re re- sold in the U.S. in the past
duced to improving what’s channels. day at CES. Quantum dot nologies improve video year were 4K, up from just
already out there. The next step in picture is essentially a layer of ma- only for the few movies and 7 percent a year earlier,
“That’s a good thing,” said clarity is on its way with so- terials for purer colors and shows that support them. according to NPD. That’s
Gartner analyst Brian Blau, called 8K sets, which offer brighter displays. LG, Sam- For now, technologies like expected to increase to
looking for the bright side. four times the resolution of sung and others also have HDR are high-end features about one-third of TV sales
“Products need to be im- HD, although the technol- “high-dynamic range,” or for high-end sets, just as 4K in 2017, as TV makers unveil
proved.” ogy remains out of reach HDR, for brighter whites, was a few years ago. more models at a wider
TRAPPED IN THE BOX for most people. During the darker blacks, and a wider “There’s always a push- range of prices, including
Set manufacturers are in a Summer Olympics last year, range of colors. TCL has an and-pull between what budget options.
bind. Gadgets like virtual- for instance, experimental HDR variant called Dolby TV companies try to sell But HDTVs still suffice for
reality headsets and smart- 8K broadcasts were limited Vision. consumers and what they many, especially those un-
phones have snagged to public viewing areas in DOES IT MATTER? actually need,” IHS Markit interested in large screens.
much of the buzz that Japan. Whether the average hu- analyst Paul Gagnon said. 4K makes a difference
flashy new TVs once had. SEEING IN COLOR man eye can really appre- Ed Morrissey, a writer in Min- only when the screen is
And while all sorts of oth- Some TV makers are push- ciate all this - particularly on neapolis, recently bought large enough and the
er gadgets are getting ing curved-screen models, smaller screens - is another a 55-inch Samsung 4K TV couch close enough.
more intelligent, so-called which aim to provide more matter. 4K sets, for instance, with a curved screen and “4K is kind of too much for
smart TVs that manage immersive viewing by giv- offer sharper pictures than HDR, in part to future-proof the amount of time I use it,”
streaming-video services ing viewers a wider image older HD screens, but the a purchase he could be said John Murphy, a Barn-
and let you play games via their peripheral vision. difference is nowhere as living with for almost a de- stable, Massachusetts, re-
have largely left consumers They’re also touting im- dramatic as the change cade. “If I’m going to do tiree who bought a 50-inch
cold . Instead, the brains provements in color . from older standard defini- something new, I want Samsung HD TV recently
behind such features have OLED screen technology tion to HD. to make sure I have the to replace his 10-year-old
largely migrated to set-top produces better colors in And some of these tech- emerging technology,” he Sony 42-incher. q
boxes offered by the likes part because it doesn’t
of Roku, Apple and Ama- have to be backlit the way Lawsuit seeks to ban Google
zon - or by cable compa- standard TVs do. But it’s
nies themselves. more expensive. LG, which
So TV makers like Samsung has sold the majority of from U.S. government contracts
and LG have doubled OLED sets, announced a
down on what they know high-end, ultra-slim model SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Wednesday with the Office isn’t discriminating against
best: screen technology. Wednesday that’s less than The U.S. Labor Department of Administrative Law workers based on gender
These days, you’re seeing 4 millimeters (0.15 inch) is trying to bar Google from Judges. or race.
a lot more marketing buzz thick; its price won’t be re- doing business with the The complaint alleges that Google says it provided
about “4K” sets, which of- vealed until February. Oth- federal government unless Google has repeatedly hundreds of thousands
fer twice the screen resolu- er manufacturers including the internet company refused to provide the Labor of records in an attempt
tion of today’s high defini- Sony may announce OLED turns over confidential Department with employee to comply with the Labor
tion, or HD, sets. 4K tech- plans at CES. information about compensation records Department’s requests,
nology is making a push Samsung, meanwhile, has thousands of its employees. and other information as but has rebuffed some of
into the mainstream this been touting “quantum The potential banishment part of an audit designed the agency’s demands as
year, as prices come down dot” technology, includ- is being sought in a Labor to ensure the Mountain an invasion of employee
and video providers offer ing a refined version called Department lawsuit filed View, California, company privacy.q
more 4K streaming and “QLED” announced Tues-