If you thought there wasn’t much more manufacturers could do with HDTV after 3D TVs basically crashed and burned, then check out this video from Crave Online of the Top 5 TV Innovations at CES. We;re definitely seeing new features being added for “smart TVs” and also some interesting shapes to make the viewing experience more natural.

At this point I thought we’d actually hit something of a peak in modern television performance. I mean there’s always the concepts out there for ultra-realistic 3D models or virtual reality type systems, but strictly speaking about traditional displays, and improving current technology, I look at my HDTV and think, “This is about as good as it gets, and I don’t think I need anything more.”

Sony’s hoping there aren’t too many people in the world like me, as they are aiming to put a TV on the market by the holidays that can only be described as excessive. Specifically, it’s an 80 inch LED TV that makes use of the new, better than 1080p, 4K Resolution that will serve as the flag bearer to Sony’s new XBR line. There’s no way to sugarcoat the price, as it will retail for a clean $30,000.

Now understand this. This TV cannot make you a sandwich, wisely invest your money (quite the opposite), take care of your pets while your away, or anything like that. In fact, the only thing that we know it can do so far is display a really pretty picture on a really big screen, that we can’t really comprehend because the only thing that can display a picture as clear as itself, is itself. Not only that, but Sharp is already working on an 8K TV that could debut even cheaper than this model.

Some have already pointed out that this model is actually cheaper than a previously announced 36 inch model by Eizo Nanao, and have gone back in time to remind us that the first plasma TVs debuted in 1997 for $35,000 and weren’t even capable of true HD. While that’s all very interesting, I hate to say that I don’t think the argument exists yet that will justify the purchase of a $30,000  TV that will be outdated by this time next year. Plus, I’m fairly certain that there isn’t much technology out there that can actually properly make use of this kind of display.

But hey, to be fair I’m not an early adopter, socially awkward type with a trust fund who I assume this TV is marketed at.

These new TVs are pretty amazing:

The biggest buzz so far at the Consumer Electronics Show comes from the new OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) televisions from the giant South Korean manufacturer Samsung.

Production costs had previously limited the size of OLED screens, which is why consumers mostly found them in cellular phones, and the only commercially available OLED television model had been the Sony XEL-1, an 11-inch model that debuted at the 2007 CES with a price of $2,500.

Samsung’s new televisions feature a 55-inch screen, an absurd 0.6-inch width, and a richness of color never before seen in commercial displays.

Check out the video and see for yourself. 3D TVs were a huge bust, but now these new super-thin TVs should generate some serious buzz.

Behold, Panasonic’s very first 3DTV. Most display makers have been reluctant to talk about price when it comes to their 3D sets, and for good reason. They’re damn expensive. Take this 54-inch model, for instance. Though the price has only been announced in Yen, a simple conversion puts it at $5,900 USD. Ouch.

You might be thinking, “hey, that’s not so bad – that’s what I payed for my plasma eight years ago.” That may be true, but look at prices now. A solid 40-inch LCD or better can be had for under a thousand bucks. Are you willing to pay six times that for a technology that won’t see a decent amount of media for several years? I thought not.

Obviously prices will come down, and Panasonic already has plans to release 3D sets as small as 50 inches this year. It’s going to be some time, though, before home-theater-quality set breaks the $2500 barrier.

Source: Gizmodo