February 2021 ertonline.co.uk


SONY There was no fancy virtual booth. Sony got straight to the point. There were great videos capturing the Lens to Living Room concept, with a clear link between content creation (Studios/Cameras) and their latest enabling tech (Micro LED/Drone) through to BRAVIA TVs. For 2021 Sony TVs, XR relates to the brand-


new powerful processor within called... XR. It cross-analyses multiple picture elements combined with focal points, recreating human perspective, making these the “world’s first TV with cognitive Intelligence”.


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Samsung made promises. Left: Sony demonstrated its Crystal LED display. Above left: There was a performance from Billie Eilish. Above right: A virtual experience in partnership with Panasonic.


The human eye uses different resolutions to


focus on different focus points, as does this processor. As TV screens get bigger, we need to focus on particular parts of an image more like real life. Elsewhere, there’s also Sony BRAVIA CORE, an


exclusive streaming service to deliver the ultimate video and gaming experiences. Leveraging Sony Pictures, it will deliver “the best picture possible” and is included on all XR TVs; it provides “the best content the studio has to offer from new releases to classics”. Lossless UHD quality via Pure Stream gives up to 80Mbps – as good as 4K UHD Blu-ray – and includes over 100 IMAX Enhanced titles. There are five different XR ranges – three LCD


and two OLED. The Z9J is 8K FALD, XR 8K upscaling, XR contrast booster, X-wide angle, X- Anti Reflection. The frame acts as speakers, so sound comes from an appropriate part with height tweeters on top. The A90J Master Series 4K OLED is what Sony calls its “best ever OLED TV” – features include XR OLED Contrast Pro, Netflix Calibrated, IMAX Enhanced, Dolby Vision and Atmos, and Acoustic Audio Surface to name a few. Other big Sony CES 2021 news includes its


move to Google TV and its launch of two brand- new Crystal LED solutions. For the residential custom install and commercial display market, they use modular panels featuring direct view


micro-LED technology and are equipped with the “X1 for Crystal LED” high-performance image quality processor.


DAY TWO


I logged back in to the virtual CES exhibition around 5pm GMT.


PANASONIC The Panasonic booth opened with the message “Technologies that move us”, or TTMU for short. I immediately thought of electric cars, aeroplanes or even those mobility scooters that you have to avoid at a live CES… but no. The virtual display did cover transport with Nanoe air purifying, in-car entertainment and reference to being the world’s largest Li-ion battery provider, including for Tesla, which was proudly highlighted. TV still had a decent dedicated segment and


the flagship JZ2000 TV sporting custom OLED panel was launched. It delivers superior peak and average brightness, whilst the improved AI chipset analyses content and optimises image and sound. Audio is superb, providing “the ultimate one-box OLED solution”. Panasonic is the official technology partner of


Illuminarium Experiences; its projectors, pro displays and cameras will bring 360-degree


immersive entertainment spaces to life to transport and inspire audiences. The first will open in Atlanta – a virtual safari. Smart lockers are now a thing. Panasonic said


it rolled these out to a number of US universities, drive-throughs and stores, enabling contactless app-controlled collections of chilled/heated food. I’ve previously seen these as part of a residential delivery solution.


SAMSUNG Samsung had a very slick introduction video; it was very professionally shot, but as always, stuffed full of marketing speak like “A better normal for all”, “Technologies built around you” and “Live better in your own unique way”. Having waded through all this, digging deeper


into the virtual booth, there was a large range of technology showcased, some of which will make it to market. Smart Things Cooking: Meal and cooking


plans, shopping from recipes, progress monitoring via the app, appliance integration etc. Bot Handy: I wouldn’t Google that phrase on


a work PC, but the video showed a pretty basic helper around the home – the start of “robotics and AI adapting to you”. JET BOT 90 AI+: Another fantastic name, this time


for an object recognition auto-robot with camera built in and tech so it won’t run over your pet! >>


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