2012: A Year of Innovation in TVs

As we enter 2012, it's shaping up to be an exciting year for TVs, with several new technologies on the horizon that promise to revolutionize the way we watch and interact with our televisions. One of the most notable developments is the emergence of OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) TVs, which combine the best qualities of plasma and LCD TV technologies without their drawbacks.

The Problem with OLED TVs

However, there's a catch - we expect these new OLED TVs to be very expensive, possibly three to four times the cost of a standard TV. This is a significant barrier to entry for consumers who may not want to shell out such a large amount of money for a new television. Nevertheless, the potential benefits of OLED TVs make them an exciting development in the world of television technology.

Another Technology Gaining Attention: 4K

In addition to OLED TVs, we're also hearing a lot about 4K technology, which refers to TVs with four times the resolution of standard TVs. This means that 4K TVs can display images at a much higher quality and detail than traditional HDTVs. However, there's a catch - there's not a lot of 4K content available yet, so consumers may not be able to take full advantage of these new TVs.

The Rise of Smart TVs

We're also seeing an explosion of smart TVs on the market, which provide access to the internet and a range of features that make them more interactive and engaging. Many of these smart TVs now come with full web browsers, allowing users to browse the web and access online content directly from their TV. We're also starting to see more smart TVs with access to app markets, which allows consumers to download and install apps on their TV.

The Future of Smart TVs

One technology that's gaining a lot of attention in the world of smart TVs is Google TV. While it didn't quite live up to expectations last year, we're seeing some indications that it may become more popular this year with some manufacturers. We'll be keeping an eye on this development and will provide our own assessment once we've had a chance to put these new TVs through their paces.

New Ways to Access Content

One of the most exciting developments in the world of smart TVs is the range of new ways that consumers can access and manage content on their TV. We're seeing more advanced dashboards that make it easier to navigate through menus and find what you're looking for. We're also starting to see interfaces that allow users to control their TV using gestures, voice control, or even face recognition.

Physically Interacting with Your TV

The ability to physically interact with your TV is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Some TVs now come equipped with built-in gesture controls, allowing you to navigate through menus and access content without needing a remote control. Others are incorporating voice control and face recognition into their designs, making it easier than ever to use your TV.

Moving Content Between Devices

Another exciting development in the world of smart TVs is the ability to move content between devices with ease. If you have a tablet or cell phone and want to transfer content to your TV, you're now able to do so seamlessly. This is thanks to the introduction of common interfaces and single IDs that allow users to easily switch between devices without needing to reconfigure anything.

Bringinging These Technologies into Our Labs

Finally, we're excited to bring many of these new technologies into our labs where we can give them a full test. At Consumer Reports, we're committed to providing our readers with the most accurate and unbiased information possible, and we're eager to put these new TVs through their paces to see how they stack up in real-world testing.

As we move forward into 2012, it's clear that the world of television technology is going to be exciting and rapidly evolving. With the emergence of OLED TVs, 4K technology, smart TVs, and other innovative features, consumers can expect a wide range of new options to choose from when shopping for their next TV.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en2012 is shaping up to be a pretty interesting year for TVs for a variety of reasons one is that we're going to see some new technologies that really were in the concept stage become realities later this year probably most notable is OLED TVs which really combine some of the best qualities of plasma and LCD TV Technologies without their drawbacks the problem is we expect them to be very expensive maybe three to four times the cost of a standard TV the other technology that we're hearing a lot about is 4K technology and these are TVs with four times the resolution of standard TVs the problem with the 4K technology right now is that there's not a lot of 4K content so we think that's a product that we talk a lot about this year but don't actually buy one of the other things that we're seeing an explosion of smart TVs and those are TVs that provide access to the internet now we've seen them for a couple of years but they're gaining new features and new services this year for example most of them now or a lot of them at least have full web browsers that let you go anywhere on the web and we're starting to see more that have access to apps markets we're also keeping an eye on Google TV which didn't fa so well last year but we're seeing some indications that it may become more popular this year with some manufacturers we're seeing who comes aboard later in the year you know with the explosion of content we're also seeing a lot of new ways for you to access that content and manage it so we're seeing TVs that have easier to use uh dashboards we're seeing interfaces that are make it a lot easier to navigate through it and probably the thing that's been most interesting are the different ways that you can actually physically interact with your TV we're seeing the ability now for you to use gestures voice control and even face recognition so some TVs having this built right into the TV itself while other manufacturers are building this technology into the remote controls we're seeing the ability to move content between devices pretty easily so if you have a tablet or a cell phone and you want to put that content on your television you're now able to do that so manufacturers are really looking for common interfaces and a single ID so that as you move between these devices you already know how to use them while it's great to see a lot of the Technologies here on display one of the things that we really look forward to is bringing a lot of these products into our Labs where we can give them a full testing I'm Jim Wilcox for Consumer Reports2012 is shaping up to be a pretty interesting year for TVs for a variety of reasons one is that we're going to see some new technologies that really were in the concept stage become realities later this year probably most notable is OLED TVs which really combine some of the best qualities of plasma and LCD TV Technologies without their drawbacks the problem is we expect them to be very expensive maybe three to four times the cost of a standard TV the other technology that we're hearing a lot about is 4K technology and these are TVs with four times the resolution of standard TVs the problem with the 4K technology right now is that there's not a lot of 4K content so we think that's a product that we talk a lot about this year but don't actually buy one of the other things that we're seeing an explosion of smart TVs and those are TVs that provide access to the internet now we've seen them for a couple of years but they're gaining new features and new services this year for example most of them now or a lot of them at least have full web browsers that let you go anywhere on the web and we're starting to see more that have access to apps markets we're also keeping an eye on Google TV which didn't fa so well last year but we're seeing some indications that it may become more popular this year with some manufacturers we're seeing who comes aboard later in the year you know with the explosion of content we're also seeing a lot of new ways for you to access that content and manage it so we're seeing TVs that have easier to use uh dashboards we're seeing interfaces that are make it a lot easier to navigate through it and probably the thing that's been most interesting are the different ways that you can actually physically interact with your TV we're seeing the ability now for you to use gestures voice control and even face recognition so some TVs having this built right into the TV itself while other manufacturers are building this technology into the remote controls we're seeing the ability to move content between devices pretty easily so if you have a tablet or a cell phone and you want to put that content on your television you're now able to do that so manufacturers are really looking for common interfaces and a single ID so that as you move between these devices you already know how to use them while it's great to see a lot of the Technologies here on display one of the things that we really look forward to is bringing a lot of these products into our Labs where we can give them a full testing I'm Jim Wilcox for Consumer Reports\n"