The HDTVs of CES 2012

Vizio doesn't have any 4K TVs yet, but it was showing off an 84-inch prototype showcasing the next resolution bump at CES this week. When we say prototype, we mean not even close to production — you can't see it in the photos, but the TV had a seam down the middle that became noticeable when there was motion across it. It was difficult to judge the quality of the higher resolution because most of the content displayed on it wasn't 4K. The TV doesn't have a name, and it's not remotely close to a price or release date, but Vizio wants the world to know it's moving to 4K.

As per usual, Samsung announced a boatload of TVs during its press conference earlier in the week, so we hit the floor to pull out the highlights. The most stunning display was certainly the 55-inch OLED prototype, which we heard should be on sale by the 2nd half of the year. The viewing angles were superb, the bezel was nearly invisible, and the back was essentially a giant metal mirror — certainly one of the nicest products we've seen this week. As for products shipping sooner, Samsung's Series 8 LED TVs were nearly as impressive as the OLED and support Samsung's smart interactions. They're also even bigger — the screen tops out at 75 inches. The Series 7 and Series 8 TVs also support the new smart evolution upgrade kit, though we still were unable to get a look at the port itself. There was also a prototype of Samsung's 70-inch 4K by 2K ultra high definition display. There's no word on when this might hit the market, but the rest of Samsung's displays (minus the OLED) should hit the market sometime in Q1. To these models and more, check out the gallery below.

LG and Samsung are showing off crazy next-gen OLED TV prototypes here at CES, but Sony went another way with its Crystal LED prototype — it's extremely impressive, with nearly 90-degree viewing angles, but it's also prompted a lot of rumors that Sony's abandoning OLED TVs for the consumer market. We asked for clarification and it seems the truth is a little different: Sony says that Crystal LED will be developed in "parallel" to OLED for future consumer and professional applications. We don't know if that definitively means that Sony will put out any future consumer OLED TVs — it hasn't done anything meaningful since it killed the XEL-1 in 2010 — but the door is certainly still open. Here's the full statement:

The company had the rest of its 2012 lineup laid out, and we also spotted the LM9600, a slim 55-incher with a tiny 1mm bezel. The image only stops 5mm from the edge of the TV, making for a pretty dramatic black bar-less effect, and the panel features LG's Nano LED backlighting, with the LED substrate directly on the panel.The LM9600, as well as the rest of LG's non 84-inch lineup, are slated for release in March or April.

We just got a chance to check out Samsung's Smart TV tech at CES 2012, and we've got a hands-on video for you. The TV features Samsung's "Smart Interaction" tech, using two unidirectional mics and an integrated webcam for motion and voice control — users can turn the TV on or off, change the volume, activate apps, and search the web. The TV can also identify users with face recognition via the integrated webcam. Be sure to check out our Samsung storystream for more information on their showings at CES 2012.

A 22-inch television may not sound that interesting — but what if you can see right through it? Haier is showing off just such a device here at CES, as part of its "Future Technologies" portfolio of products. As you can tell from the gallery below, this isn't a television aimed at the living room: it packs a resolution of 1680 x 1050 with 8-bit color depth, and it requires an external backlight to render images in any conventional sense. Haier sees it being used in commercial applications, such as strore-front displays and wall installations, and we've heard the company will soon be announcing a 46-inch version as well. While the novelty was certainly intriguing, we have to wonder if the display would excel even in those scenarios — though to be fair, the model we saw was suffering from some image orientation issues. We trust Haier will have time to correct the problems before bringing the product to market, though no timeframe or pricing was available.

Vizio has announced new models in its line of 3D-capable high-definition LCD televisions, while increasing the number of titles available on its Vizio Internet Apps platform. The televisions range from 32-inch to 65-inch models, all feature built-in Wi-Fi, and utilize the company's passive "Theater 3D" technology, which it claims provides a 3D viewing experience without the nasty headaches and sore eyes we've come to expect. The entry level E-Series includes 32-, 42-, and 47-inch models, priced from $549.99 to $899.99, and are available now. The M and R Series feature increasingly improved backlighting, while also upping the number of 3D glasses included (from two to four, depending on the model). Pricing and availability for the latter two lines have yet to be announced.

All of the televisions also incorporate Vizio's Internet Apps platform, which the company is expanding in conjunction with the launch. While the usual suspects like Facebook, Netflix, Vudu, and Pandora have already been present, the Yahoo! Connected TV store is now joining the fray, opening up access to more than 180 new apps from the likes of CBS, Showtime, and QVC. Whether it will be enough to cause apps on televisions to truly take off remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: Vizio isn't leaving any bases uncovered.

Vizio is pursuing every segment of the home theater market at this year's CES. Along with announcing an updated line of mainstream HDTVs, the company has introduced a premium collection of HDTVs known as CinemaWide. That name is a natural fit for the LCD sets, which the manufacturer touts as the world's first to utilize an aspect ratio of 21:9 (something Philips may disagree with). Such unique dimensions allow movies shot in CinemaScope — the predominant method used by today's filmmakers — to be displayed without black bars. Three display sizes will be offered, and they're of the larger variety, coming in at 50, 58, and 71 inches. Edge-lit LED backlighting is in use on the smaller two, which exhibit a contrast ratio of 1,000,000 to 1. The flagship model features full array "TruLED" backlighting, resulting in superior black levels and contrast, says Vizio.

Further, its Theater 3D technology will be incorporated into the high-end family of HDTVs, with each model also bringing access to the company's V.I.A. smart TV platform. Vizio claims the CinemaWide series as the first to allow users to access the web while simultaneously viewing full-res 1080P television content in the native 16:9 format, another benefit of the ultra-widescreen design. Suffice to say, we're eager to get some time with Vizio's latest; stay tuned for impressions. Unfortunately, we've got nothing to share related to availability and pricing — the company hasn't yet released those details.

We just got a chance to play with Lenovo's recently announced K91 Smart TV here at CES 2012. If you'll recall, the 55-inch 3D-enabled IPS television is running a skinned version of Android 4.0 ICS, has a webcam built into the bezel, and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor.

The television comes with two remote controls, a traditional-style remote and gamepad. The traditional remote has a built-in microphone that allows for voice commands, such as 'volume up' and the ability to search for video-on-demand content. Additionally, the traditional remote has a gyro sensor and accelerometer so you can take advantage of Wii-style gameplay. The K91's built-in webcam is used for facial recognition that acts a security feature for app locking, essentially keeping others (like children, for example) from accessing certain applications.

LG has been tight-lipped around specs, only telling us that this TV weighs 7.5kg and measures 4mm thick on the side (at its thinnest point, naturally). The front bezel isn't all that much bigger, but besides knowing it can handle 3D (and is compatible with current LG 3D glasses), we've got little else to go on. Resolution can be reasonably presumed to be 1080p, though again, the colors, contrast, and viewing angles were too awesome for us to try and count pixels. The release date and price will be the critical aspects that determine the fate of this television. Its desirability is beyond question.

Toshiba announced earlier today that its 55-inch Quad Full HD glasses-free 3D TV was coming to the US later in the first quarter, and we got a second chance to play with one here at CES 2012 — we first saw it back at IFA. QFHD isn't quite 4K, but it still looked pretty amazing in person — leaves have never looked so much like leaves, models have never looked so much like people, that sort of thing. The glasses-free 3D was also pretty effective — a tiny camera in the base tracks your face, and arrows and dots at the top of the screen help you get lined up. Once we got locked in, Coraline looked pretty good, but there was a certain amount of graininess, and we had to hold fairly still to maintain the 3D image. There's also a crazy-huge remote with a slider panel that blocks out buttons you might not want — it's kind of like the last stand of the traditional remote before smart TVs take over with their touchpads and smartphone apps. Still no details on actual pricing — or even what model number this thing will have when it comes to the US — but we'll let you know when we find out.

Befitting their status as smart TVs, there's Wi-Fi and a whole host of software on board: MediaShare is a graphic DLNA interface for streaming videos, music, and photos from computers hooked up to the same network as the TV. If you own one of Toshiba's tablets, you can take advantage of TRAC — tablet remote app capability — which lets you control every aspect of the TV through your tablet. There's also Airplay-style streaming capabilities called Send & Play that lets you push any media from your Toshiba tablet to the TV. The software sounds useful, but it's all about the minuscule bezel and picture quality here. According to Toshiba, these TVs will be available this March, though pricing has yet to be announced.

Lenovo's K91 is not your normal 55-inch television. To start with, its two most notable features are its operating system and central processor: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich running on Qualcomm's 1.5GHz dual-core 8060 Snapdragon CPU. The TV can be controlled with your voice using natural language processing and recognition, and even includes video interaction (with facial recognition) thanks to a 5 megapixel webcam that's integrated into the bezel. Otherwise, the K91 remote control is up to the task thanks to a touchpad, 5-way d-pad, and motion sensor. The display is no slouch either incorporating 3D FPR technology into a "flicker-free," LED backlit, full HD IPS panel with 240Hz refresh.

The user experience starts with Lenovo's "Sandwich" UI that unites traditional TV and VoD features with custom-built apps. Other specs include 802.11n Wi-Fi, 8GB of storage with an extra 2GB on removable SD card, access to the Android Market and Lenovo Store, and integration with the Lenovo family of smartphones and tablets that can be used as remote controls or as additional displays for sharing content.

LG's CES 2012 presence will be highlighted by a new Cinema Screen Design, featuring a 1mm bezel. The new design language and extremely thin display frame echo the DM92 3D monitor teased recently and will debut on LG's new 3D Smart TVs. The company believes the nearly nonexistent bezel will help immerse viewers more fully into the 3D experience, though we're most psyched to see a couple of these new HDTVs side by side. New Cinema 3D glasses will also be introduced, weighing 20 percent less than LG's current eyewear. Both the new televisions and their matching glasses will be on show here at CES from January 10th, so stay tuned for our first live photos.

You won't have to envy Europe and Japan much longer, if you had your heart set on a pricy 55-inch autostereoscopic 3DTV with nearly four times the resolution of existing sets: Toshiba confirmed to Engadget and CNET that just such a television will hit the United States in the first quarter of next year. Details were scarce and Toshiba hasn't provided a price yet, but if you're curious what other specifications might be on tap, look no further than Toshiba's existing Regza 55X3 and 55ZL2, which cost upwards of $10,000 in the aforementioned countries. You can also read our impressions of the Toshiba 55ZL2 when we saw it at IFA in September.