In this generation, there are still many of us who have been able to experience the great leap in television technology, from the nearly square format cathode ray vacuum tubes embedded in bulky wooden cabinets to the wide aspect flat panel displays that are now as common as they can get.
Back then, a rotary dial required your thumb, forefinger, and a bit of a twisting effort from your forearm to access just a handful of channels—which of course you had to get off your couch to do. It is definitely a far cry from today’s single-finger control that puts an infinite amount of content at your beck and call (in breathtaking detail, too).
It’s been no less than a revolution, the way we shifted from wired to wireless, analog to digital, standard to high-definition, and small to as-big-as-your-ostentatious-budget-can-allow. Come to think of it, the biggest change from that era is how we embarrassingly referred to it as an idiot box but we are now proud to own a smart TV.
Which brings us to the question: What does the future bring for the television? Or what would be TV’s next big thing?
Certainly, a whole lot of significant changes were brought about by changing from being a mere display to an actual interface. Both sides (TV and viewer) have advanced from being passive to interactive. Content on-demand based on pay-per-view is nothing new, as is hand-picking and interchanging sets of HD channels. Wireless streaming of content from devices has ceased being a novelty and surfing or browsing the net from your TV will be more and more intuitive and less clunky. Still all that’s largely dependent on your service provider, and unfortunately, all of them here in the Philippines leave so much to be desired, to say the least.
So, what about the juicy stuff? You know, hardware. Unsurprisingly, consumers have become increasingly tech savvy and more and more people these days give a real hoot about specs as many can now discern between High-Definition and Full HD. That brings us to the dawn of Ultra HD.
Screen resolution will definitely be the main advancement for TVs of the near future. 4K video—or video that measures 4,000 pixels wide from the current Full HD’s 1920 pixels—has trickled down to consumer level. The likes of the Panasonic Lumix GH4, the Go Pro Hero 3+ Black Edition, and even the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Sony Xperia Z2 can shoot 4K video, so you can expect that more and more video acquisition devices will be joining the 4K fray in the coming months.
We can assume that with the doubled resolution playing at twice the rate at 60 frames per second, smoother playback, more accurate color reproduction, and much improved depth and dynamic range will follow. These will all create a decidedly unrealistically “real” viewing experience.
That said, many are probably annoyed at the thought of not having anything available to play 4K video on, aside from an LCD projector. Well that’s actually not the case, for as early as 2011, Sharp has created an 85-inch LCD display with a mind-blowing 8K resolution, which utilizes 33-megapixel images to play back incredibly razor-sharp video. For that, Japanese network NHK is currently working on an experimental 8K broadcast slated for the year 2020.
And in less than sci-fi-like news, Toshiba has released a 55-inch 4K glasses-free 3D TV and Sony has 65-inch LED display as well—both debuted in the last two years. So, 4K technology is now actually available. Not affordable by any stretch, but available. And since we all know that cutting edge tech eventually becomes cheaper as it becomes widespread, that’ll be 4K’s near future.
Now, bundle that with a huge peripheral-hugging curved surface and high definition audio playing at higher bit rates on more premium speakers—maybe like car manufacturers who install components by respected names in in-car Hi-Fi like Mark Levinson, Bose, and Infinity. TV giants might be hooking up as well with added DSPs (digital signal processors) to convincingly simulate theater-like surround sound without the added speakers. Imagine just how immersive the next James Cameron or Michael Bay movie can be.
Looking farther ahead, the future of TV—or actually more of its survival—will depend less and less on hardware-based innovations and a lot more on content and the way it’s delivered. As we become increasingly wired to our personal devices and as rich media and virtually anything gets more and more accessible online, we’ll need more compelling reasons to stay put in front of a giant screen. A screen that would inevitably be a multitasking one, replete with an advanced OS (Apple or Intel, perhaps?) with the processing power of a multimedia workstation, to enable you to edit photos, update your status on the next big social network, video conference with Mom, and catch up with the Walking Dead’s Season MXVII finale all at the same time.
Tables will also turn, for gone will be the days that you stream content to your TV and plug-in to have it ingest your data. TVs in the future will follow you around… well, your content will, at least. Aside from having virtually any flat surface in your home rendered as a screen or display that you can infinitely manipulate and reconfigure, content you subscribed to, data you stored or shared to you by others through your “TV hub” can easily be accessed with your personal digital device. This gadget would probably have the capability to project an ultra-bright and crisp display of itself in virtually any place you might be. Unless you decide to privately view things on the future iteration of Google Glass.
But what should TV really be to make you sit around long enough in a future where sitting might end up more as a planned activity? It has to do all of the above.
Flawless delivery of a myriad of content to begin with. Compelling interaction that would take full advantage of whatever bleeding-edge technology the future TV is equipped with (How does glasses-free 3D network gaming in 8K UHD sound like?). And seamless integration and connectivity with all your smart devices and personal workstations.
A tall order, yes. But with the pace of its development, it is definitely possible. It’s looking like the future of TV is secure, now all we have to do is wait to get there.
SIDEBAR
5K is here?
Last April while inside a sprawling convention center in the heart of Seoul, I was strolling inside a huge banquet hall bursting with all manner of LG electronics products and appliances, when I spotted—it’s really hard not to spot—an enormous TV bearing the feature “5K.” I wasn’t expecting to see a next-generation 5K screen so soon, especially since the very new 4K TV’s—more than a dozen of which were on display—are even yet to break into the mainstream, mainly due to their prohibitive costs.
But here it was—in all its 5K glory. The jaw-droppingly huge set offers a large curved screen with a resolution of 5120 x 2160 pixels. Yes, that means that this set has over 11 million pixels. The display has a 21:9 aspect ratio—the same aspect ratio used in theaters—and incorporates a stunning Harmon Kardon sound system that envelops you with a 7.2 surround sound despite using only the speakers on the display itself. Needless to say, you’ve got to see it to believe it. When will it hit store shelves? Sooner than you’d think—and most likely before even a small percentage of the human race can afford it. — Manny N. de los Reyes
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