1) Most Extravagant TVs: LG's and Samsung's 105-inch curved 4K LCDs
The obligatory monster TVs introduced this year have a twist — or, curve, that is. Both LG and Samsung found a way to slightly bend LCD TVs, as they did with OLEDs before. Both LG's top model (the 105UC9) and Samsung's flagship (the U9500) have LED LCD screens measuring 105 inches diagonally.
The TVs, which could encircle a loveseat, would also look good from that seat because of their high resolution. The sets have even more pixels than 4K (aka Ultra HD) TVs because of their wider, 21:9, aspect ratio (compared with 16:9 on Ultra HD TVs). That gives them 5,120 pixels vs. 3,840 pixels across. (Screen height is the same 2160 pixels). This higher resolution will accommodate the many epic films of old and new flicks shot in extrawide formats such as Panavision and Cinemascope. Both companies have said their TVs will go on sale sometime in 2014 but have not announced prices.
2) Curved TV for the Masses: Samsung UN48H8000
While a 105-inch TV may be out of your price range, curved LCD TVs with HD resolution may not be. With a screen size of about 50 inches becoming the sweet spot for TVs, people who want to throw in a curve might go for the 48-inch model in Samsung's Series 8 line of TVs. It's a comfortable size for most dens or living rooms, and as Samsung's smallest curved model, its price may be achievable for people willing to pay extra for pizazz. (Samsung hasn't specified any prices for its 2014 TVs.) Colors looked stunning on this model. In addition to being a design flourish, the slight wrap makes the picture more immersive.
3) Best HD-to-4K Transition TV: Sharp Quattron+ LCD
4K TVs look great when you feed them 4K content. But despite some progress in that direction, such as Netflix's plans to shoot and stream its original shows in 4K, there will be only a smattering of "native" 4K video for the next few years. Other than that, you'll be watching HD content that would be fine on a 1080p set. But Sharp has found a clever way to squeeze more resolution into a 1080p panel by rejiggering how the multicolored components of a pixel, called subpixels, work together. (To get the whole picture, see our explanation.) This innovation doesn't produce a full 4X resolution increase, but it creates enough of a boost (varying by the type of images shown) to show some of the extra detail in a 4K signal. Even better, the Quattron+ does a fantastic job of upscaling HD video to a sharper, more detailed appearance. Prices start at $2,300 for a 60-inch screen.
4) First Affordable 4K TV: Vizio P-Series Ultra HD
Vizio has achieved a milestone by releasing a 50-inch 4K/Ultra HD TV for $1,000 — not much more than you'd pay for an HDTV that size, and less than for any other 4K TV that offers passable quality. And the P-Series TVs aren't simply stripped down; they use a sophisticated screen technology called full-array LED lighting. The backlight consists of 64 LED zones that can be individually brightened and dimmed to accentuate the light and dark parts of images. This isn't a new technology, but it's rare because of its expense. Yet Vizio has packaged this technology and more than 8 million pixels into an accessibly priced flat-screen TV.
5) Prettiest Smart-TV Interface: LG webOS TVs
Most smart-TV interfaces are as attractive and streamlined as Windows 3.1 in the early 1990s. LG took a bold step away from that by trashing its old "SmartTV" operating system in favor of one based on webOS. Originally a mobile operating system, webOS was developed in the last days of Palm (2009) and is distinguished by clean lines and an intuitive way of multitasking.
LG resurrected webOS for integrating external devices — such as a cable box and game console — into a TV, with built-in streaming video and music apps. Instead of relegating services like Netflix and Pandora to a backwater "apps" menu, webOS represents all sources, including both external devices and software. Each of your favorites is represented by a colorful Card on a bar called the Launcher, which appears at the bottom of the screen when you need it.
Instead of backing out of what you are watching to plunge into an ugly smart-TV menu, you simply scroll through cards on the Launcher that show not only the names of the services but also what you watched most recently or are currently watching. LG will install webOS on all of its higher-end TVs, which will go on sale this spring.
6) Simplest (and Likely Cheapest) Smart TV: Roku TV
The software running popular streaming video set-top box Roku will be built right into smart TVs, currently from budget set makers Hisense and TCL. (Roku claims more partners are coming soon.) The Roku interface is refreshingly simple and, for many people, quite familiar. In the egalitarian spirit of webOS, physical sources like an antenna or cable box are represented equally with online services.
The TVs will also have Roku's search function, which shows you services that have the movie or show you want, and at what price. Roku also has the richest gateway to online entertainment, offering more than 1,000 online apps and channels ranging from mainstream services like Crackle to obscure ones like Kung-Fu Theater. While neither Hisense or TCL has specified prices, their sets likely won't be very expensive.
7) Best-Looking LCD TVs: Sony Extended Dynamic Range Pro TVs
You could easily mistake new Sony's monster 4K flat screens — at 65 and 85 inches — for OLED TVs, given the high contrast and ability to display genuine black in scenes. In fact, the LCDs utilize an array of LEDs behind the screen that can be individually dimmed and brightened to increase content. While not a new technology, we've never seen it work so well. With its ability to achieve a threefold brightness difference between the lowest and highest settings, the LEDs allow the screen to show radiant and pitch-black details right next to each other. These giant TVs will likely cost a bundle (Sony hasn't named prices yet), but they're a sign that technology will allow future LCDs to perform as well as OLEDs for less money.
8) Most Personal TV: Panasonic Life+Screen Smart TVs
Panasonic's new high-end smart TVs focus on the user. They feature the ability to build six viewer profiles tailored to each person's TV preferences. The TVs log you in automatically, using a built-in camera to recognize your face, and then keep track of what you watch in order to build recommendations. (Too invasive for your taste? You can always disable the function.) You can help the TV learn your likes and dislikes by pressing a button on the remote to mark what you are watching (whether broadcast or online) as a favorite. If your friends also have Life+Screen TVs, you can send them recommendations for what to watch. Panasonic is rolling out the new interface for most of its new TVs, due to be released in the spring, including its 4K/Ultra HD AX800 Series and its 1080p HD models from the AS680, AS650, AS640 and AS530 series.
9) First Flexible Screens: Samsung and LG Bendable OLED TVs
Samsung and LG will change the way you watch TV in 2014—if you can afford it. The two electronics giants’ new 4K OLED TVs can bend from completely flat to slightly curved, depending on what the viewer prefers. Many new OLEDs (and LCDs) have curved screens, but so far, only Samsung and LG have equipped models with motors that can flatten them out — all while you’re watching. LG showed a bending OLED TV at CES, but the company didn't say if the prototype would come to market. Samsung has announced plans to sell its 85-inch U9B Bendable UHD TV in the second half of this year, for an undisclosed price. Samsung claims that curved displays make the picture more immersive, and based on what we saw at CES 2014, we’d agree.
10) First Glasses-Free 3D that works: Stream TV Networks
Stream TV has figured out how to simulate 3D convincingly by abandoning the old technique of using glasses to show the right and left eye slightly different images. Instead, Stream's technology is closer to a hologram, approximating how light rays would reflect at many angles off an object in the real world. Stream TV's key component is a thick filter that fits over a standard 4K LCD screen and redirects light from the individual subpixels (red, green and blue pixel components) across the screen so that they converge about a meter (3 feet) in front of the TV. The images literally float in front of the TV, rather than appearing flat on the screen. Stream doesn't build the TVs itself, but the company is providing its screen filter and video processors to several TV makers that will launch models later this year.
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