OLED and Dolby Vision hit CES

The 50th anniversary of the world’s biggest tech show saw TV companies celebrate with their best screens yet,

- Steve May

 The first week of January once again witnessed the CES technology expo take up residence in the conference halls and hotel suites of Las Vegas. As usual, the world's major AV brands arrived and duly took the wraps off new hardware ranges for 2017. And, as usual, HCC was there to soak it all in.

The two big stories to come out of CES 2017 are surprisingly easy to pick. One is the surge in manufacturer and studio support for Dolby Vision HDR, which until now has loomed over its HDR 10 rival with menace but little actual living room presence. The other is OLED TV technology, which could be ready to make good on its promise to oust LED/LCD to the sidelines. Sure, Samsung debuted a startling new line of Quantum Dot LED TVs, audiophiles drooled over high-end DACs and gadget-freaks made themselves dizzy with VR, but it's OLED and Dolby Vision that were the champions when it came to show floor buzz.

OLED finds new friends

2017 will see OLED screen technology move from LG monopoly to multi-brand mainstay, as both Panasonic and Sony throw their weight behind it.

The competition for best show floor image quality was tough, but Panasonic just edged it. The second-generation 65in EZ1000 OLED, to be known as the EZ1002 in the UK (the ‘2’ denotes a Freeview Play tuner), is an astonishingly fine-looking display that almost perfectly mimics the Pro OLED monitors used in Hollywood authoring suites.

The EZ1002 even offers pro functionality. Colourists can upload their own 3D look-up tables (or colour values) by SD/USB memory. This allows the EZ1002 to be used in professional mastering suites.

When it comes to HDR, the set boasts a peak brightness of around 800 nits (twice that of Panasonic’s original OLED model) and presents almost the full DCI/P3 colour space.