Arch AV rivals prep for battle in 2022

LG's CES reveals included an Atmos soundbar innovation, a 97in OLED and a wire-free lifestyle TV. Samsung countered with Mini LED upgrades and a projector aimed at Gen Z music lovers, while Sony grabbed the limelight with its A95K Quantum Dot OLED. Steve May takes it all in

- Steve May

BACK IN LAS Vegas after last year’s pandemic hiatus, CES 2022 may have shed exhibitors and attracted far fewer visitors (estimated to be around 40,000 instead of 200,000), but that didn’t dissuade the world’s AV brands from unveiling some mouth-watering treats for 2022 – and what we’ve seen so far has more than piqued our interest.

Could this year set a new high watermark when it comes to home entertainment technology, with next-generation screens upping the picture quality ante yet again, and Dolby Atmos becoming ever more immersive? Don't bet against it.

Big is always better

Samsung’s Micro LED roadmap is certainly getting clearer. The company unveiled the latest generation of its modular display technology at CES, improving image quality and building in Dolby Atmos audio.

With a new off-the-shelf screen size added, a temptingly manageable 89in to join its 101in and 110in packages, Micro LED’s potential as a genuine home theatre display technology, rather than just a digital signage offshoot, became more evident.

2022’s next-gen Micro LED modules, which use 25 million micrometer-sized LEDs to produce light and colour, now boast a 20-bit greyscale depth, with over one million steps of brightness, which should give supremely smooth gradations. Colour fidelity is rated at 100 per cent of DCI-P3.