One day in at CES and the key trends in TVs for 2014 are beginning to emerge. 4k was the expected one, and LG did not disappoint, announcing that they would offer 12 UHD models during 2014 from 49-105", including three UHD OLEDs. Panasonic announcements by comparison were rather flat, and the company seemed to be on the defensive after confirming its exit from the plasma business. Rather strangely

 it suggested that it's new 4k LED TVs would offer equivalent quality to plasma. Since plasma only ever offered 1080p this does not strike me as an example of progress.

The other broad trend of note is in user experience, where voice control and user recognition are becoming widely deployed. Panasonic's 2014 TVs will recognise users as they enter the room and learn viewer interests to make programme recommendations. 

It seems the TV manufacturers are anticipating potential threats from innovations like Xbox One and some of the more advanced pay TV services. They still face the challenge that most consumers access TV services through a secondary device like a set top box, so getting them to use the features built into the TV is always going to be a challenge.

David Mercer