CE Pro Podcast #95: Our ‘Video Guys’ Examine the 2022 Display Market

Summary

Summarizing the CES 2022 show’s bevy of new TV announcements much in the same way Apple enthusiasts compared the iPhone 12 and 13 models, CE Pro’s “Video Guys” say the improvements are incremental over 2021 models.

Okay, that may be a bit strong. The “Video Guys” are of course excited to see the new products and speak in glowing terms of the potential of mini-LED, MicroLED and OLED, but they note that 2021 was such a big year for home video it would be difficult for the 2022 models to top the gains made by manufacturers.

In this episode of the CE Pro Podcast, our expert “Video Guys” Joel Silver, CEO and lead developer, Imaging Science Foundation (ISF); Jason Dustal of Murideo; and Robert Zohn, president and founder of Value Electronics, not only discuss 2022 displays from top companies, including LG, Samsung, Sony and Hisense, they also talk about how rapidly categories such as outdoor audio and the progress made on best practice standards for integrators to shape the 2022 video market.

2022 Video Market on Course for Success

Elaborating on their opening remarks, Silver, Dustal and Zohn point out the advances that companies such as Sony, Samsung, LG and Hisense are making with mini-LED, MicroLED, OLED and ultra-short throw (UST) projection bode well for the market.

The trio note that along with the continuing advancements of these technologies another trend that should extend into 2022 is the preference for large screen sizes. Silver says at the rate that consumers are buying large-screen displays, the question will transform from screen size, to questions about room size.

“We had this conversation with a movie maker putting out a movie, and he was asking my team what the future of screen sizes for TVs are going to be – and we may have mentioned this before, because it was for me an epic conversation,” says Silver.

“We told the cinematographer it’s not a question of screen size, it’s room size – we’re looking to fill the wall. So, it’s not a size; it is whatever the room size is going to be will be the size of the screen. We can have the big screen on the wall for wallpaper or multimedia or all these things as we approach these modular TVs and very high prices. They get to be real, people seeing them and the prices will one day drop to be affordable.”

Focusing on the technologies driving market sales, Dustal sizes up the mini-LED/MicroLED competition by noting the appetite for these technologies has been heating up for several years. He also notes these new technologies are maturing rapidly, while becoming more accessible for consumers.

“With these new technologies we are going to be able to go huge on the size, we are going to be able to get really good black levels — in fact the first backlit LCD I ever dealt with and Joel [Silver] knows this well. We’ll go back to 2007 or 2008, and at the time when that TV had 550 zones of dimming. We were flabbergasted and just shocked at how many there were, and how well they were controlled,” recalls Dustal.

“Looking at a TV now with mini-LED now compared to the one back then it is — it is not even a contest — but when you look back at the price of that TV back in 2007 or 2008 versus the price of TVs now, those are astronomically different as well. So, I think the more they become popular of course always when the prices come down and they get more mainstream, and then the MicroLED. I am starting to hear more stories about those going into peoples’ homes.”

Other growing categories the “Video Guys” trio cite include outdoor entertainment. Silver points out the days of hanging a cheap TV under an eave are gone. He says there are a number of solutions available to homeowners that will perform well in outdoor spaces with some level of shade.

Zohn says the two categories with biggest potential increases for Value Electronics these days are outdoor TVs and ultra-short throw (UST) projection.

“Those are the largest growth in percentage of growth because they started small, so since the percentage to get a large growth out of it is not hard to do,” Zohn estimates.

CEDIA, CTA Addressing Real-World Room Viewing Environments

Later as the discussion moved onto the topic of latest best practices education, which is jointly collaborated by CEDIA and the CTA, Silver stressed one of these best developments the working groups are engaged in involves real-world room environments. Zohn complemented Silver and the rest of the working group panel, which includes Dustal on working on best practices for installing systems into rooms that represent the realities of daily life.

“I also wanted to add that it really warms my heart to see a guy like Joel Silver — and you [Murideo and Dustal] embracing viewing TV in high ambient light,” states Zohn.

Silver responded by acknowledging most of his installations — 80% to 90% take place in media room environments with ambient light. He adds that even in dedicated theater environments he always includes viewing options to allow people to gather and have fun while watching big sporting events.

“Every time I design a dedicated theater, we put a sports mode in because in lifestyle [situations] there are times when I am sitting on the theater focusing on the screen and immersed in the movie because the system is there and the content is there,” admits Silver.

“Then the next day I bring my friends over and we drink some wine watching football … social events are a different use category. It’s not a dedicated me watching the screen telling my friends later, it’s us yelling at each other and having a good time and drinking and eating. It’s a sports environment even in a dedicated room.”

To listen to the entire conversation, watch or download the podcast above. Find past episodes of the CE Pro Podcast by subscribing to the CE Pro YouTube channel or our Apple and Spotify podcast feeds.

Summary

Summarizing the CES 2022 show’s bevy of new TV announcements much in the same way Apple enthusiasts compared the iPhone 12 and 13 models, CE Pro’s “Video Guys” say the improvements are incremental over 2021 models.

Okay, that may be a bit strong. The “Video Guys” are of course excited to see the new products and speak in glowing terms of the potential of mini-LED, MicroLED and OLED, but they note that 2021 was such a big year for home video it would be difficult for the 2022 models to top the gains made by manufacturers.

In this episode of the CE Pro Podcast, our expert “Video Guys” Joel Silver, CEO and lead developer, Imaging Science Foundation (ISF); Jason Dustal of Murideo; and Robert Zohn, president and founder of Value Electronics, not only discuss 2022 displays from top companies, including LG, Samsung, Sony and Hisense, they also talk about how rapidly categories such as outdoor audio and the progress made on best practice standards for integrators to shape the 2022 video market.

2022 Video Market on Course for Success

Elaborating on their opening remarks, Silver, Dustal and Zohn point out the advances that companies such as Sony, Samsung, LG and Hisense are making with mini-LED, MicroLED, OLED and ultra-short throw (UST) projection bode well for the market.

The trio note that along with the continuing advancements of these technologies another trend that should extend into 2022 is the preference for large screen sizes. Silver says at the rate that consumers are buying large-screen displays, the question will transform from screen size, to questions about room size.

“We had this conversation with a movie maker putting out a movie, and he was asking my team what the future of screen sizes for TVs are going to be – and we may have mentioned this before, because it was for me an epic conversation,” says Silver.

“We told the cinematographer it’s not a question of screen size, it’s room size – we’re looking to fill the wall. So, it’s not a size; it is whatever the room size is going to be will be the size of the screen. We can have the big screen on the wall for wallpaper or multimedia or all these things as we approach these modular TVs and very high prices. They get to be real, people seeing them and the prices will one day drop to be affordable.”

Focusing on the technologies driving market sales, Dustal sizes up the mini-LED/MicroLED competition by noting the appetite for these technologies has been heating up for several years. He also notes these new technologies are maturing rapidly, while becoming more accessible for consumers.

“With these new technologies we are going to be able to go huge on the size, we are going to be able to get really good black levels — in fact the first backlit LCD I ever dealt with and Joel [Silver] knows this well. We’ll go back to 2007 or 2008, and at the time when that TV had 550 zones of dimming. We were flabbergasted and just shocked at how many there were, and how well they were controlled,” recalls Dustal.

“Looking at a TV now with mini-LED now compared to the one back then it is — it is not even a contest — but when you look back at the price of that TV back in 2007 or 2008 versus the price of TVs now, those are astronomically different as well. So, I think the more they become popular of course always when the prices come down and they get more mainstream, and then the MicroLED. I am starting to hear more stories about those going into peoples’ homes.”

Other growing categories the “Video Guys” trio cite include outdoor entertainment. Silver points out the days of hanging a cheap TV under an eave are gone. He says there are a number of solutions available to homeowners that will perform well in outdoor spaces with some level of shade.

Zohn says the two categories with biggest potential increases for Value Electronics these days are outdoor TVs and ultra-short throw (UST) projection.

“Those are the largest growth in percentage of growth because they started small, so since the percentage to get a large growth out of it is not hard to do,” Zohn estimates.

CEDIA, CTA Addressing Real-World Room Viewing Environments

Later as the discussion moved onto the topic of latest best practices education, which is jointly collaborated by CEDIA and the CTA, Silver stressed one of these best developments the working groups are engaged in involves real-world room environments. Zohn complemented Silver and the rest of the working group panel, which includes Dustal on working on best practices for installing systems into rooms that represent the realities of daily life.

“I also wanted to add that it really warms my heart to see a guy like Joel Silver — and you [Murideo and Dustal] embracing viewing TV in high ambient light,” states Zohn.

Silver responded by acknowledging most of his installations — 80% to 90% take place in media room environments with ambient light. He adds that even in dedicated theater environments he always includes viewing options to allow people to gather and have fun while watching big sporting events.

“Every time I design a dedicated theater, we put a sports mode in because in lifestyle [situations] there are times when I am sitting on the theater focusing on the screen and immersed in the movie because the system is there and the content is there,” admits Silver.

“Then the next day I bring my friends over and we drink some wine watching football … social events are a different use category. It’s not a dedicated me watching the screen telling my friends later, it’s us yelling at each other and having a good time and drinking and eating. It’s a sports environment even in a dedicated room.”

To listen to the entire conversation, watch or download the podcast above. Find past episodes of the CE Pro Podcast by subscribing to the CE Pro YouTube channel or our Apple and Spotify podcast feeds.