CES is so much fun! There are seemingly endless venues and halls with everything from record players to autonomous vehicles. There’s so much to take in, everywhere you look. For a truly unique experience, I have to say that walking through Central Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) is simply amazing. It is absolutely mesmerizing to see the grand displays of technology that encompass this most exciting hall of the show. Whether it’s your first time through the hall or your hundredth, a true tech junkie can’t help but almost feel giddy when surrounded by all of the lights, sounds, and displays.

Once some of the initial shock and awe start to settle in, it’s always so nice to visit those friendly faces at the booths in which we have developed a relationship with over the years. One of these companies for us is, without a doubt, TCL. From their press conference that kicks off the week on Monday at Mandalay Bay, to their booth at LVCC, we thoroughly enjoy our experience with them, every single year. We were fortunate to meet up again this year with our friend, product evangelist, Bruce Walker.

While we were perusing through their array of television sets, Bruce spent some time with us to discuss some of the newer technology that will be coming out soon. As was a common theme with most of the larger television vendors here on the show floor, 8K technology is ramping up for what appears will be a huge explosion into the market and our media rooms. And it probably goes without saying that the demos on the floor were quite impressive. TCL is leading the way with bringing this new tech to us in a responsible manner. They are not trying to merely hit the market with these new sets, they want to make sure that their customers get the quality that they deserve from the number two retailer of television sets in the US in 2018. As we all know, just throwing together an 8K set is not enough because when they hit the retail stores, there will be extremely limited content actually available in 8K. That’s why they are including an up-conversion technology that will be able to handle the existing, lower resolution content and give you the best picture possible.

Also coming up will be an enhancement to their Roku sets. Not only will they continue with this feature built right in, but it will be Smart Roku, connecting to other smart devices in the home and with voice recognition that will know your voice and interact with you conversationally with its four built in, directional microphones. It will be simple and easy to use. You’ll have a hard time deciding if that is your favorite feature or the 33 million pixels that offer up to a 300% improvement in picture quality.

You can learn more about their existing line, and keep an eye out for these new releases, by visiting their website.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.

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We love being immersed in the Samsung Electronics booth at CES. If The Wall was the main attraction for 2018, it definitely had some competition in the booth. Also featured is the first 8K QLED TV in the world. And as if that’s not impressive enough, it also features AI technology. It’s this AI technology that elevates the standard definition content to an awe inspiring 8K resolution. Basically, the picture quality is transformed via a proprietary algorithm to transform any regular content to a high-resolution 8K.

But Samsung did not stop here with this beauty of a TV. They also added several new really cool features, including detail enhancement, which not only upgrades the standard definition content but also adds noise reduction and has an edge restoration function to more clearly outlines objects on the screen. There is also automatic sound adjustment that differentiates between various content, like sporting events and music concerts. Also, your viewing experience will only get better over time with firmware updates that will upgrade the set with the latest improvements. So, the longer you own it, the better it’s going to get.

One of our absolute favorite features is that they have made the initial setup as easy as possible. This TV is an extension of their expanded Smart Things platform and includes Bixby, which is their own voice command system. When you first plug in, the Bluetooth will automatically connect with your smartphone, which enables it to link into the Smart Things app and update your new TV with not only your network Wi-Fi password, but also bring in all of your existing streaming platforms, complete with those passwords as well. It will also automatically configure the remote control with the other remotes in the home, even the cable remote, so you will have easy access to everything from one remote. It’s the same with your gaming devices. You will now have full control of all of your entertainment, gaming and other Samsung Smart Things appliances right from your TV remote control. Imagine sitting on the couch and asking Bixby what’s in the fridge and also having the oven start preheating. Talk about living the dream!

Samsung is looking forward to launch the 85″ QLED 8K TV during the second half of 2018.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.
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