Hey, remember 2014? It seems like about a million years ago at this point. Those were the days when the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was a real destination, a place where industry movers and shakers met and decided the fate of the world for the next 12 months. I’m sad to say the show isn’t like that anymore; it’s devolved into a source for clickbait articles and little else. But, I hold out hope that one day it will return to the glory it once had
I was at the show in 2014, and in fact I attended all but two shows between 2006 and 2023. Back then, I wrote this article about curved TVs. You remember curved TVs right? You thought they were cool in the store but too expensive so you didn’t buy them? Yeah, that’s how I felt at the time too. Curved TVs, I said, were nothing more than an excuse for TV manufacturers to make their sets thicker after years of pursuing the thinnest possible options. They also tried thick wedge-shaped TVs too but those didn’t fly either.
They tried anything they could think of
Thick TVs, curved TVs, back in ’14 the major manufacturers were trying just about anything to get you to spend $2,000 on a TV like you did in the naughty aughties. They’d grown accustomed to the income and when big TVs stopped working as a motivator, they tried 3D. When that didn’t work they tried 4K and HDR. Those features started showing up in conventions in 2016 or so, and in TVs for regular folks around 2019. 4K seems to finally be finding its legs, while HDR is still evolving. The simple fact is that most folks aren’t willing to pay more for those features. They’re only becoming common now because prices have dropped to the point where regular folks can buy TVs with those features.
Meanwhile, back in 2014…
Back in 2014, the big buzz was around curved TVs, and how they were going to revolutionize TV viewing by… uh… being curved. I pointed out back then that you would need to be pretty close to see the curved effect, and if you were sitting at a normal distance you wouldn’t see much difference except maybe reduced glare. These big old TVs should have come with a sticker on them that said “waste of money” because that’s basically what they were, and basically why you can barely find curved TVs of any size in stores today. You’ll occasionally find curved computer monitors, but even those are rare.
Let’s jump forward to 2023 and beyond. TV makers seem to have finally realized that most folks aren’t going to spend thousands of dollars on any TV no matter what kind of trick it does. The marketplace has changed. Today you can get a very passable, very large TV with 4K and Dolby Vision for well under $700. Are you just trying to replace a TV that’s gotten a little long in the tooth? Opt for a 32-40″ model. You can find one for under $300 and you’ll still love it. And smart TV features? I say don’t pay extra for them. You can get smart features in almost any TV now. More importantly, the manufacturer will probably stop updating the TV in 18 months or so. At that point you’ll be forced to get a streaming box anyway.
At least that’s what I’m saying now. Ask me again in another 3 1/2 years. I’ll probably have a different perspective.
