Xiaomi outs 60-inch upgradable Mi TV 3 w/ 4K resolution

Along with its self-balancing scooter, Xiaomi also announces its new Mi TV 3 that has some new tricks up its sleeve.

xiaomi-mitv3-1

Xiaomi Mi TV 3 key specs and features:
60-inch LG 4K display at 60fps
High color gamut, MEMC motion compensation
60Hz ~ 22KHz frequency range
Full aluminum frame, diamond-patterned
Metal backplate
11.6mm (thinnest point)

This new 4K display is unique in a sense that it can be upgraded in the future. How? The company made it possible to have its motherboard and processor tucked in a separate device, called the Mi TV Bar. All the connectivity ports are present here and only the display will connect here via a single cable.

This is similar with Samsung’s Evolution Kit that lets you upgrade just the system, and not the entire display.

xiaomi-mitv3-2

Mi TV Bar key specs and features:
1.4GHz Cortex-A17 quad-core processor
Mali-T760 GPU
2GB DDR3 Triple-channel
8GB eMMC 5.0 Flash
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.1
Dolby Audio

The Mi TV 3, with the included TV Bar, is affordably-priced at CNY4,999 (approx. Php36K). Getting the separate TV Bar is also possible for CNY999 (approx. Php7K) and could be connected to an existing TV.

To know more about these devices you may visit Xiaomi’s website on the source link below.

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The post Xiaomi outs 60-inch upgradable Mi TV 3 w/ 4K resolution appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

Xiaomi outs 60-inch upgradable Mi TV 3 w/ 4K resolution

Along with its self-balancing scooter, Xiaomi also announces its new Mi TV 3 that has some new tricks up its sleeve.

xiaomi-mitv3-1

Xiaomi Mi TV 3 key specs and features:
60-inch LG 4K display at 60fps
High color gamut, MEMC motion compensation
60Hz ~ 22KHz frequency range
Full aluminum frame, diamond-patterned
Metal backplate
11.6mm (thinnest point)

This new 4K display is unique in a sense that it can be upgraded in the future. How? The company made it possible to have its motherboard and processor tucked in a separate device, called the Mi TV Bar. All the connectivity ports are present here and only the display will connect here via a single cable.

This is similar with Samsung’s Evolution Kit that lets you upgrade just the system, and not the entire display.

xiaomi-mitv3-2

Mi TV Bar key specs and features:
1.4GHz Cortex-A17 quad-core processor
Mali-T760 GPU
2GB DDR3 Triple-channel
8GB eMMC 5.0 Flash
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.1
Dolby Audio

The Mi TV 3, with the included TV Bar, is affordably-priced at CNY4,999 (approx. Php36K). Getting the separate TV Bar is also possible for CNY999 (approx. Php7K) and could be connected to an existing TV.

To know more about these devices you may visit Xiaomi’s website on the source link below.

{Source}

The post Xiaomi outs 60-inch upgradable Mi TV 3 w/ 4K resolution appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.

Are 4K UHD TVs becoming mainstream?

When 4K UDTVs were introduced a couple of years ago, many speculated that it will take a very long time for the market to shift to the new technology because of so many reasons.

Among them is the scarcity of 4K content that can be shown and enjoyed on the high-res TVs. Second, only large-sized TVs will have greater benefit from a higher resolution, somewhere in the range of 55 inches and larger. The third and perhaps the biggest reason is the price tag. Most of the first and second-generation UHDTVs are very expensive, almost more than twice the retail price of their equivalent full HD models.

It took the market about 3 to 5 years to transition from HD (720p) to full HD (1080p) and, as such, it made a bit of sense that the shift from full HD to 4K (quad-1080p) will take much longer than that.

Nevertheless, TV manufacturers continue to produce different variants and sizes starting from 32-inch right up to 105 inches.

Recently though, we’ve seen some aggressive pricing adjustments for 4K TVs.

The bigger and more expensive ones, with price tags between Php500,000 to Php1.5 million, are still beyond the reach of the mid-tier market and the movement in that segment is quite slow but noticeable.

However, the entry-level models have seen pretty sweet deals lately. These are the 42-inch to 55-inch models that are priced below Php100,000.

In our recent visits to several appliance stores within Metro Manila in the last two months, we’ve personally observed the drastic adjustments in this price category.

Perhaps the most attractive offer we’ve seen is a 42-inch LG 4K UHDTV being sold for just Php32,990 from the previous price of Php49,990 (the discounted price is based on cash or straight credit card purchase).

With a similar promo, the store was also offering the same 42-inch UHDTV along with a 32-inch full HD 3D TV for a bundled price of Php43,000. That puts the price of the additional 32-inch HDTV at just Php10,000. That’s already a good deal right there.

Scouting around for other promos, the one above is perhaps the best bang for the buck. It was such a good deal we immediately took the second offer and bought the two TV sets on my second visit to the appliance store.

The sales rep who assisted us with the purchase commented that it was their more popular TV bundle for some time and have sold quite a number of units that month.

As a comparison, about 12 months ago, we also bought a 42-inch Sony HDTV for the almost the same price tag as the current 4K UHDTV of the same display size. In just a year, the price adjustments from 1080p to 4K TVs have somewhat evened out.

That right there is a good indication that mass adoption of 4K TVs is coming sooner than later.

For the longest time, most TV buyers are leaning towards bigger display sizes when looking to upgrade. However, the ceiling for comfortable and affordable TV sizes has already plateaued.

Perhaps the next major factor when upgrading to a new TV set is 4K resolution rather than display size. That remains to be seen but the trend is already starting.

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Sony introduces 2014 BRAVIA 4K TVs

Following the initial launch of its 84-inch 4K TV a couple of years back, Sony adds five new screen sizes in the lineup. These Ultra High Definition TVs sport the company’s proprietary technology like the 4K X-Reality PRO engine, TRILUMINOS Display, and X-tended Dynamic Range PRO to deliver only the most immersive viewing experience.

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The five new variants come from the X9500B and X8500B series. The former is available in an 85-inch screen size while the latter is available in 70-inch, 65-inch, 55-inch, and 49-inch displays. Below is a list of their key features.

X9500B Series 4K TV

  • The reference standard in 4K Ultra HD
  • Immersive 4K Ultra HD picture quality with four times the resolution and clarity of Full HD 1080p
  • X-tended Dynamic Range PRO driven by direct LED arrays delivers brilliant picture quality
  • 4K X-Reality PRO picture engine for best picture from any source
  • TRILUMINOS Display for breathtaking color, clarity and detail
  • Motionflow XR 960 produces lifelike movement
  • HDMI 2.0 and 4K 60p with newly developed HEVC codec for support of future 4K content
  • ClearAudio+ Digital Sound Processing (DSP) with S-Force Front Surround projects clear vocals and wide sound range (optional subwoofer SWF-BR100)
  •  Built-in Wi-Fi for streaming connectivity, including Sony Entertainment Network
  • Screen Mirroring via NFC OneTouch Mirroring
  • MHL 3.0-enabled for mirroring second screens
  • 3D capable with 2 pairs of glasses included
  • Screen sizes include 85-inch class (85X9500B)

X8500B Series 4K TV

  • Brilliant colors, unprecedented 4K quality
  • Immersive 4K Ultra HD picture quality delivering four times the resolution and clarity of Full HD 1080p
  • 4K X-Reality PRO picture engine for best picture from any source
  • TRILUMINOS Display for breathtaking color, clarity and detail
  • Motionflow XR 240 produces lifelike movement
  • ClearAudio+ Digital Sound Processing (DSP) with S-Force Front Surround projects clear vocals and wide sound range (optional subwoofer)
  •  HDMI 2.0 and 4K 60p with newly developed HEVC codec for support of future 4K content
  • Built-in Wi-Fi for streaming connectivity, including Sony Entertainment Network
  • Screen Mirroring via NFC OneTouch Mirroring
  • MHL 3.0-enabled for mirroring second screens
  • 3D capable with 2 pairs of glasses included
  • Screen sizes include 70-inch class (70X8500B), 65-inch class (65X8500B), 55-inch class (55X8500B), and 49-inch class (49X8500B)
Sony compared their 4K UHDTVs against "Brand S" to show the difference in detail and contrast of the images.

Sony compared their 4K UHDTVs (left) against “Brand S” (right) to show the difference in detail and contrast of the images.

The 85-inch X9500 is up for purchase starting October 2014 and will retail for Php1.2M. The 70-, 65-, and 55-inch X8500B, on the other hand, will be available in August; while the 49-inch variant will come in September. We’re still waiting on the local SRPs for the smaller screen sizes so watch this space as we’ll update it once we have the details.

Update: According to Sony, tentative prices for the 70-, 65-, 55-, and 49-inch displays are Php320K, Php280K, Php190K, and Php100K, respectively.

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At CES 2014, Curved, 4K and OLED TVs are the new 3D

In this year’s CES, we saw a lot of effort in the TV and display technology with almost all of the global brands are showing off OLED TVs, Curved TV and 4K TVs in much smaller sizes, like 32 or 28 inches.

Samsung and LG have their own Ultra HD (4K) TVs up in the floor with sizes of up to 105-inches.

But they are not the only ones we’ve seen flaunting curved displays. Even Chinese manufacturers such as TCL and Changchong also have curved TVs.

This means that the curved display technology is not really that exclusive to the big brands.

And “curve” isn’t the only one getting the spotlight this year. There’s also OLED.

HiSense, TCL, Skyworth all have their own 55-inch OLED HD TV.

Toshiba has an extra wide, ultra HD 5K TV on display in their booth too.

Panasonic also have an 85-inch 8K LED TV as well.

Perhaps, the only 3D TV we saw that was getting some attention was the Glass Free 3D UHD TV from HiSense.

We hope these don’t become fads the way 3D turned out to be. We’re pretty sure 4K is here to stay and will be a standard the way 1080p did. So is OLED but we’re not sure about the curved ones.

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