Europe's biggest tech show starts next week. The major TV makers will be at IFA 2019 in Berlin to show off their latest and greatest TVs and technologies. Here is what to expect.
Stay up-to-dateYou will find all the news from IFA on the front page and in our IFA 2019 section. During and after the show, we will share photos and additional information on Facebook, twitter and YouTube. You can also subscribe to our newsletter and RSS.
IFA 2019 in Berlin
This week, Hollywood and TV makers announced a 'Filmmaker Mode' for TVs. At IFA 2019, LG and Panasonic, two of the three TV makers who support the initiative, are expected to reveal more details about their exact plans.
At last year's show, Samsung launched its first 8K TVs in Europa, and the TVs were later brought to the US. Unsurprisingly, we hear that 8K will be a theme at IFA 2019. LG will launch its first 8K TVs, including 8K OLED, and Panasonic has an announcement related to 8K planned. Sharp will be bringing a super-large 120-inch 8K LCD TV to the show. TCL's launch of its first 8K LCD with miniLED has been postponed but it will probably be on display at IFA anyways - as will its new 4K X10 series based on the same technology.
OLED will be another major theme at IFA. Besides LG's 8K OLED, Philips (TP Vision) will launch a comprehensive line-up of new OLED TVs. Hisense may bring its OLED TV to more European countries. Samsung's QD-OLED? We hear that prototypes have been showcased behind closed doors at trade shows but we think it is still too early for a public showcase. Samsung, along with other TV makers, will probably have large microLED TVs on display again. Will they be affordable? Most likely not.
TVs have for many years been in the spotlight at IFA. Here is Philips’ centerpiece from IFA 1995
Roku CEO, Anthony Wood, has been announced as one of four Keynote speakers at IFA 2019. Is the company planning to invade Europe? Bring on the competition! Smart TVs? Well, consumers are starting to realize that their expensive Smart TVs will not receive any major updates after launch. Will more TV brands announce support for Apple's TV app, AirPlay 2 and HomeKit? Maybe.
We expect TV audio to play a bigger role this year. Sennheiser will be using IFA to finally launch its Ambeo soundbar and lots of other brands will have Dolby Atmos compatibility, too. Will Sony launch a new flagship Atmos soundbar? And will it finally roll out the promised Atmos firmware for its 2019 TVs? We'll see.
Panasonic and Philips will be highlighting 'multi-HDR' support as they are the first to support both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. We expect other brands to once again tout extreme HDR peak brightness numbers that do not translate into reality simply because a few hundred LED dimming zones are spread thin across more than 8 million pixels - and soon 33 million pixels. We are getting the impression that everyone involved are getting tired of these silly exaggerations.
IFA 2019 starts on September 6 but the press events kick off earlier in the week so stay tuned for more information soon. FlatpanelsHD will be on spot in Berlin.
Stay up-to-dateYou will find all the news from IFA on the front page and in our IFA 2019 section. During and after the show, we will share photos and additional information on Facebook, twitter and YouTube. You can also subscribe to our newsletter and RSS.
