According to Deloitte, 2013 is the year kicking off the 4K (aka UHD) TV roll-out, even if the technology still needs 18-36 months until it is technically and commercially ready for broadcast.

As seen at CES 2013 a fair number of vendors (10 in all) are preparing 4K sets, with around 20 different models to be available by end 2013. Such TVs already have buyers-- LG tells Korea's ChosunBiz 300 84-inch 84LM9600 sets, each worth around $20000, found a home already.

The number of 4K consumers will grow once more content will become available, as seen a few years back during the initial stages of HDTV. More professional and semi-professional 4K cameras will also be available, while the industry should agree on updated standards (such as HDMI) able to better handle 4K data rates.

Initial 4K TV transmissions are taking place-- Europe already has a dedicated demo channel, courtesy of Eutelsat Communications. Deloitte predicts commercial 4K broadcasts will take place from 2014-2015.

Walk around the halls of CES 2013 and you might fail to find one particular technology-- 3DTV. Has it been sidelined in favour of the new kids on the TV block, 4K and OLED? The answer might just be... yes.

The emphasis on alternative technologies makes sense. Since 3DTV failed to stop (or even simply slow down) the drop in global TV shipments and sales, vendors got to look for their next great hope.

According to NPD DisplaySearch 2012 TV shipments are down by -6% due to general tough economic conditions, with TV prices falling at "marginal rates," while 2013 shipments are expected to remain flat before entering a period of "gradual" growth as conditions improve and prices decline further.

The DisplaySearch graph (pictured) shows an interesting pattern-- TVs show decent growth during the 2008-2010 period (thanks to the HDTV boom) before declining sharply during 2011-2012. And even if 2013 sees a return to growth shipments will never reach 2010 levels, never mind pre-2007.

An advanced LCD technology makes a quiet CE appearance in Sony TVs at CES 2013-- quantum dots, a nanoscale technology producing what Sony claims is "the best colour ever."

Sony calls it "Triluminos," and while staff manning the company's CES booth could not tell what it actually is an explanation comes through the MIT Technology Review.

A development from startup QD Vision, quantum dot technology is similar to OLED-- nanoscale particles (the titular quantum dots) form the display's pixels, which turn on and off through electrical current applied via transistor.

A pure blue LED stimulates the quantum dots, which emit either pure green or pure red light. Since quantum dots emit very specific wavelengths of light (in blue, red and green), the technology results in a larger colour gamut and more saturated colours similar to those seen in OLED panels.

The technology will appear in Bravia TVs carrying the "Triluminos" brand, including the KD-65X900A announced at CES 2013.

Go Quantum Dots Get Commercial Debut (MIT Technology Review)

With Ultra HD (UHD, aka 4K) TV taking over the CES 2013 headlines it is about time potential customers get to see actual 4K content-- Eutelsat Communications launches the first dedicated UHD demo channel for Europe.

Available on the EUTELSAT 10A satellite, the channel transmits 3840 x 2160 content at 50fps encoded in MPEG-4 and transmitted at 40 Mbit/s.

Helping with transmissions is video compression solution provider ATEME.

“This new step towards 4K continues Eutelsat’s longstanding commitment to achieving new broadcast milestones that over the last 20 years have included digital TV, HDTV and 3D,” Eutelsat says. “Early and close collaboration between all players in the broadcast chain will be a key success factor for this new revolution."

The first set of UHD TVs should hit the market later this year-- even if by all accounts such sets are the definition of, well, pricey.

Go Eutelsat Launches Europe's First Dedicated UHD Channel

Samsung claims it has the biggest 4K/UHD TV on show at CES 2013 with the UN85S9 (aka S9)-- an impressive 85-inch display with a striking "floating" industrial design.

A floor standing behemoth, the S9 is mounted on an easel-esque frame allowing users to tilt the display up and down. The stand also houses a 120W 2.2 speaker array surrounding the display.

A 1.35Ghz quad-core A15 processor powers an upscaling engine able to convert regular HD content to UHD-level picture quality, as well as newly enhanced Smart Hub software and voice control features.

Connectivity options include Smart View (streams content between TV and Samsung mobile devices) and AllShare (now allowing the monitoring of Samsung "smart" appliances from the TV), while ports include x4 HDMI inputs and optical audio.

Does the future of TV lie within 4K, 8K, 3D or OLED technologies? Apparently not according to Samsung and LG at CES 2013-- the future of TV is, wait for it, "curved."

Both companies claim to have "the world's first" curved OLED TV at the show. Who is in the right? We doubt anyone was actually keeping count...

In any case, the curved OLED TVs are fairly similar-- both are 55-inch displays that appear concave when viewed from the front and even more bent from the sides. Apparently the shape improves on viewing angles, even if an over-enthusiastic Samsung PR describes it as "IMAX-like" (never mind IMAX screens measure around 70 feet/21m).