Tag: CES 2026

CES 2026 Recap: AI, Robots and Streamers

LAS VEGAS — CES 2026 concluded its annual four-day run Jan. 9 with the biggest buzz around practical uses of AI, the emergence of life-like robots, and streaming.

Streaming, in fact, was on everyone’s tongue, particularly in the branded “C-Space” consisting of the Aria, Vdara and Cosmopolitan hotels.

There, representatives from virtually every major streamer crowded the halls, bars, restaurants and suites, resulting in long lines at the elevators (particularly at Aria) and several takeovers, including Netflix’s occupation of the Easy’s Cocktail Lounge speakeasy at the Aria and Xumo’s immersive, branded event space called “The Xumo Experience” on the ground floor of the Vdara. There, Xumo and Lionsgate announced a new multiyear content deal that makes Xumo Play, Google TV Freeplay and Xumo-branded FAST channels the exclusive streaming home for select Lionsgate films during their Pay-1 windows.

Also holed up at C-Space were executives with Amazon Prime Video, Disney Advertising Sales, Xperi, and NBCUniversal Media (parent of Peacock), along with Meta, Reddit, Roku and X.

Xperi’s TiVo division announced new features for its home screen user interface that enable advertisers to better reach consumers across the TV screen. The new feature aims to provide advertisers with easier monetization opportunities on smart-TV screens, including full-screen video advertisements and shoppable QR codes.

Nearby, at the Dolby Live theater at the Park MGM, Dolby Laboratories and NBCUniversal announced Peacock will be the first streaming platform to embrace Dolby’s full suite of advanced picture and sound innovations. The partnership will see a gradual rollout of both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision — an advanced high dynamic range (HDR) video technology that enhances picture quality by optimizing brightness, contrast, and color on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis using dynamic metadata — to Peacock’s portfolio of movies, original productions, and live sports and events.

At the Tech Trends to Watch presentation on the Sunday before the show opened, Melissa Harrison, VP of marketing and communications for CES producer the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), called out “the rise of ad-supported streaming” as a primary driver in a projected 4.2% uptick for 2026 in consumer spending on software and services.

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And on opening day, Jan. 6, the OTT.X breakfast at the Stirling Club, across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, featured a presentation of Parks Associates’ annual State of Streaming report as well as several presentations focused on the burgeoning advertising market in ad-supported streaming. Speakers included Pieter de Zwart, director of advertising engineering for Amazon Ads, and Paul Claussen, director of strategic partnerships and business development at Comcast Technology Solutions.

Television technology, as it does every year, commanded the spotlight in the central hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Very evident this year across the show floor was the rise of Micro RGB display technology: an evolution of LED backlighting that uses individually controlled red, green and blue LEDs as the light source instead of standard white or blue LEDs filtered into colors. The result: significantly deeper color accuracy and brightness than traditional LED models.

What the CTA maintains is the “largest post-pandemic CES” welcomed more than 148,000 attendees from around the world, 55,000 of them from outside the United States. More than 55% of CES attendees were senior-level executives. The show also had more than 4,100 exhibitors across upwards of 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, including some 1,200 startups.

“CES is the world’s most powerful proving ground for innovation,” said Gary Shapiro, executive chair and CEO of the CTA. “CES is more than a showcase; it’s where technology meets community, business, and policy. Global leaders, startups, and policymakers came together to highlight technologies that will define the next decade of economic growth and competitiveness.”

“The energy at CES 2026 was extraordinary,” said Kinsey Fabrizio, president of the CTA. “CES brings the global tech ecosystem together for an unmatched volume of deal-making, partnerships, and idea-sharing. The innovation unveiled this week spanning AI, quantum, mobility, robotics, health, and so much more, underscores CES as the global stage where bold ideas move from vision to reality.”

 

CES 2026 Concludes Annual Four-Day Run with Full Schedule of Programming

LAS VEGAS — CES 2026 concludes its annual four-day run in Las Vegas Friday with a Shark Tank pitch at the Venetian and a full day of panels, presentations and add-on (at an additional cost) training programs focused on AI, along with the trade show’s traditional closing party.

“Understanding AI Agents,” part of the CES AI Trainings program and moderated by James Poulter of Poulter Ventures, explores how agentic AI systems autonomously complete tasks, learn, and improve performance.

In the two-part “AI Strategy” program, also part of CES AI Trainings, AI Leadership Institute CEO Noelle Russell teaches attendees how to align AI with business goals, identify use cases, and build the right base to scale AI with clarity and purpose — and then implement AI from building teams to selecting tools and managing change-using a clear, step-by-step approach.

In the workshop Beyond Brainstorming: Creative Thinking for the AI Era, strategist HB Siegel shows attendees how to use provocation, abstraction, and disruption to unlock ideas with classic methods adapted to today’s AI landscape.

And in AI You Can Trust: The Adoption Checklist to Get Value in 90 Days, also part of CES AI Trainings, enrollees will be given a practical checklist and scorecards to de-risk deployments and scale with confidence. The instructors are Uvika Sharma, founder of INTLDA, a global data and AI advisory firm, and Padmini Soni, a senior AI strategist and founder of Rezonance.AI, which helps organizations build responsible AI tied to real business goals.

Also on tap for Friday is a Senate perspective on advancing tech innovation and federal priorities for Congress in 2026, featuring Sens. Jacky Rosen and Gary Peters.

The full CES schedule may be accessed here.

CES 2026 Gets a Fresh Look in Renovated Las Vegas Convention Center

LAS VEGAS — A year after the CES adopted a new logo, the entire show has a flashy new look, thanks to an expansive $600 million renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The now year-old logo is prominently displayed at the stylish new entrance, and the once-dreary central lobby has been widened and brightened, prompting a significant number of opening-day attendees to pose for selfies on Jan. 6.

On the show floor of the central hall, the traditional home to entertainment products, smart glasses are generating quite a buzz. Produced by companies such as Rokid, Solos and Lenovo, the devices — compatible with users’ corrective prescriptions — act as wearable AI companions, answering questions, giving directions, taking photos or videos, and translating conversations.

The central lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center has been enlarged and brightened. (Photo by Media Play News staff)

On the TV front, television technology is in the spotlight, with consumer electronics companies pushing the boundaries of not just picture quality, size, and design, but also intelligence.

As one observer put it, “smart TVs have never been smarter,” thanks largely to widespread adoption, and integration, of AI.

Very evident across the show floor was the rise of Micro RGB display technology: an evolution of LED backlighting that use individually controlled red, green and blue LEDs as the light source instead of standard white or blue LEDs filtered into colors. The result: significantly deeper color accuracy and brightness than traditional LED models.

Virtually every brand, big and small, from Samsung to China’s ChiQ, rolled out their latest Micro RGB displays, including — in Samsung’s case — a 130-inch Micro RGB flagship that blends massive scale with next-generation color engines and AI-driven processing to enhance contrast and realism, even under bright ambient light.

The ChiQ display at CES 2026. (Photo by Media Play News staff)

Hisense is taking the Micro RGB push a step further, showcasing a massive 163-inch RGBY Micro LED display with a fourth yellow subpixel to fill the critical spectral gap between 500nm to 600nm, a range where Hisense maintains conventional Micro LED displays fall short and often mute a content’s intended look.

OLED remains a major pillar of premium TV innovation at CES 2026. LG’s showcase included upgraded OLED evo models offering brighter panels, ultra-low reflections, and smart AI picture enhancements powered by new processors — alongside ultra-thin “Wallpaper” TVs that mount almost invisibly against walls for seamless integration into living spaces.

TCL is touting what it calls SQD alongside its RGB and other TV models. SQD stands for Super Quantum Dot Mini-LED — a specific implementation TCL developed to aim for wider color gamut, high brightness, and minimal crosstalk without using discrete RGB LEDs in the backlight.

Samsung’s broader lineup spans 4K OLEDs, Neo QLEDs, and expanded Micro RGB sizes from mid-range to ultra-large screens, with advanced AI features like Vision AI for picture optimization and smarter content recommendations.

Beyond picture technology, design trends also are evolving. Sylvox introduced a frameless outdoor TV with high brightness and durability for patios and outdoor living areas, while art-oriented screens like Amazon’s Ember Artline bring smart art display modes to living rooms.

The opening day crowd was able to fan out due to the enlarged convention center entrance, but observers eyeing the flow into the convention center shortly after the show floor opened at 10 a.m. predict a significant jump in CES 2026 over last year, when an independent audit identified 142,465 attendees.

The pre-COVID high was in 2018, when the show attracted more than 182,000 attendees.

Elsewhere on the show floor, attendees will see lots of what is being called “physical AI” — machines, devices and systems incorporating AI. This includes autonomous vehicles, smart robots, AI-powered appliances, and embedded AI in everyday gadgets.

Robotics are generating a big buzz, particularly Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot, Atlas, which in a live demo appearance showcased fluid, lifelike movement.

Also big are companion robots — from pet-like AI pets to humanoid assistants.

And on the mobility front, fully autonomous cars and robotaxi concepts are being shown by Uber as well as carmakers.

NVIDIA unveiled the NVIDIA Alpamayo family of open AI models, simulation tools and datasets that the company says enable the development of vehicles that perceive, reason and act with humanlike judgment — enabling developers to fine-tune, distill and test models that unlock greater safety, robustness and scalability.

Both Dolby and Xperi, parent of DTS, showed off car models utilizing their latest sound innovations. The two are rivals, competing primarily in audio codecs and immersive sound formats.

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Speakers at Annual OTT.X Breakfast Focus on Streaming’s Growing Ad Business

LAS VEGAS — With a nod to the rise in ad-supported streaming, this year’s OTT.X breakfast presentation on the opening day of CES 2026 focused on the burgeoning advertising market.

The overarching message from speakers at the Jan. 6 event at the Stirling Club, just across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, is that the industry needs to get better at pairing the right ads with the right viewers at the right times — and avoid mishaps like showing the same ad repeatedly, over and over again.

Pieter de Zwart, director of advertising engineering for Amazon Ads, joked that when he was watching a baseball game last year, he saw the same ad from the same trucking company a total of 14 times.

In de Zwart’s presentation, “The Future of Streaming TV Advertising: AI, Authenticity, and Audience Connection,” the executive noted that as fragmentation across streaming intensifies, scale and relevance are being rebuilt around smarter tools and intelligence. He talked about how AI-driven insights and dynamic creative are transforming streaming advertising reach, measurement and audience connection.

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“Over the last year, we have deployed a lot of solutions,” he said — including Brand+ and Performance+, two powerful tools within the AI-powered Amazon DSP marketing suite. Brand+ is focused on building brand awareness and fostering engagement, while Performance+ is aimed at driving conversions. These solutions leverage machine learning and AI to simplify campaign optimization, helping advertisers reach the right customers and achieve better outcomes.

The DSP suite also includes Creative Agent, an AI tool that acts as a creative partner and strategist, using conversational guidance and Amazon’s data signals to generate advertising content, and Live Events Optimizer, a new data-powered, turnkey programmatic offering that enables advertisers to capture audiences during the most valuable live moments while optimizing for performance.

“I strongly believe that if we focus on the fundamentals of digital advertising, and we all lean in a little bit together, we can create a rising tide, which will float each of our individual boats. We need to create more liquidity in the digital advertising marketplace,” he said. “It starts with activating more advertisers, exposing more inventory, and exchanging better signals before and after the impression. And the last thing is running price-based, dense options.

“If we do this, I actually believe that everything is going to get better for everyone.”

On another panel discussion called “Contextualized Advertising: Unlocking Smarter Monetization Through AI and Data,” the focus was on how cloud, automation and AI are converging to create flexible, intelligent and deeply personalized media ecosystems. In contextualized advertising, ads are shown based on the content and context of what someone is viewing right now, rather than on their personal data or past behavior.

Paul Claussen, director of strategic partnerships and business development at Comcast Technology Solutions, talked up his company’s VideoAI, a comprehensive framework of intelligent technologies that deliver greater advertising efficiency and streamlined operations. VideoAI scans every component of content — words, pictures, sounds — and provides actionable metadata for applications, including segmentation, contextual advertising and quick preparation of live events.

This helps with monetization, Claussen said, by answering “basic questions such as where should ads go in the content and, once you know where the ads should go, what are the best ads to put there to optimize the value of the spots.”

“It’s all about delivering the best ads to the right person at the right time, and maximizing the value of the opportunity,” added Spencer Kuhn, platform sales leader at FreeWheel, a Comcast company that provides comprehensive media buying platforms for publishers, advertisers and ad buyers.

Other panels and presentations at the OTT.X breakfast included “Second-Screen Engagement Dynamics in CTV Advertising,” which explored how second-screen engagement introduces measurable action into CTV, enabling outcome-based value layers that complement CPM; “Future Media Platform: AI-Driven, Cloud-Native, and Personalized,” about how next-generation infrastructure is redefining workflows, content delivery, and audience engagement across the global media landscape; and “The New Economics of Global Content Distribution: Windowing, Rights, and Platform Optimization in 2026.”

Parks Associates also presented its latest annual State of Streaming report.

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TiVo Launches New Home Screen to Drive Viewer Engagement and Brand Awareness

TiVo Jan. 6 announced new features for its home screen user interface that enable advertisers to better reach consumers across the TV screen.

The new feature aims to provide advertisers with easier monetization opportunities on smart-TV screens, including full-screen video advertisements and shoppable QR codes.

The new software expands TiVo’s user interface technology, which helps consumers find entertainment content across more than 100 TV brands, dozens of operators and more than 5.3 million monthly active users.

“With our unexposed audience and highly engaged monthly active user base, TiVo Ads delivers the quality and precision advertisers demand, along with interoperable data and global program IDs that offer a comprehensive view of ad performance,” Matt Milne, president of TiVo Ads and chief revenue officer at Xperi, said in a statement.

The company will be offering demonstrations of TiVo Ads at CES in Las Vegas through Jan. 9.

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Roku, iSpot Bringing Outcome-Based Optimization to Ad-Supported Streaming

Roku Jan. 6 announced an expanded pact with iSpot technology to help third-party advertising brands achieve more-accountable, performance-focused campaign results on the Roku platform.

Roku advertisers can now use iSpot-attributed outcomes to track return-on-investment, adjust creative strategies, and help drive business results, such as Web conversions. Early testing showed strong results, including a 23% increase in ad leads and a 31% increase in website visits, according to Roku.

“Our expanded partnership represents an important step in our mission to give advertisers the most effective and measurable streaming advertising solutions,” Miles Fisher, senior director of strategic advertising partnerships at Roku, said in a statement.

The optimization features build on the data and measurement partnership first announced in 2024.

“This deeper integration with Roku marks a key moment for outcome-based streaming,” Stuart Schwartzapfel, EVP of media partnerships at iSpot, said in a statement. “We’re not just measuring performance; we’re helping drive it, ensuring advertisers gain new levels of efficiency and ROI directly on the Roku platform.”

Roku, which helped launch the SVOD market in the United States with Netflix, reports that more than 80 million U.S. households owned a Roku device through Sept. 30. The platform topped 90 million streaming households in January 2025.

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CES 2026 Opens in Las Vegas With All Eyes on AI’s Real-World Impact and Deployment

LAS VEGAS — CES 2026 officially opens Tuesday (Jan. 6) at a time when AI is no longer a shiny new toy, but, rather, an integrated — and integral — part of every day life.

This year the world’s largest technology show will present AI not as a trend, but as a foundational technology that is revolutionizing industries by becoming embedded in everything from TVs, autonomous vehicles and advanced robotics to energy management and personalized healthcare. Even more so than at last year’s show, the focus has shifted from hype to real-world deployment, with keynotes, new product launches, and dedicated zones such as the “CES Foundry” highlighting AI’s pervasive deployment.

“CES is where innovators show up, and this year AI is at the center of nearly every conversation,” Gary Shapiro, executive chair and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), owner and producer of CES, told Media Play News. “From the show floor to the keynote stage, leaders from across industries are demonstrating how these innovations move into the real world and how together we solve the world’s biggest challenges.”

Independently audited data for last year’s show, CES 2025, revealed a total of 142,465 participants from across the globe. This year, Shapiro said, “all signs point to a phenomenal CES, with thousands of exhibitors, a record 3,600+ Innovation Award submissions, and innovation across 13 venues and 2.6 million net square feet.”

New this year is the CES Foundry, located at Fontainebleau Las Vegas and aimed at uniting innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, and media to explore how AI and quantum technologies are defining the next era of innovation.

“This year, AI is accelerating innovation across every sector,” Shapiro said. “CES Foundry will serve as a hub for the innovators leading that charge, and I’m looking forward to the ideas that will emerge.”

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The CES Foundry will feature two stages, the Breakthrough Stage and the Discovery Stage. Programming will alternate between the two, including panel discussions, fireside chats, and thought-leader conversations featuring influential voices in technology.

Entertainment hasn’t been in the CES spotlight since the heyday of DVD and Blu-ray Disc, but the rise of streaming — and the growth in ad-supported models — hasn’t gone unnoticed. At the Jan. 4 Tech Trends to Watch presentation, Melissa Harrison, VP of marketing and communications for CES producer the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), called out “the rise of ad-supported streaming” as a primary driver in a projected 4.2% uptick for 2026 in consumer spending on software and services.

Accordingly, the cluster of streamers and their enablers typically holed up at the Aria-Cosmopolitan-Vdara complex in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip includes Amazon Prime Video, Disney Advertising Sales, Netflix, Xumo, and NBCUniversal Media (parent of Peacock), along with Meta, Reddit, Roku and X.

Netflix’s presence isn’t as showy as it was two years ago, when it took out a massive booth on the CES 2024 show floor for an immersive activation to promote the series “3 Body Problem.” But the top streamer promises a raft of private meetings, many of them centered around its pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets. Netflix is also focusing on emerging technologies such as AI, gaming and metaverse experiences, leveraging its recent acquisition of avatar AI technology company Ready Player Me.

CES 2026 will also feature more than 350 conference sessions and over 1,300 speakers. Sessions will focus on the pervasive integration of AI and robotics across various industries. Other major topics include digital health, advanced mobility, smart homes, energy, and the creator economy.

Keynote addresses at CES 2026 will be delivered by such high-powered business executives as Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD; Siemens president and CEO Dr. Roland Busch; Havas CEO and chairman and Vivendi chairman Yannick Bollor; Lenovo chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang; and Caterpillar CEO Joe Creed.

In addition, an assortment of celebrity guests will participate in conference programming, sponsored sessions and special events throughout the show. Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian will participate in the Great Minds session “Back to the Future: Tech’s Nostalgic Revolution.” Hank Shocklee, a member of the hip hop group Public Enemy, will speak on an “Innovation for All” panel. RZA (Bobby Diggs), rapper, producer, actor, filmmaker and leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, will speak on the panel “From Concept to Reality: Creatives Using AI to Bring Big Ideas to Life.” And Serena Williams, entrepreneur and 23-time Grand Slam champion, will speak on the “Insights to Action: The Power of Biowearables” panel.

Policymakers from across the world will discuss domestic and global tech policy issues including privacy, trade, competition, and more. More than 200 international, federal, state and local government officials and staff participate in the Leaders in Technology Program and attend the Innovation Policy Summit (IPS) at CES.

Exhibits in the Las Vegas Convention Center are, as usual, grouped by industry segment. The LVCC Central Hall will showcase the latest innovations in home entertainment and living. This is where the big CE companies set up their massive booths to showcase the latest innovations in televisions. The Central Hall is also home of the CES Creator Stage.

Exhibits in the North Hall focus on smart communities, IoT, AI and robotics. The South Hall is home to accessories and gadgets. And the West Hall is devoted to mobility, from self-driving cars to construction, agriculture, boating and advanced air travel.

The C Space at the Aria, Cosmopolitan and Vdara hotels is where top brands, advertisers, media platforms, and content creators meet to forge deals, explore trends and unveil the latest technologies.

The Venetian is home to smart living, including digital health, smart home, energy management, security, education, lifestyle and food tech. The Venetian is also home to the CES Innovation Awards Showcase.

And Eureka Park at The Venetian is CES 2026’s Startup Hub, with global pavilions and emerging companies from the United States, the European Innovation Council (EIC), France, Hong Kong, Italy, Korea, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine and others.

 

Peacock Becomes First Streamer to Adopt Dolby’s Full Suite of Picture and Sound Innovations

LAS VEGAS — Dolby Laboratories and NBCUniversal on Monday, Jan. 5, announced Peacock will be the first streaming platform to embrace Dolby’s full suite of advanced picture and sound innovations.

The announcement, made on the eve of CES 2026 at the Dolby Live amphitheater at the Park MGM Hotel and Casino, builds on a partnership that began 10 years ago with the 2016 Olympics. Last September, Peacock announced it would start serving up NFL games in Dolby Atmos, an immersive, spatial audio technology that allows sounds to come from all around and above the listener for a more realistic and lifelike experience.

The Monday announcement, hailed by Dolby and NBCU as a first-of-its-kind technology integration, will see a gradual rollout of both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision — an advanced high dynamic range (HDR) video technology that enhances picture quality by optimizing brightness, contrast, and color on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis using dynamic metadata — to Peacock’s portfolio of movies, original productions, and live sports and events.

Peacock is extending the availability of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos across live sports over the coming year, including Sunday Night Football, NBA and MLB. Peacock is also the first streamer to announce its commitment to support Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby AC-4, anticipated to launch later this year.

Peacock is currently gearing up for a live sports streaming bonanza in February, with the Winter Olympics in Italy, the NBA All-Star game and the Super Bowl.

The announcement was made by John Couling, SVP of entertainment at Dolby Laboratories, and David Bohunek, SVP of global video engineering at NBCUniversal, in a “fireside chat” moderated by veteran technology reporter Jake Krol.

“We see a great opportunity to push the video quality alongside the audio even to higher levels, so we’re excited about that,” Bohunek said.

Couling said live sports is a good place to start. “Dolby is known for movies and music, but sports actually is a really deep part of our heritage,” he said. “We first worked with NBCUniversal on the 2016 Rio Olympics, but we’ve been involved in sports much longer than that — actually, for decades. Our first 5.1 broadcast here in North America was back in the late 1990s, and the first Super Bowl in 5.1 was in 2000. So we’ve been involved in the sound of sports for some time, and it’s really all driven by the fact that we want fans to be able to get the very best experience, and that means making them feel like they’re there–making them feel like they are part of being in that stadium or that arena.”

Couling said Peacock is the right partner because the streamer and Dolby both share a vision of placing the viewer “in the emotional heart of the action.”

Both companies, he said, also believe in “pushing technology, but doing that for a purpose that goes far beyond the technology itself. It’s for the purpose of creating that wonderful experience, that immersion, of giving people choice and capabilities, of making the experience just as good as it can possibly be. And when we work with a partner who’s really creating some of the most important and powerful content, they challenge us with can we do this, can we do that, can we make it do the following. And it’s great to be driven by that kind of passion.”

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Peacock also is preparing to adopt the next generation of Dolby innovation. Unveiled at IFA 2025, Dolby Vision 2 is the successor to Dolby Vision, which was originally introduced a decade ago. The company says Dolby Vision 2 “is designed to meet the evolving expectations of today’s viewers and unlock the most out of your television. From helping solve the debate on whether the picture is ‘too dark’ to delivering a more cinematic experience without distracting judder or soap opera effects, Dolby Vision 2 delivers a more authentic, captivating picture.”

Dolby AC-4 is Dolby’s most advanced and efficient audio codec to date, delivering crystal-clear sound with up to 50% greater efficiency than traditional codecs, according to the company. Dolby AC-4 offers new personalization and dialog enhancement features and unlocks the highest audio fidelity possible while using a fraction of the bandwidth of traditional codecs.

Peacock’s Bohunek welcomes the new capabilities that will become available with Dolby AC-4.

“I actually have a little story to share,” he said. “I think it was our first NFL exclusive game we had on Peacock, and during half time we got a phone call from somebody pretty important in our company saying, ‘Hey, in the second half, I really want to hear the commentary more. Can you change that?’ And then two minutes later, we got another phone call from somebody very important in the NFL, saying, ‘Hey, I want to hear the stadium noise more. It’s more exciting that way.”

With Dolby AC-4, Bohunek said, “the customers will be able to choose, and if they want to hear only the dialog, or only the stadium sound, or somewhere in between, it’s their choice. And that’s pretty exciting.”

LG Electronics Talks AI, Shows Off Wafer-Thin ‘Wallpaper’ TV

LAS VEGAS — A day after Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. wowed early arrivals to CES 2026 with its massive “The First Look” media event, another big TV maker, LG Electronics, held a smaller event where AI also took center stage.

LG World Premiere, the company’s annual pre-CES event in Las Vegas, welcomed about 1,000 guests to the Mandalay Bay under the theme “Innovation in tune with you.”

CEO Lyu Jae-cheol asked the question,“What if AI could step out of the screen and start working for us in real life?” He then talked about the evolution of what LG calls “Affectionate Intelligence,” introduced two years ago, into action-oriented AI designed to make everyday life more comfortable, efficient and intuitive, and that this approach is built on three pillars: excellence in device rooted in core technologies; a seamlessly connected ecosystem; and the expansion of AI-driven solutions beyond the home and into vehicles and commercial spaces.

The event showcased several new AI-powered products, including a home robot named LG CLOiD and a refrigerator that can converse with humans. But from an entertainment standpoint the star attraction was a new wafer-thin TV, the LG OLED evo W6 Wallpaper TV, just 9 millimeters thin — a feat achieved by the meticulous miniaturization of essential components and a complete re-engineering of its internal architecture.

LG’s proprietary “True Wireless” technology allows the TV to be placed almost anywhere in the room, even flush up against the wall. All inputs are located on the Zero Connect Box, which can be positioned up to 32 feet away.

The company also says it has achieved a new standard for OLED brilliance with what it calls Hyper Radiant Color Technology, improving black, color and brightness to the highest level while lowering reflection. Powered by Brightness Booster Ultra, the new TV achieves luminance levels up to 3.9 times brighter than conventional OLEDs, LG says. For this increased brilliance to shine in any viewing environment, even brightly lit rooms, the Wallpaper TV uses a screen specifically engineered for the lowest reflectance among LG TVs, earning the industry-first Reflection Free Premium certification from Intertek.

Orchestrating these visual advancements is the new α (alpha) 11 AI Processor Gen3, featuring a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that is 5.6 times more powerful. This increase in computing power enables the new Dual AI Engine. Unlike traditional processors that may sacrifice natural texture to reduce noise, the Dual AI Engine runs parallel algorithms to execute both tasks simultaneously, resulting in a balanced image that retains natural detail while eliminating over-sharpening.

LG Gallery+ complements the Wallpaper TV by allowing viewers to tailor what’s on the display when they’re not watching the TV — with a choice of more than 4,500 visuals ranging from cinematic moments to game graphics alongside customers’ personal photo collections and images they created with generative AI.

The new TV also is ideal for gaming, LG says. The Wallpaper TV, alongside the other 2026 OLED evo models, support a 4K 165Hz refresh rate, NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible and AMD FreeSync Premium, designed for ultra-smooth gameplay. With a 0.1 millisecond pixel response time and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), the displays offer new heights of responsiveness.

This year, through Voice ID, viewers of the Wallpaper TV and other models in LG’s 2026 lineup will be presented with a personalized “My Page” home screen. With just a spoken command, the TV recognizes who is watching and instantly switches the interface to match the speaker’s profile — complete with personal widgets and apps.

The customer experience is enriched by Multi-AI capabilities, integrating Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot to allow users to vocalize questions and receive tailored responses. An upgraded AI Concierge further enhances viewing by helping customers explore content-related information with minimal interruption. Activated by voice or a remote control unit, users can access the new “In This Scene” feature for cast details and related content, with the novelty of generating images with AI. This entire ecosystem is secured by LG Shield, a CES 2026 Innovation Award-winner, which safeguards data through advanced encryption and security measures.

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Samsung Talks Up New Lineup of TVs in Gala Pre-CES Media Event in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Two days before the official start of CES 2026 Samsung Electronics Co. stole the pre-show thunder Jan. 4 with its impressive, and immersive, “The First Look” media event at The Wynn Las Vegas.

The shindig was designed to underscore the Korean consumer electronics giant’s vision of integrating AI across its products and services — and, according to a press release, “positioning the company as a trusted partner that enhances and supports AI experiences throughout users’ daily lives.”

The event featured talks by key Samsung executives, including TM Roh, CEO and head of the Device eXperience division; SW Yong, president and head of the Visual Display business; and Cheolgi Kim, EVP and head of the Digital Appliance business.

Journalists also got a preview of the Samsung Exhibition Zone, a standalone exhibition hall at the Wynn that features a curated experience showcasing Samsung’s new products and technologies and AI integration plans. Under the theme of “Your Companion to AI Living,” the exhibition showcases how Samsung has applied AI technologies across all its product categories — including TVs, mobile devices, and home appliances — as well as the functions and services that connect them.

TM Roh, CEO and head of Samsung’s Device eXperience division, was among several key executives who spoke Jan. 4 at the Korean consumer electronics giant’s “The First Look” media event at the Wynn in Las Vegas. (Photo by Media Play News staff)

“We believe the best AI experience should blend in naturally into every day life,” Roh told journalists.

The bulk of the presentation was devoted to Samsung’s expansive lineup of AI-powered televisions, with Yong noting that the company has been the world’s No. 1 seller of TVs for more than 20 years. In that time, Yong noted that the company delivered more than 830 million TVs into worldwide homes.

Over those two decades, he noted, Samsung also amassed a series of firsts, introducing the first LED TV in 2009, the first smart TV in 2010, the first curved OLED TV in 2013, the first bendable UHD TV in 2014, the first modular Micro LED TV in 2018 and, this year, the first 130-inch Micro RGB TV — 15 inches bigger than the Micro RGB TV Samsung unveiled at last year’s CES.

“Now, it’s time for another transformation,” Yong said.

Micro RGB is a new display technology Samsung is using in its latest premium TVs — designed to deliver more accurate colors, higher brightness, and better contrast than traditional LED/LCD screens. It represents a step beyond typical Mini-LED backlighting by using tiny red, green, and blue LEDs as the light source instead of standard white or blue LEDs filtered into colors.

The new 130-inch Micro RGB TV — powered by Micro RGB AI Engine Pro, Micro RGB Color Booster Pro and Micro RGB HDR Pro — leverages AI to enhance dull tones and refine contrast, delivering vivid color and subtle detail across bright and dark scenes alike for realism and picture fidelity.

The new 130-inch Samsung Micro RGB TV. (Media Play News staff photo)

The display elevates picture performance with Micro RGB Precision Color 100, delivering 100% of the BT.2020 wide color gamut. Certified by the Verband der Elektrotechnik (VDE) for precise Micro RGB color reproduction, it produces finely controlled hues that appear true to life on screen. The 130-inch model also includes Samsung’s proprietary Glare Free technology, which minimizes reflections, further preserving clear color and contrast across a variety of lighting conditions for the best viewing experience.

The product supports HDR10+ Advance and Eclipsa Audio to provide an enhanced picture and sound quality, as well as Samsung’s enhanced Vision AI Companion, which uses AI technology to work alongside users as a full entertainment companion to enhance viewing, dining and mood, anywhere in the home. With it, users can receive guidance on what to watch, what to eat and what music to listen to.

Samsung also offers intuitive modes to personalize the viewing experience. For soccer fans, AI Soccer Mode Pro delivers AI-driven picture and sound tuning to stadium-level quality. AI Sound Controller Pro lets viewers raise or lower the volume of the crowd, commentary, or background music. Users can make verbal requests, and any TV equipped with VAC — which includes Micro LED, Micro RGB, OLED, Neo QLED, Mini LED and UHD TV models — contextually carries out those requests.

VAC also allows viewers of cooking shows to find recipes for meals they see on TV by simply asking and uses the most up-to-date information to make recommendations that align with health and fitness goals. VAC offers multi-device functionality, as well, sending recommended recipes directly to other devices like the newly-unveiled The Movingstyle, designed to move easily throughout the home and kitchen appliances.

Samsung also announced the global launch of The Freestyle+, an AI-powered portable projector designed to deliver a flexible and personalized entertainment experience across a wide range of spaces. The Freestyle+ builds on the original version of The Freestyle, while introducing smarter AI capabilities, improved brightness and expanded entertainment features.

At the core of The Freestyle+ is AI OptiScreen, a suite of AI-powered screen optimization technologies that automatically adjusts the picture to different spaces. 3D Auto Keystone automatically corrects distortion even when projecting onto uneven or non-flat surfaces, such as corners, curtains or angled walls. Real-time Focus continuously adjusts focus as the projector moves or rotates, helping maintain clear, stable images without blurring or visual noise. Screen Fit automatically adjusts the image to match the screen area when used with a compatible projector screen accessory. And Wall Calibration analyzes the color or pattern of the projection surface and minimizes visual distractions for clear viewing.

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