OK, maybe there was one company that brought something to CES that consumers might actually buy

It turns out that one company, Hisense, brought an LED display to CES that delivers OLED-comparable performance but with higher refresh rates and zero burn-in, apparently based on something which Dolby developed years ago but abandoned. Linus Tech Tips covered it, describing it as having been "grossly under-covered [...] at the show," something which I'd agree with: as far as I can tell, only Engadget devoted an entire post to it, with The Verge burying one and a half paragraphs about it in their "biggest TVs" CES roundup.

Hisense's ULED XS panels will apparently deliver gaming-calibre 120 Hz refresh rates, OLED-calibre image quality, all using robust, mature tech (i.e. none of Micro-LED's "early days yet" issues). Unlike LG's US$8000 burn-in prone rollup OLED, this could deliver better performance at the same size for less money, and be able to last longer. It's exactly the sort of show-stopping product that should have grabbed a lot of attention at a show dedicated to consumer electronics, and was almost completely ignored.

It will be interesting to see how these things review, and if pricing comes down in the next couple of years, but ULED is currently clocking in at a third the cost of an equivalently-sized OLED panel. $3500 for a 65" OLED panel that will have serious burn-in problems in a couple of years is way too much money, but $1500 for a 65" ULED panel that you might still be using in ten years' time is a much more reasonable proposition. It's the kind of consumer value that the big names at CES simply weren't bothering to offer.

It will be interesting to see if that changes, now that Hisense seems set to shake up the industry with their economical approach to something which would otherwise be a luxury item. Call it practical luxury, I guess? Whatever you call it, here's hoping that next CES sees more of it.

So.... I guess that was CES?

Does anyone else find it weird that 2019's big Consumer Electronics Show wasted the entire week without showcasing anything for actual consumers?

I mean, sure, we got LG's rollup OLED TV, which looks sexy but costs US$8000, and which will need to be replaced in two years' time because of OLED's severe screen burn-in issues. Who can afford to spend $8K every two years on a roll-up gimmick TV? Who is this for?

We also got a plethora of 8K TVs, at a time when even 4K TVs aren't really a thing yet. I mean, it's great that the likes of LG are making 4K sets that are comparable in price to 1080p sets; if you're needing to replace your TV, and don't need a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz for any reason, then you can certainly go 4K because it won't cost extra so why not? But you still don't need a 4K TV for which there's almost no content available, and you definitely don't need an expensive 8K set for which there's even less content on the menu. 8K is nothing but costly, boasting high price points while delivering zero value to the consumer... which was basically the prevailing trend of CES2019.

Oh, yes, and then there's 5G... which, again, boasts a premium price while being completely useless to consumers since there are no 5G networks. And, no, AT&T's 5G E nonsense is not a 5G network, and does not count. Which brings us to CES2019's other prevailing trend, which was straight-up lies told to consumers about expensive products which are being marketed at them, without being in any way designed for them.

Worse yet, the one big discussion about technology that consumers actually care about was never mentioned by any of the big exhibitors.