All hail CES! Yes the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is that time when we ring in the new year with a slew of new electronics to set the stage for the next 12 months of geekdom. The 150,000 or so attendees wander for miles among the countless booths of electronics, 3D printers, TVs and other oddities. TDS attends in order to make sure we understand and embrace all the new products we and our customers will use on our Internet, TV and voice services. Sometimes we find some cool new stuff to offer you too.
This year’s CES can be summed up with three words. Curved. 4K.TVs. While 4K sets were abound at 2013 CES, this year you would be hard pressed to find a non-4K set. What is 4K you ask? Imagine your current HDTV set, and now imagine if you had 4 of them 
in front of you, compressed down to a single screen (for more on 4K TV technology, read Mike Manley’s blog post). Typically they are all 55” or (much) larger, and the increased resolution is noticeable.
But wait, there is no 4K content out there, why would I need one of these? It still is a bit early to get one (due to the high price) but increased resolution never goes out of style. Most movies and TV shows from the last 20 years were actually shot in 4K or higher, and as services like Netflix gear up their 4K offerings (which will play well on TDS’ Extreme Broadband service), having that 4K TV will position you for the high-res content as it begins to become available this year and into 2015.
So what about these curved TVs? Much like 3D, I’m hypothesizing curved TVs won’t be nearly as popular as 4K will in the next 5 years. The benefits of a curved TV are mostly manufactured (literally and figuratively), but I guess if you buy a TV far too big for your living room and you are the only one who watches it, a curved TV may be for you!
For some of the best-of-show CES winners, be sure to check Missy’s post too!
Guest Blogger: Matt Apps
Matt Apps is a TDS product manager, photographer, technology geek, skateboarder, poker player, loving husband, music enthusiast and father.
