Podcast #1184: Best of CES

On this week’s show we rundown the “Best of CES” as reported by the tech sites. We also read your emails and take a look at the week’s news.

News:

• Disney, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery say Venu Sports won’t launch
• DirecTV Launches ‘MySports’ Streaming Package

Other:

• Samsung Display CES 2025 showcase: All the cool tech we saw - SamMobile
• Star Wars Kid
• Star Wars kid Drunken Jedi

Best of CES

On this week’s show we rundown the “Best of CES” as reported by the tech sites.

Engadget

LG OLED evo M5 - the company managed to further improve its most premium displays, adding the latest α (Alpha) 11 AI processor Gen2 to improve the look of lower-resolution content and power advanced features.

Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds ($300) - Technics’ new Magnetic Fluid drivers have garnered a lot of headlines this week, but all you really need to know about the EAH-AZ100 earbuds is that the sound quality is massively improved. Powered by those new components, there’s more clarity, detail and bass, all of which are upgrades from the already impressive AZ80

CNET

LG G5 OLED TV - After seeing the picture quality, TV expert David Katzmaier singled this out as one of his favorite TVs of the show; he traditionally finds LG's OLED quality best-in-class (as do I for its monitors), and this year's is brighter with better contrast in ambient light.

Xgimi Ascend - It's not the LG OLED rollable screen of your dreams, but the Ascend may be more within your grasp. It's a retractable, ambient light-rejecting screen with built-in speakers and an ultra short-throw projector that looks like a piece of furniture when the screen withdraws. TV tech guru Geoffrey Morrison has been an ultrashort throw skeptic, but thinks this pair may solve some of the issues he's had with them. There's no pricing yet for the screen (the projector is $2,700), but it's  bound to be less than models like the LG. 

The Verge Awards at CES (Full List)

Best TV Panasonic Z95B OLED - At CES 2025, it’s the Panasonic Z95B OLED that I keep circling back to as my favorite. After a long hiatus from the US TV market, Panasonic is coming back for its crown. Like the G5, it features a new four-layer tandem OLED display that boosts brightness to new highs — this time without the micro-lens array technology that LG Display spent the last two years hyping. It also includes an impressive Dolby Atmos speaker array (tuned by Technics) that will rule out any need for a soundbar for many buyers. That audio hardware results in this being a thick TV by today’s standards: Panasonic obviously favored