CES 2019: LG unveiled disappearing TV

 In this era of smartphone streaming, big television sets are no longer the centrepiece of living rooms now. LG, South Korean Electronics Company working on making TV disappears altogether.

LG shows off a "rollable" TV — a 65-inch screen that can roll down and disappear into its base with the press of a button. When the screen is rolled down completely the set can still play music, or clock can be displayed when it's just partially rolled down. LG says the TV will be available by the end of this year. Nothing has been revealed about the cost. 

Meanwhile, LG, Samsung and others unveiled "8K" sets, resolution multiplied four times of today's high-definition sets and twice that of 4K sets such as LG's rollable one. 8K signifies the next generation of television viewing. 

Till now, 8K has only been deployed for the occasional experimental broadcast like Olympics. Even 4K shows and movies are just starting to catch on.

"As always with TVs, innovations come with display hardware first and adoption of things like content and delivery always comes later," told Paul Gagnon, an analyst with IHS Markit.

Analysts believe 8K will become more popular eventually — just not ubiquitous, unlike the 3D TVs past developments that never caught on.

Last year Samsung announced its first 8K TV, an 85-inch model which costs $15,000. On Monday the company unveiled four additional sizes, sans prices. TCL also announced plans for 8K sets with Roku's streaming technology built-in. LG has two 8K sets coming.