IFA 2014: Vestel Ultra HD 4K, Curved, Smart TV and OLED

One of the biggest TV manufacturers in the world and you've probably never heard of them!

by Steve Withers
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IFA 2014: Vestel Ultra HD 4K, Curved, Smart TV and OLED
Vestel is a Turkish based TV manufacturer that has gradually become the biggest in Europe and one of the largest in the world.
Don't feel too bad if you haven't heard of them because the Vestel name is only really used in Turkey. However there's a good chance that you own a TV made by them, you just don't know it. For example Vestel own the Finlux brand and make all the components for British TV company Linsar, but they also make TVs for a lot of the major brands as well. Vestel have a huge production operation in Turkey, along with an extensive research and development facility, so whilst they may have been following the majors in the past, they are also beginning to innovate. Their stand at IFA 2014 included every major current TV trend, with Ultra HD 4K, curved screens, Smart TV and OLED all being present and correct.

IFA 2014: Vestel Ultra HD 4K, Curved, Smart TV and OLED

As we arrived at the Vestel stand we immediately noticed that they also had a 105" curved 5K Ultra HD TV, with a 21:9 ratio screen and a resolution of 5000 x 2160. Just how practical these kind of screens will be in reality remains to be seen but who wouldn't want to be immersed in a 105" Scope ratio curved screen. It also works as a statement of intent, showing that whatever the other TV manufacturers can do, they can do as well.
Vestel had plenty of Ultra HD 4K TVs on show and even some OLEDs.
The same is obviously true of curved screens in general, with Vestel showing off a number of Ultra HD 4K TVs with a distinct bend to them. In fact there were curved Ultra HD 4K TVs in both 55 and 65 inch screen sizes and they were attractively designed with an impressive level of build quality. There was a time when Ultra HD 4K would seem cutting edge but it's an indication of how quickly the technology has gone mainstream that every TV manufacturer had models on display. Vestel didn't just have curved Ultra HD 4K TVs on show, they also had a range of flat UHD TVs that went up to screen sizes of 75 and 85 inches.

IFA 2014: Vestel Ultra HD 4K, Curved, Smart TV and OLED

Whilst most of the majors appear to be sitting on the fence when it comes to OLED, with the notable exception of LG, it looks as though some of the other manufacturers have more faith in the technology. Vestel had their own 55-inch curved OLED TV on display and it looked just as impressive as any of the models on show at the LG stand. It certainly means that if Vestel is producing Ultra HD 4K TVs and Full HD OLED models as well, we can hope to see these technologies filter through to cheaper brands soon.

Whilst we would expect to see Vestel showing off their prowess in manufacturing Full HD, curved, Ultra HD and OLED TVs, we were also impressed by the sophistication of Smart TV features on display. So there were displays dedicated to Smart STB (Set Top Box) solutions and areas dedicated to both Freesat and Freetime, along with twin tuners, HDD recording and PVR features. Vestel TVs can also support Miracast and WiDi, along with Dual View and Dual Play. There is also support for Social TV, a Portal App Market and Opera TV Store. Of course no modern Smart TV platform would be complete without video streaming, video-on-demand and catch-up services, including the ubiquitous Netflix, YouTube and BBC iPlayer.

Vestel were also showing off their new remote controls which add touch pads, motion control and voice interaction, along with a remote app for Android and iOS. There was a also section on 4K broadcasting using DVB-S2 and HEVC decoding, as well as a 4K Media Player that includes HEVC decoding, HDMI 2.0, HDCO 2.2, DLNA, Bluetooth, WiFi and a built-in 500GB HDD. With this sort of technology available to them, you might not be familiar with Vestel now but that's certainly going to change over the next few years.

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