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CES 2014: HDTV & home theater roundup

Every year, CES is filled wall to wall with flat-screen televisions and the things that plug into them. 2014's show brought its own variations to that theme. Curved TVs, OLED TVs, Ultra HD TVs or some combination popped up wherever we looked, and unlike last year, many of them will go on sale soon. Big manufacturers like Samsung, LG and Sony dominated news for high-end sets, but others like Vizio are promising an unprecedented slew of features at value prices.

Ultra HD/OLED
When even Polaroid has an Ultra HD television to announce for CES, it's probably fair to say there's a trend occurring. Of the ones we saw that are likely to ship this year, Vizio's jump off the page first -- both for their quality and extremely reasonable prices. Sony demonstrated black levels on its LCDs that must be seen to be believed, plus a unique new design that brings a new level of quality to integrated TV speakers. The battle to the death between LG and Samsung reached new levels of absurdity as both showed off flexible, bending displays, one LED and one OLED. Meanwhile, Samsung curved its new 9000 series UHD TVs and LG whipped up a sweet, new version of webOS for its line. Sharp's answer? Something between 1080p and 4K, while Panasonic spiced up its TVs with voice and face recognition. This was CES 2014 for TVs... and it was bizarre.

Sony's new UHD TVs are built to support Netflix in 4K when it arrives
We just got to watch Samsung's big-ass 105-inch curved TV
Panasonic ups its smart TV game with the VIERA Life+ Screen, complete with voice and facial recognition
Sharp Aquos lineup for 2014 bears 1080p and 4K TVs, a revamped SmartCentral platform and the new Quattron+ Series
Vizio's HDTV plans for 2014 focus on Ultra HD, in sizes going all the way up to 120 inches
LG's latest 84-inch 4K TV breaks cover at CES
LG's 105-inch UHD TV isn't coming to CES alone: flat 65-, 79-, 84- and 98-inchers on the way
LG's bringing Ultra HD OLED TVs in more sizes to CES, ramping up production
Samsung announces its curved 78-inch UHD TV: runs faster, works smarter
Samsung: cheap OLED TVs won't be ready for three to four years
Samsung's 105-inch curved UHD TV and 85-inch bendable screen hit retail this year
Samsung shows off its 85-inch curved TV that bends with the touch of a button (video)
Sony's new Bravia HDTVs get a wedge-shaped redesign (update: hands-on photos)
Kogan's ultra-budget 4K TV and 3G tablet arrive at CES
Toshiba enters 2014 with extra-bright 4K TVs, simpler streaming media hubs
Sceptre's showing off 4K TVs, Roku Ready displays, earbuds and pretty much everything, ever at CES

Smart/Connected TV
Internet-connected and highly personalized services for our TVs and the devices connected to them have gone from a curiosity to the norm. Now, we may be finally entering the period where there's enough reason to separate the wheat from the chaff and decide who has the best smart TV platform. LG is showing its hand with webOS and Roku integrating directly into TVs, but it may be another 12 months before we can pick a winner (or at least top three).

Hands-on with LG's smart TV running webOS (video)
LG teases webOS for most of its smart TVs, Lifeband Touch with Android, iOS sync
Dish's 'Virtual Joey' is a streaming app for smart TVs that takes the place of a set-top box (video)
Samsung's new TV remote for 2014 has a new pebble shape, 80 percent smaller touchpad
Roku renews bid for the living room with streaming-ready Roku TVs
Android TV at CES 2014 highlighted by Chinese manufacturers Hisense and TCL
Netgear's NeoMediacast is an Android-powered TV set-top on a stick

Streaming
Streaming could move from a secondary service to a top priority, with a bevy of new and smarter TVs and connected devices, plus the availability of 4K content before it hits broadcast. Is this the end for traditional pay-TV or does that market have some life left in it yet? That will be one of the many, many stories we're following in 2014.

Netflix confirms it will stream House of Cards in 4K this year, posts full season two trailer
Samsung's Ultra HD TVs will stream 4K video from Amazon, Comcast, DirecTV, Netflix and more
Hulu's original TV shows for 2014 are a mix of new series, new seasons and foreign transplants
YouTube to show off lower-bandwidth 4K streaming at CES
Plex website relaunches as Plex.tv, one-stop home for all of its media streaming abilities
Panasonic will bring Firefox OS to your smart TV this year
GoPro to launch extreme sports channel on Xbox One and 360

Prototype
Flexible displays, network DVRs and ultrawide Ultra HD -- this is the place to check it out.

TiVo prototype DVR recordings stay in the cloud, watch them anywhere on any screen
Toshiba cares not for 4K, has an ultra-wide 5K TV ready for CES
Take that Samsung: LG's got a 77-inch OLED UHD TV that bends on command (video)

The projector section
We love projectors, but Sony and LG took them in an odd direction this year, courtesy of lasers.
LG sneaks a new version of its 'Laser TV' projector into CES 2014
Sony's $30k+ Life Space UX projector all-in-one puts a 147-inch 4K screen on any wall
Sony's Life Space UX demo envisions projectors, screens everywhere