TV techies proudly display their MIGHTY BENDERS in Berlin

The mirror within

On offer is the 55-inch curved Philips 8900 UltraHD telly but there are flat 65 and 55-inch versions too, in the high-end 9100 series. All include Ambilight.

Lower down the chain and the Philips 7900 UHD 55 and 49-inch models retain the Android capabilities but the Ambilight works on only two sides.

The 8909 series has Amblight on three sides

Philips has reskinned the Android interface for the big screen and to aid navigation from the remote control. However, familiar apps will have the same look and feel. Certainly, this combination is likely to find favour for casual gamers and those with a movie streaming services habit. A world first? Philips was too modest to suggest such a thing, instead inviting visitors to “experience the first Curved TV powered by Android”.

Philips curved Android TV with Ambilight

Although playing it straight throughout most of its TV range, Toshiba did have a curvy 65-incher lurking somewhere, but more interesting than this me-too offering were the mirror displays in its Future Display Innovation Lab.

Toshiba 4K mirror display

No doubt with commercial and futuristic domestic use in mind, on show was a massive half-black display playing images that actually appeared much brighter than snapshots suggest and a smaller, but still sizeable “Personal Healthcare Display" or bathroom mirror to you and me that was running banal greetings across the panel.

Toshiba's Personal Healthcare Display shows good manners but good taste is debatable

Not to be outdone, also in this area was Toshiba’s ultra wide 5K TV – yup, another 105-incher, with that 5120 x 2160 resolution for 21:9 movie viewing. And no, it doesn’t bend, curve or warp, but as a piece of design, it’s as impressive as the picture itself.

Toshiba Super Wide 5K TV

Panasonic is certainly content to keep its sets from curling at the edges and focused instead on touting the Viera X940 it’s new flagship 85-inch Ultra HD LED backlit telly. If that’s just a bit too big for your budget (or your bedsit), then AX900 series has 65 and 55-inch Ultra HD panels and all have out-of-the-box support for Netflix 4K streaming.

Pansonic's 4K TV collection for this year and beyond

Uses for a half-black mirror/display also made an appearance in Panasonic’s home of the future set. Fancy a vanity mirror with a difference? In this bedroom scenario the mirror allows the narcissist individual to see how make-up styles will look on the face before applying any cosmetics.

Panasonic's Virtual Make Up mirror

You can see how you’d look under different lighting conditions and it will even offer make-up application hints. Just don’t forget to turn off the preview mode before you go out.

Much like Philips, Toshiba and Panasonic, Sony appeared more focused on TVs people might actually be able to afford and fit into their homes. Sony’s very recently announced S90 Bravia 75- and 65-inch curved UHD TVs were on show featuring Multi-Angle Live Speaker tech.

Sony Bravia S90 series, KD-75S9005B 75-inch curved 4K TV

It was impossible to hear at the event, but from recent designs such as the X90 it seems Sony has come round to the idea of tacking speakers onto the sides of TV screens once more. Ingenious. ®