‘Wireless’ TVs Wow CES 2023 Attendees

LAS VEGAS—Although TV has been “wireless” since the inception of over-the-air broadcast TV, a new kind of “wireless” is grabbing the attention of CES 2023 attendees. The new wireless technology involves truly wireless in house reception, with the goal of reducing wire clutter and eliminating the growing number of HDMI inputs in today’s large flat screens. 

India-based startup Displace TV previewed its new wireless TV in a press release in December, when it announced its debut at this week’s CES. 

“Unlike any other TVs currently available in the market, the Displace 55" 4K TVs are powered by a proprietary hot-swappable battery system, lightweight at under 20 lbs., transportable and can be easily secured to any surface with no mounting required, using Displace TV's proprietary active-loop vacuum technology… which with a slight push will magically stick to the wall,” the company said in its press release. 

The company said its new design would help eliminate or reduce the problems of mounting flat screen TVs that can create wire clutter and even damage walls. It also does away with physical remote controls in favor of hand gestures and even facial recognition to control the TV so it can operate seamlessly when viewers move from any one room with a Displace TV. A button on top of the Displace TV also enables the feature to be switched off for privacy. 

All Displace TVs wirelessly connect to a base unit that can be plugged into an electrical outlet and kept inside a closet or anywhere within the home. To connect, it uses the newly released Wi-Fi 6E protocol, which operates 6-gigahertz (GHz) band, a new swath of unlicensed spectrum. 

"Displace completely reinvents the television with its hardware and software technologies, and user interfaces that will not only change the way people enjoy entertainment in their homes, but will also advance the entire television industry," said founder and CEO Balaji Krishnan. "We envision a world with multiple displays on walls delivering significant value to the consumers wherever they are inside their homes. To achieve this vision, it's important to re-architect television by eliminating all common frustrations and making it extremely easy to secure televisions on any surface inside homes. By realizing this vision, Displace is effectively creating the next computing platform and the potential applications are limitless."

The 55-inch display is also modular, which means it can be used in combination with multiple Displace displays to form any size TV, the company said.

Displace TVs also eliminate the power cord with multiple rechargeable batteries that can be popped in and out individually. Batteries can also be charged one at a time while the TV remains fully operational using Displace's proprietary hot-swappable battery system. Each Displace TV averages about a month of total battery life for an average usage of six hours of active TV time per day, the company said.

Reservations for Displace TV are available now on the Displace website, with a fully refundable deposit. They will be available to ship by late 2023.

For an up close and personal view of the Displace TV, check out TV Tech sister brand Tom's Guide's coverage.

Also at CES, LG is showing a wireless 97-inch OLED TV that uses a base station that can be placed up to 30 feet away from the display. The top of the box can be rotated according to where the TV is placed in the area, according to CNET. 

The box includes standard TV inputs including HDMI, Ethernet, USB, antenna and serial port and the signal can handle up to up to 4K, 120Hz resolution. Unlike Display’s battery setup, however LG retains the traditional power cord.

While both Samsung and LG announced in 2021 that their high-end TVs would be certified for Wi-Fi 6E, this year's model from LG is believed to be the first out of the gate from a major TV manufacturer to implement it as part of a wireless TV product.