By Tom's Guide / Sean Captain | Tech Media Network
U.S. consumers with the craving and wherewithal to buy an OLED TV have thus far had two choices: one from LG and one from Samsung, both with 55-inch curved screens. Today (Jan. 2) LG introduced five new models — all of them as big or bigger, from 55 to 77 inches.
LG, however, has not yet provided the even most important information — how much each TV will cost. (The present 55-inch set lists for $10,000, though it's easy to find around $8,500.)
Like their predecessor, four of the five new TVs have curved screens. And the largest, the 77-inch 77EC9800, is LG's first 4K (Ultra HD) OLED - with four times the resolution of HDTVs. The EC9800 line also comes in 1080p versions at 65 and 55 inches.
MORE: 5 Easy Tips for Buying an HDTV
This was LG's second big TV announcement in advance of next week's CES tech tradeshow in Las Vegas. Two weeks ago, it announced a 105-inch curved LCD TV (only to have rival Samsung announce a 110-incher the same day.)
LG's picture-frame TV
Where once a curved-screen TV would have been the anomaly, among LG's OLED selection, it's the flat model that stands out. LG's 55-inch 55EA8800 screen is mounted inside a frame, similar to how a picture is placed on matting. The material behind and around the screen, called the "canvas speaker" holds four speakers totaling 100 watts. Being flat, the 55EA8800 is also the only one of the company's OLEDs that can actually hang on a wall. Today's formal announcement follows a teaser display of it at the IFA tech show in Berlin in September.
Continuing the picture-frame theme, the TV has modes to display content when you are not specifically watching TV. Gallery Mode cycles through images of famous artworks — a feature other TVs share, such as Sharp's LE650U line of LCDs. However there is also a "Healing & Remembering" mode, which, according to LG "helps to create a warm and inviting atmosphere through mood-lifting sounds and images." LG hasn't yet explained what that looks and sounds like.
Finally, LG has introduced another curved 55-inch model, called the 55EB9600, with an eco orientation. According to LG, the set is more energy efficient and is made from fewer components than LG's original 55-inch OLED from last year. It also uses more recycled materials. LG hasn't said how going in a more environmental direction affects the price or performance of the TV, or why all its sets couldn't be built this way.
Quality promises
A curved scree is only so interesting. To be worth anything near the astronomical prices, OLED TVs have to display a stunning picture. LG brags that its OLED method, called WRGB, produces brighter pictures with better contrast. Instead of just the red, green and blue components of pixels in most screens (be they OLED, LCD or plasma), LG sets have a fourth, plain-white component to add brightness and improve contrast. LG also uses a high dynamic range (HDR) image processing algorithms that it says expands the dynamic range (spread of brightness from dark to light) in images on its TV screens.
The TVs will all support 3D as well — using the "passive" (inexpensive, no battery) type of 3D glasses that LG specializes in.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is in getting images to look good on a 4K TV — not just an OLED model, but any type. Since virtually no 4K sources exist, viewers are almost always watching lower-res content that has been scaled up for the screen. For the foreseeable future, upscaling may be the most-important quality measure for a 4K TV. LG uses its own system called Tru-ULTRA HD Engine Pro.
MORE: What is 4K TV
All these quality claims will be put to the test next week when LG shows its OLED line at the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas. It will likely show other TV types, such as LCDs and plasma TVs, there as well.
A new user experience?
You can expect LG's new TVs to look different thanks to a new smart TV interface. According to an off-the-cuff statement from an LG engineer and subsequent reports in the Wall Street Journal, LGs new smart TVs will us a version of the WebOS operating system - which powered the final generation of Palm smartphones such as the Palm Pre. WebOS was popular with tech critics and users for its ability to multitask by flipping through a carousel of cards, each representing a running app. (Apple's iOS 7 multitasking interfaces has adopted a similar look.)
LG has conceded that it will be using WebOS but has not said anything publicly about what it will look like on the new TVs, or even which models will have it. So-called smart TV interfaces aren't famed for their intuitive design, so it will be interesting to see if LG can covert the mobile-friendly WebOS to an interface that is equally friendly for TVs. That will be an equally important thing to watch for when the screens light up next week.
U.S. consumers with the craving and wherewithal to buy an OLED TV have thus far had two choices: one from LG and one from Samsung, both with 55-inch curved screens. Today (Jan. 2) LG introduced five new models — all of them as big or bigger, from 55 to 77 inches.
LG, however, has not yet provided the even most important information — how much each TV will cost. (The present 55-inch set lists for $10,000, though it's easy to find around $8,500.)
Like their predecessor, four of the five new TVs have curved screens. And the largest, the 77-inch 77EC9800, is LG's first 4K (Ultra HD) OLED - with four times the resolution of HDTVs. The EC9800 line also comes in 1080p versions at 65 and 55 inches.
MORE: 5 Easy Tips for Buying an HDTV
This was LG's second big TV announcement in advance of next week's CES tech tradeshow in Las Vegas. Two weeks ago, it announced a 105-inch curved LCD TV (only to have rival Samsung announce a 110-incher the same day.)
LG's picture-frame TV
Where once a curved-screen TV would have been the anomaly, among LG's OLED selection, it's the flat model that stands out. LG's 55-inch 55EA8800 screen is mounted inside a frame, similar to how a picture is placed on matting. The material behind and around the screen, called the "canvas speaker" holds four speakers totaling 100 watts. Being flat, the 55EA8800 is also the only one of the company's OLEDs that can actually hang on a wall. Today's formal announcement follows a teaser display of it at the IFA tech show in Berlin in September.
Continuing the picture-frame theme, the TV has modes to display content when you are not specifically watching TV. Gallery Mode cycles through images of famous artworks — a feature other TVs share, such as Sharp's LE650U line of LCDs. However there is also a "Healing & Remembering" mode, which, according to LG "helps to create a warm and inviting atmosphere through mood-lifting sounds and images." LG hasn't yet explained what that looks and sounds like.
Finally, LG has introduced another curved 55-inch model, called the 55EB9600, with an eco orientation. According to LG, the set is more energy efficient and is made from fewer components than LG's original 55-inch OLED from last year. It also uses more recycled materials. LG hasn't said how going in a more environmental direction affects the price or performance of the TV, or why all its sets couldn't be built this way.
Quality promises
A curved scree is only so interesting. To be worth anything near the astronomical prices, OLED TVs have to display a stunning picture. LG brags that its OLED method, called WRGB, produces brighter pictures with better contrast. Instead of just the red, green and blue components of pixels in most screens (be they OLED, LCD or plasma), LG sets have a fourth, plain-white component to add brightness and improve contrast. LG also uses a high dynamic range (HDR) image processing algorithms that it says expands the dynamic range (spread of brightness from dark to light) in images on its TV screens.
The TVs will all support 3D as well — using the "passive" (inexpensive, no battery) type of 3D glasses that LG specializes in.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is in getting images to look good on a 4K TV — not just an OLED model, but any type. Since virtually no 4K sources exist, viewers are almost always watching lower-res content that has been scaled up for the screen. For the foreseeable future, upscaling may be the most-important quality measure for a 4K TV. LG uses its own system called Tru-ULTRA HD Engine Pro.
MORE: What is 4K TV
All these quality claims will be put to the test next week when LG shows its OLED line at the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas. It will likely show other TV types, such as LCDs and plasma TVs, there as well.
A new user experience?
You can expect LG's new TVs to look different thanks to a new smart TV interface. According to an off-the-cuff statement from an LG engineer and subsequent reports in the Wall Street Journal, LGs new smart TVs will us a version of the WebOS operating system - which powered the final generation of Palm smartphones such as the Palm Pre. WebOS was popular with tech critics and users for its ability to multitask by flipping through a carousel of cards, each representing a running app. (Apple's iOS 7 multitasking interfaces has adopted a similar look.)
LG has conceded that it will be using WebOS but has not said anything publicly about what it will look like on the new TVs, or even which models will have it. So-called smart TV interfaces aren't famed for their intuitive design, so it will be interesting to see if LG can covert the mobile-friendly WebOS to an interface that is equally friendly for TVs. That will be an equally important thing to watch for when the screens light up next week.
