New Year means a New CES, which also means that LG is set to unveil a new set of TVs. And what better stage than CES to reveal new flagship TVs to the world. With 4K TVs becoming more and more accessible, flagship displays have since then moved to the next big picture: 8K Ultra HD.
For CES, LG is bringing both OLED and LCD TVs. On the OLED front, they're showing off the 88- and 77-inch TVs (Models 88/77 OLED ZX), while their NanoCell LCD TVs will have six different models (75/65 Nano99, 75/65 Nano97, and 75/65 Nano95). All of the models will be set to the new 8K Ultra definition set by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).
LG is touting this as "Real 8K", as it meets the standards set by the CTA, the company that holds CES every year. This is probably a shot against Samsung who, among other companies such as Panasonic, Intel, Hisense, and TCL, established the 8K association which has its own standards. LG touts that their TVs meet the Contrast Modulation (CM) requirement of the CTA of 50%, with their 8K displays having at least 90% CM. The 8K association has no benchmark, and instead relies on simpler metrics such as overall resolution of the panel (must be 7680x4320 pixels) and support for the HEVC codec and HDMI 2.1. More in-depth requirements are available to members of the 8K association
Spec Up
Besides the CTA-certified 8K panels, the TVs also carry the latest software and TV hardware. All of the TVs are capable of receiving and playback media from both HDMI and SUB digital inputs. They are able to play universally used codecs such as HEVC, VP9, and AV1, a codec used by Youtube, with Netflix, Facebook and Twitch pledging support for the new codec. The TVs are certified to play 80K 60P images over HDMI 2.1.
The TVs are also equipped with LG's newest Alpha 9 Gen 3 AI Processor. According to LG's press release, the TVs are able to upscale content into 8K using AI upscaling.
"Based on an intelligent deep learning network, AI 8K Upscaling delivers vivid and accurate 8K images by analyzing the content and applying Quad Step Noise Reduction and frequency-based Sharpness Enhancer to increase lower resolution content to near 8K perfection," the press release states.
The TVs are also equipped with LG's AI Sound Pro, which also uses AI technology to dynamically adjust the mixer to deliver the best sound to watchers. It also uses virtual 5.1 surround sound to give viewers without a surround sound system a better viewing (and listening) experience.
And of course, what would be an LG TV without their webOS software. Their Smart TV interface allows for compatible IoT devices to be controlled using the TV (with the remote, of course). ThinQ Voice recognition is also built into the TV, assuming you're in the 144 countries that LG supports.
The TVs will also support integration with other software such as Apple AirPlay 2 and Apple Homekit, as well as Google's Assistant and Amazon's Alexa, with Amazon Alexa Premium Far-Field Voice compatibility promised in the future.
