As promised, LG has taken the wraps off its newest lineup of televisions at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The range promises to deliver more picture quality, color and vibrancy with the seven 4K OLED TVs to be made available by LG this year.
Leading the Korean TV maker's range of 4K OLED TVs is the EG9900, a 77-inch flexible monster that can either become flat or curved thanks to a motorized bezel that can bend or straighten out at the single push of a button depending on the viewer's preferences. The EG9900, which was debuted as a concept model at last year's CES, also boasts ultra-high-definition 4K resolution and passive 3D, a rare combination that results in the best 3D viewing experience.
Despite their rich viewing experiences, 4K OLED TVs have not made it mainstream because of their sky-high prices. LG's current 77-inch OLED TV, which became available in November, currently costs $25,000, and the flexible 77-inch model is not likely to cost lower than that.
However, Tim Alessi, director of new product development for home entertainment products at LG, defends 4K OLED TVs for being the only displays that can produce perfect whites and the blackest blacks due to its WRGB technology, which can turn off individual pixels and add a fourth color -- white -- to a normally three-color panel. This, LG says, results in better viewing angles, brighter colors and a higher-quality overall viewing experience.
"For all the virtues of a conventional LCD TV, it makes it difficult to enable perfect blacks," Alessi told a team of journalists, analysts and technology enthusiasts at LG's booth inside Central Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The EG9900 sports a 100W 4.1 Channel speaker system with a Harman/Kardon wireless subwoofer system. It runs on a deca-core processor that powers the WebOS 2.0 smart TV operating system that LG promises will make it simpler and more intuitive for the user to navigate.
Also unveiled are the EF9800, a 65-inch flat screen that is basically the EG9900's smaller brother, with the same deca-core processing unit and a 90W speaker system. Two other flat screens, the 65-inch EF9500 and the 55-inch EF9600, were also introduced. Both run on a less powerful quad-core processor but otherwise are equipped with the same specs as the higher-end models.
LG is also putting on display the lone quantum dot 4K TV it has to offer, the UF9400, a 240Hz TV running on a quad-core processor and equipped with Harman/Kardon speakers.
LG says its quantum dot TV can generate up to 30 percent higher color accuracy and 10 percent more brightness than a regular LCD TV by "harnessing nano crystals that range in size from 2 to 20 nanometers." These extremely stable nano crystals emit a variety of colors, which creates a rich color spectrum better than what an LCD TV can produce.
Quantum dot technology is widely touted as an OLED replacement because it uses cheaper materials while producing almost the same picture quality, although eagle-eyed viewers will be able to tell the difference. Although quantum dot TVs are a class all their own, OLEDs still offer the ultimate viewing experience.
LG's 75-, 65-, and 55-inch deca-core Color Prime models, which supposedly allow for a greater variety of colors, are also on display.
All TV sets bannered by LG feature the company's Art Slim design, which focuses on ultra-slim displays and transparent stands to create the illusion that the TVs are floating in mid-air. LG claims this makes for a more immersive experience for viewers.
