LG Arrives at CES 2018 with a Smarter, More Powerful OLED TV Line Up
(AV NIRVANA)(January 8, 2018) LG Electronics’ 2018 CES product theme is built around the company’s new ThinQ Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform and a partnership with Google Assistant, all designed to streamline lifestyles by minimizing the need for consumers to self-manage their own appliances and electronics. This platform has been integrated into the company’s 2018 OLED and LED/LCD TV models, allowing owners to speak into a remote control to ask questions (such as: Is it cold outside?) and issue commands (such as: Turn off after this show is over). ThinQ also allows all LG ThinQ integrated products (ranging from smart lights to robot vacuums) to communicate, issue commands, and share information.
On the TV front, LG’s new OLED and LCD televisions are outfitted with the company’s new Alpha 9 processor, which is 50-percent more powerful than the processor found in its 2017 TVs. The Alpha 9 radically boosts picture quality with an improved color correction algorithm, better noise reduction, and more effective rendering of images that would otherwise suffer from banding. Sharpness is also improved for a more natural looking image. In the color department, the Alpha 9 delivers 731% more color points than 2017 models – that means 7X better performance for better overall accuracy. The Alpha 9 also introduces high frame rate support at 120 frames per second (currently accessible via USB).
LG 2018 4K TVs also offer compatibility with Technicolor HDR, Dolby Vision, HLG, and HDR 10. In order to combat the limitations of static metadata used by HDR10 and HLG, LG has equipped 2018 models with proprietary technologies called HDR 10 Pro and HLG Pro, both of which attempt to mimic the dynamic tone mapping processing of Dolby Vision and advance HDR by Technicolor.
The company made no mention of HDMI 2.1 integration, which means 2.1 technology will likely officially launch in 2019. There’s an outside chance that some 2018 models might be firmware upgradeable, however the company has not commented on that possibility (so don't bank on it).
The new 2018 OLED lineup consists of five different series, beginning with the flagship W8 (best known for its Picture-on-Wall design). Other series are designated as: G8, E8, C8, and B8. Screen sizes will range from 55” to 75”.
On the LCD front, LG has continued to improve its Nano Cell technology, which allows for better color accuracy at wide viewing angles. But the most meaningful improvement to its Super UHD TV lineup is the implementation of Full Array Local Dimming backlighting (FALD). FALD’s improvements over edge lighting include enhanced black levels and better contrast.
All 2018 OLED and LCD TV models will offer updatable picture gallery modes, thanks to a new partnership with Trip Advisor. Dolby Atmos processing (which can be sent to external processors through ARC) is also included.
