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LG unwrapped a dazzling new TV lineup — including a premium “LG Signature” OLED TV, a new line of “LG Super UHD” 4K TVs and even a 98-inch 8K TV — on Tuesday at CES in Las Vegas.
During the announcement, the company also teased its upcoming Super Bowl commercial for the OLED display via a recorded message from the ad’s executive producer Ridley Scott and director Jake Scott. Saying that LG is “changing TV as we know it,” Ridley Scott (no stranger to Super Bowl ads, he directed Apple’s memorable “1984” Super Bowl commercial that launched the Macintosh computer) said the LG ad would be “big, bold and epic,” while Jake Scott added that it would explore the “futuristic” look of the TV “and make it as cinematic as possible.”
LG Signature is a new premium brand for multiple consumer products including a 65-inch and 77-inch OLED TV model that incorporates 4K resolution (four times that of HD) and high dynamic range (to show “the brightest brights and darkest shadows”) enabled by the OLED technology in a slim (2.57mm) display on a glass body.
This, along with LG’s additional new line of OLED UHD displays, will sport the new ‘Ultra HD Premium’ certification logo from the UHD Alliance, which is designed to help consumers identify high-quality products and content. UHD Alliance president Hanno Basse, who is chief technology officer at 20th Century Fox, was on hand to discuss the new logo program and congratulate LG (a UHDA member) on achieving the certification.
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The OLED displays, in addition to the new LG Super UHD line, will also support Dolby Vision, Dolby’s 4K and high dynamic range (HDR) format (which meets parameters of the UHDA spec). During the press briefing, Dolby senior vp Giles Baker emphasized that 14 films have already been released in Dolby Vision-supported movie theaters, including The Martian, Inside Out and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He also noted that Netflix is planning to offer Dolby Vision content for the home, and several studios including Sony and Warner Bros. have already said that they would offer Dolby Vision-supported movies for home entertainment.
The LG Super UHD line of LCD/LED 4K Ultra HD TVs range in size from 49 to 86 inches. Select models are scheduled to begin shipping in the spring. Pricing wasn’t announced.
“HDR is critical for us,” LG’s senior vp Nandhu Nahdhakumar told The Hollywood Reporter. “There are multiple HDR formats; we’ll support the ones most widely adopted.” The company is evaluating additional HDR formats including the one being developed by Philips and Technicolor.
The Super UHD line includes a 98-inch TV with 8K resolution — meaning 16 times the resolution of today’s HD. Japan is scheduled to begin testing 8K broadcasting this summer during the Rio Olympics, while many more countries, including the U.S., are currently focused on the 4K flavor of UHD. “We see 8K as a natural evolution — we are not targeting one event,” said Nandhakumar. A release schedule was not announced.
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