BERLIN — LG is on mission at IFA this year: proving that it's serious about next-gen TVs. Though the company showcased its G2 smartphone and G Pad 8.3 tablet here in Berlin, the majority of LG's booth was filled with huge TV sets with an amazingly bright and clear picture.
Though not exactly new, the star of the show is LG's 55-inch curved OLED TV. As you can see in the photo, the LG55EA9800 is extremely thin — only 0.17 inch, and it weighs a mere 37 pounds.
LG claims it has an "infinite" contrast ratio, and "incredible color accuracy," while its curvature should make the watching experience more immersive than with flat TVs.
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Surprisingly, we gathered less than we expected from our eyes-on assessment. Surrounded by bigger TVs, the LG55EA9800's curved screen doesn't seem very striking. Put a bunch of them together, and you get an almost IMAX-like experience, but we doubt many buyers will have the cash to turn their living rooms into a curved OLED shrines.
On the other hand, the curvature of the screen doesn't hurt the viewing experience, either. Some quality time with the TV and a bunch of HD movies will be needed before we reach a final verdict on this one.
Another big star was the company's upgraded 84-inch Ultra HD (4K) TV, model number 84LA9800. Its picture can be easily described in a couple of words: big and sharp. If you've never seen a 4K TV, especially this big, the experience is comparable to watching a 3D movie for the first time. The picture is incredibly clear and detailed, though the colors are a little less vibrant than on LG's curved OLED.
The sound doesn't fall behind: LG mounted a 2.2-channel, 310-watt audio system with speakers on both sides of the screen for a loud stereo experience.
LG also showed the two smaller Ultra HD sets, the 55-inch and the 65-inch LA9700 series TVs, which sport a 4.1-channel, 50-watt audio system. They also boast a built-in HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) decoder, enabling you to play Ultra HD content directly from a USB flash drive.
Finally, we've seen the recently introduced LG Gallery in the flesh. Whether you like it or not depends entirely on your taste — some will enjoy the faux-painting style provided by the speakers hidden in the frame, and some will opt for a regular TV without the arty shenanigans.
We do have to praise the TV's crystal sound — those hidden speakers do their job admirably — and the picture is vivid, vibrant and color-accurate.
It doesn't come cheap, though — the TV itself bundled with the speakers will cost €8,999 ($11,837), though date of availability is still unknown.
Image: Mashable