4K, or Ultra HD, televisions were one of the hottest home theater trends in 2013, offering four times the resolution of 1080p HDTVs. Curved LCDs, meanwhile, picked up a lot of attention thanks to the promise of a more immersive cinema experience, while OLED HDTVs continued to be the topic of optimistic speculation, occasionally popping up as the next big step in flat-panel technology.
But all three technologies have stayed relatively far apart from each other as manufacturers focused on making each individual feature a premium selling point. LG is changing that at CES 2014 with a curved 4K OLED HDTV that combines every major HDTV"next big thing" into one screen.
The company will show off the 77EC9800 as its centerpiece at the show. It's a 77-inch HDTV with a resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 on a curved OLED display. It uses LG's Tru-Ultra HD Engine Pro upscaler to convert 1080p and lower-resolution video to a 4K signal, a process that LG claims to improve detail and reduce blurring despite the upconversion to a resolution not native to the source. The next year of 4K HDTVs will rely almost entirely on how each company handles upconversion of 1080p content, since 4K still has no broadcast standard or consumer media available outside of some very limited streaming video services.
The 77-inch model will be the highlight of the company's presentation at CES 2014, but it will also show off 66- and 55-inch curved 4K OLED screens, as well as a 105-inch curved 4K HDTV. For non-4K, LG will display the 55EB9600, a 55-inch curved OLED screen that displays 1080p.
LG will also highlight non-curved OLED HDTVs, along with the non-curved 1080p 55EA8800 Gallery OLED HDTV. This 55-inch screen features a picture frame-like bezel that holds a 100W, 2.2-channel speaker system, and has an "eGallery" feature that reduces backlighting and shows a rotating selection of still images, to make the screen look like a painting when not in use.
LG has not announced pricing or availability for these new HDTVs yet, or the rest of its 2014 line. The screens will be officially unveiled at CES 2014 next week, where LG will reportedly also show off a WebOS-based TV, as well as an activity tracker dubbed the Lifeband Touch, and its all-in-one Chromebase desktop.
For more, check out PCMag's CES 2014 Preview: HDTVs, as well as PCMag's tour of the LG booth at CES in the video below.