LG Electronics has taken the opportunity at the CEA’s Ultra HD Conference that’s taking place in New York today to once again show off its 77-inch curved 4K OLED TV. The gigantic, stunning-looking display first broke cover at the IFA 2013 consumer electronics trade show in Berlin two months ago.
The Korean brand is one of only two television manufacturers (the other being fierce cross-town rival Samsung) selling large-sized OLED TVs to the public, although the only model that’s currently available to buy in the UK and North America is a smaller, 55-inch version. The LG 55EA980W’s native screen resolution is also only full HD 1080p, rather than 4K Ultra HD that’s all the rage these days.
LG is not the first to unveil an ultra high-definition (UHD) OLED television – that honour goes to Japanese companies Panasonic and Sony who both unveiled their respective 56-inch 4K OLED prototype at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 in Las Vegas earlier this year. Unlike the LG 77-incher, Panasonic’s and Sony’s 4K OLED is flat (in dimension, not image quality).
OLED has long been hailed as the holy grail of TV technology, capable of delivering true blacks and bright whites simultaneously on screen owing to its self-emissive characteristic. Indeed, the first OLED HDTV we reviewed (it’s the Samsung KE55S9C) so wowed us that we proclaimed it to be the best direct-view display we’ve ever laid eyes on, in spite of the presence of a gentle curvature which may prove to be a deal-breaker (along with the high price tag) for most buyers.
LG’s 77in 4K Ultra HD OLED television is unlikely to make it into anyone’s home even if it does go into production, since it’s being pitched as a commercial display. However, it does give a glimpse into the awesome picture quality that super-high 4K resolution and OLED-driven contrast performance can bring.
