With just 12 days to go until the end of the year, LG Electronics has made good on its promise to launch its first-ever consumer-focused transparent OLED television, saying that the 77-inch Signature OLED T television is available to buy now.
It’s not the world’s first transparent OLED TV to go on sale, but it may well be the first such option to go on sale in the West, and it’s also the first to boast wireless audio and video transfer, coming with a sleek Zero Connect Box.
We first saw the Signature OLED T at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and it was one of the most talked about innovations on show, alongside Samsung’s concept of a transparent MicroLED TV. The company promised back then that the Signature OLED T would go on sale later this year, and just when we’d almost forgotten about it in the run up to next year’s CES, it has delivered on that promise.
It will cost you quite a packet though, as it comes with a hefty retail tag of $59,999 (around £47,600) in the U.S., where it’s available to buy through Best Buy and LG.com. LG says it will launch in other markets soon, though we imagine probably not until next year.
What’s great about the LG Signature OLED T is that it can transform from transparent to opaque at the push of a button. When switching to opaque mode, a back panel rolls up in a similar fashion to LG’s iconic rollable OLED TV, transforming it into a regular display for watching movies without distractions. But when used in transparent mode it looks kind of cool, with on-screen objects appearing to float in a 3D space.
This functionality supports a range of installation options – you could even install it in front of a window, if you desired, allowing you to view the scenery simultaneously to watching a film or live sports.
Being a premium TV, the LG Signature OLED T also supports advanced gaming features like 4K at 120Hz, with AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync supported for Variable Refresh Rates.
LG explains that there are three separate display options available. The T-Object mode is an always-on display mode, while T-Bar reveals just an info ticker that runs along the bottom edge of the screen displaying things such as news headlines, financial news, sports scores and weather information. There’s also a T-Home mode, which provides a standard smart TV interface displaying applications, settings and services.
The LG Signature OLED T is only being offered in a single, 77-inch size and it’s incredibly expensive compared to non-transparent OLED TVs that are otherwise the same in terms of performance and features, but for those craving something truly unique, it might just be worth the money.
