LG Electronics has cranked out their 2020 TV range and if you have a spare $71K they have a TV for you, what’s not known is how many they will sell as consumers tighten their spend due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
The range includes 27 new 8K and 4K models, including the GX Gallery series, 8K ZX models and 4K NanoCell TV’s.
What is not known is whether the brand that recently appointed a new marketing director are set to roll out any form of marketing for the new TV’s especially as their target audience are in hibernation mode watching more content on their TV’s than ever before and according to retailers investing in new TV’s.
The difference between Samsung’s recent TV launch and LG’s is stark from Samsung we got a full briefing via a video link with access to product and marketing personnel and above all our questions answered.
We also got a clear explanation of their TV new technology spanning audio and new processor technology as well as new Lifestyle TV’s that cater for a new generation of consumer.
From LG we got a basic bog-standard press release which was not a lot different than what they rolled out at CES and no marketing or product management to answer questions.
There was no briefing, no positioning of their range for Australia just a big fat $71K price tag, I suspect the profit from just one TV would have paid for a video briefing.
What they did tell us in a two page press release, was that the 2020 LG Signature OLED ZX 8K models (models 88 OLED ZX and 77 OLED ZX) deliver 8K Ultra HD resolution (7,680 x 4,320) and 33 million self-emitting pixels, equivalent to 16-times the number of pixels in a Full HD TV and four-times that of a 4K UHD TV. We were told this in 1998 and 1999.
They also told us that their NanoCell range has seven real 8K models (75- and 65-inches in Nano99, Nano95 series, 55-inch Nano95), all carrying the CTA 8K UHD logo like their OLED ZX (88-inch, 77-inch) counterparts.
Last year LG mounted a major global campaign trying to make out that other brands did not have real 8K TV technology, but their TV’s did, this did not stop Samsung becoming the #1 8K TV brand in Australia.
LG said that to guarantee a real 8K experience, TVs and their TV’s do need to exceed the industry definition for 8K Ultra HD TVs as defined by the Consumer Technology Association.
The new LG TV’s incorporate a third generation (Alpha) 9 Gen 3 AI Processor the only problem is that for those who forked out thousands on an LG TV last year you won’t get an upgrade of the (Alpha) 9 Gen 2 processor found in last year’s models.
This is not only a problem for LG customers the same problem applies to Samsung 2020 TV and is an issue that the big TV brands need to address as there is plenty of processor technology around that allows for upgrades as Apple and Microsoft do with their OS upgrades.
The new LG α9 Gen 3 processor heightens viewers’ sense of immersion via new features designed to optimise a wide range of content through AI 8K Up-scaling claims LG.
The new models support the latest HDMI specifications including eARC and ALLM for higher-quality audio and a smooth, lag-free performance.
LG 8K models can play native 8K content from HDMI and USB digital inputs and support a wide range of codecs including HEVC, VP9 and AV1, the codec preferred by YouTube and other major streaming platforms.4 LG 8K TVs support 8K content streaming at 60FPS and are certified to provide 8K 60P over HDMI.
The Korean Company has also introduced support for Dolby Vision™ IQ and FILMMAKER MODE™, which they claim displays movies exactly as the creators intended.
For gamers, LG is the first manufacturer to offer TVs that are officially NVIDIA G-SYNC® compatible.
10 of LG’s new OLED models support this gaming technology.
Both their OLED and select NanoCell TVs support HDMI VRR.
Tony Brown, Marketing Manager for Home Entertainment at LG Electronics Australia “This year, we continue our leadership in OLED technology with a greater selection of displays to choose from and an enhanced intelligent processor to match. With LG 8K OLED and NanoCell 8K TVs, customers will be set up for the future, but even now they can upscale content to near 8K formats”.
When it comes to content the LG 2020 TV’s including Apple TV, Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime. they also support Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, enabling users to share or mirror content from their compatible iPhone, iPad or Mac directly to their LG TV.6
We are still waiting for a call back from LG marketing management to answer questions about their new 2020 TV range.
