LAS VEGAS – LG has consistently made some of the prettiest TV screens on the market, but a good display alone is no longer enough to entice savvy consumers. At CES 2016, LG highlighted its commitment to making premium products, and for TVs, that means a stunning OLED display, slimmer designs and an intuitive way to navigate to your favorite content.
I attended LG's press conference, where company representatives showcased some of its new products. Taking center stage was its LG Signature line of high-end goods. For TVs, this mean the LG Signature G6 OLED TV. While LG has been making OLED TVs for years, its new G6 line will set itself apart from its predecessors with a thin profile and high dynamic range capabilities.
From a design perspective, the G6 will look quite different from LG's previous OLED models. This line of TVs will eschew the traditional plastic design of most flatscreen TVs and opt instead for a thin glass panel. The screen and panel together measure only 2.57 millimeters thick – the approximate width of four credit cards stacked on top of one another.
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Naturally, this thinness poses a problem for conventional speakers, but LG has sidestepped the issue with a new TV stand that kills two birds with one stone. The G6's base doubles as a sound system, complete with extra woofers to up the bass. LG representatives explained that the speakers can fold up behind the system for those who want to wall-mount the device.
In terms of the screen, OLED is still best-known for displaying true blacks and high-contrast colors. Although some LCD screens are brighter, OLED screens provide a wider greyscale range, which can (theoretically, at least) display more true-to-life color palettes. LG was quick to point out that NASA's UHD channel had complimented its blacks as being some of the most accurate on the market for astronomical photos and videos.
The big difference between this year's and last year's OLED screens is in their HDR capabilities. While previous screens did not support high dynamic range content, the G6 is compatible with both the industry-standard HDR 10 and the supposedly more powerful Dolby Vision HDR protocols. Furthermore, the screen has been certified by the UHD Alliance as an "Ultra HD Premium" system. Over the next few months, LG will work alongside HDR providers like Amazon Prime in order to ensure optimal video quality on its systems.
LG also touched upon a similar line of OLED TVs known as the E6, as well as a line of more traditional LED/LCD televisions, including its first-ever consumer 8K model. Prices and release dates for the new TVs are not yet known, although LG hopes to make them available sooner rather than later.
I took a look at the G6 firsthand, and was amazed by its high contrast and color fidelity. Although it showed an image of the moon lightening and darkening in order to showcase its blacks, my favorite display was one of the sun, red and orange flames flickering and roiling in its fiery corona. If the G6 could have the same effect on an action movie or a video game, it's not hard to see how immersive the technology could be.
