LG says the 2020 TV lineup it will show off at CES next week will include eight new 8K UHD models, including new 65- and 77-inch class OLEDs to accompany the 75- and 88-inch models it’s already shipping.
Pricing wasn’t mentioned, but hopefully they will be more affordable than the absolutely fantastic, but exorbitantly priced at $30,000, LG 88Z9 OLED that we reviewed in October.
8K UHD and new tech
The 88ZN will be joined by the the 77- and 88-inch ZX OLED series. The more affordable NanoCell lineup will expand with the 65- and 75-inch Nano99 series, 65- and 75-inch Nano97 series, and the 65- and 75-inch Nano95 series.
The new TVs will feature a third-generation alpha9 processor. More computational power is required to process 8K UHD’s four-fold jump in pixels compared to 4K UHD, although the verys lightly older 88Z9 does quite well with second-generation a9..
LG is also touting AI sound and video optimization. By AI, the company means machine learning, or pattern detection interacting with an online database of gathered profiles.
Real 8K. Really LG?
As for the “Real 8K” terminology LG bandies about, the company’s 8K UHD is no more real than any other manufacturer’s. There is no new standard—international or otherwise—that you need to worry about. “Real 8K” is simply an advertising term that describes the same contrast modulation definition that LG used to label its 2.88K-resolution TVs as 4K UHD.