We first got a glimpse of the world's first 88-inch 8K OLED display from LG back in January 2018, which was then shown off to European tech enthusiasts in August at IFA 2018 in Berlin, Germany. But it's buyers in South Korea who get the first bite at this monster cherry as LG announces that pre-orders on its home turf start this week.
LG is promising viewers a top notch visual feast from the 88 diagonal inch display made up of more than 33 million self-emitting pixels, which breaks down to a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320 pixels, or the equivalent to 16 times Full HD or four times 4K UHD.
At its heart, there's a second generation Alpha processor which leverages deep learning technology to optimize content, particularly when upscaling from 4K or 1080p – which will likely be pretty standard activity until 8K broadcasts become less of a novelty and more of the norm. LG says that the processor will also take ambient conditions into account and auto-adjust screen brightness to suit.
The 88-inch 8K OLED TV supports Dolby Vision content, features HDMI 2.1 for 60 frames per second visuals, and rocks automatic low latency mode, variable refresh rate and enhanced audio return channel.
The LG 88Z9 – to use its given name – is also reported capable of intelligently boosting audio, being able to mix-up a two channel track to virtual 5.1 surround sound for more immersive listening. Users get the option to fine-tweak audio settings to preference, or let the TV do its thing and choose the best sound for the room using deep learning algorithms.
And the final piece of the TV behemoth puzzle, voice interaction could be possible thanks to Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa being included for some markets.
Following the South Korean launch, the LG 88Z9 will roll out to North America and Europe in the third quarter of 2019. No pricing has been revealed as yet.
Source: LG