Audio Video News

LG today kicked off sales of the world’s first 8K OLED TV in South Korea and announced 8K availability in the U.S.

The company said it is now taking pre-orders for the 88-inch 88Z9 previewed at CES this past January. LG’s largest OLED screen to date, the TV employs an advanced 8K panel with more than 33 million self-emitting pixels for a resolution that is 16 times greater than standard HD and four times that of 4K Ultra HD.

LG said the 88Z9 will arrive in the U.S. in the July-September time frame.

At the core of the mammoth TV is LG’s second-generation Alpha 9 processor, which draws on “deep learning technology and access to an extensive database of visual information” to enhance video and sound quality. The processor recognizes the quality of source material and chooses the “best algorithm” to optimize the image, according to LG; it also automatically adjusts screen brightness to optimal levels based on ambient light conditions.

Key video features include 8K upscaling and improved noise reduction via a new six-step process, up from the four-step process used in in LG’s 4K TVs. The set also supports Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR), HDMI 2.1 for viewing 8K content at 60 frames per second, and variable refresh rate (VRR).

Audio features include onboard Dolby Atmos processing, automatic low-latency mode (ALLM), and enhanced audio return channel (eARC). Two-channel sound can also be up-mixed to create a 5.1 virtual surround-sound experience. LG’s says viewers can adjust the sound manually or let the TV’s onboard audio processing make adjustments to produce “enhanced sound effects in movies, deeper bass in music, and clearer voices in sporting events” based on the environment.

LG said the 88Z9 will support both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa in some markets but didn’t specify which ones.