Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

LG announces new Super UHD TV lineup featuring massive 98-inch 8K monster

By
In what has become a routine strategy in the days leading up to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), LG has unveiled details on its premium LED TV lineup for 2016, just days before its official January 5 press conference. The buzzword surrounding the new series is also a new product name: “Super UHD.”

As the name would imply, LG’s premium LED TV lineup features performance-enhancing technologies that go beyond what we’ve come to expect from basic 4K Ultra HD (UHD) televisions in the short time that the new TV standard has been around. Samsung made a similar move this time last year with the introduction of its SUHD TV series (it should be noted that Samsung has always maintained that the “S” in SUHD never stood for any particular word).

Recommended Videos

The marketing strategy may be confusing — even silly — for some, but it is nevertheless a necessary tool for distinguishing between televisions that merely offer Ultra HD screen resolution (3840 x 2160, or 8.3 megapixels) and those that add in advanced backlight systems, enhanced color, High Dynamic Range (HDR) capabilities, and, typically, premium designs. With all of that out of the way, here’s everything we know about LG’s 2016 Super UHD TV lineup:

Related

Three series plus one giant 8K monster

The Super UHD line will comprise three models in multiple screen sizes, plus a standalone, attention-grabbing, questionably practical 98-inch 8K Super UHD behemoth.

The UH9500 (screen sizes 55-86 inches) UH8500 (screen sizes 55-75 inches) and UH7700 (screen sizes  49-65 inches) share several traits in common. All will offer what LG is calling HDR Plus, which means all of the sets in this series can process and display High Dynamic Range content from a variety of sources, include LG’s Color Prime tech for enhanced color brightness. These sets will also apply processing that aims to improve non-HDR content for an HDR-like experience.

IMG_0698

All sets will also include LG’s IPS panel — noted for its advanced off-axis performance — further enhanced by two new LG technologies called True Black Panel and Contrast Maximizer, aimed at improving IPS’ typically underwhelming black levels by reducing reflections and maximizing contrast by separating objects from their backgrounds, according to LG.

All-new, ultra-thin design

All three of the aforementioned Super UHD TVs will feature what LG now calls Flat Ultra Slim design. However, the UH9500 is expected to be LG’s thinnest TV yet, with nearly imperceptible bezels. LG says that the UH9500 will come in at just 6.6 mm thick (about .22 inches), and that the borders around the TV are nearly invisible, creating that “floating in air” look.

It would be fair to expect lousy sound from such a thin TV, but LG maintains the sound quality will be as premium as the TV’s appearance, thanks to a special speaker system designed in coordination with Harman/Kardon. Based on our previous experience with LG’s in-TV H/K audio systems, we’re optimistic the company isn’t just blowing smoke here.

WebOS 3.0

LG’s Super UHD TVs — along with most of its TV lineup, presumably — will run off of LG’s latest WebOS 3.0 software. The new version of LG’s extremely easy-to-use interface appears to offer simpler switching among sources and channels, easier content discovery from available over-the-top services, a new zoom feature which allows users to get extremely close looks at specific portions of a picture, and a newly-designed Magic Motion remote which has been lengthened and expanded to include more buttons rather than relying on on-screen controls.

LG 8K TV 9

The Elephant in the Room

As you can see above, we’ve encountered LG’s 98-inch 8K prototype before. However, the Korean corp’s big announcement this year is that the massive TV is now production-ready. Details at this time are scant, but it is likely that the ultra-premium TV will only be available as a special order item, and will no doubt include premium installation services.

LG has shown a 105-inch 21:9 (Cinemawide) 5K displays in the past, but as there is very little content produced in that aspect ratio, they remain a very niche product. The 98-inch 8K display offers four times the resolution of 4K Ultra HD TVs at a massive screen size, and although 8K content is even more scarce than 4K content at this time, the display will upscale content to look even better at the huge screen size. 8K content is being experimented with, however, so an 8K future is not a hard one to envision.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Caleb Denison
Caleb Denison
Editor at Large
Digital Trends Editor at Large Caleb Denison is a sought-after writer, speaker, and television correspondent with unmatched…
Optoma’s CinemaX 4K laser projectors now have faster response times for gamers
People using the Optoma CinemaX D2 outdoors.

Optoma is expanding its 4K UHD home theater projector line by introducing the CinemaX D2 Series. Optoma says this is an upgrade from the previous CinemaX P2 projector, and the improvements are based on user feedback. The series includes the CinemaX D2, a 4K UHD ultra short throw laser home projector, and the CinemaX D2 Smart, which adds smart TV features courtesy of an included Android TV dongle.
Ultra short throw projectors are ideal for people with limited space in their room as they can cast an image on the screen from small distances. Traditional short throw projectors need at least four feet to eight feet of distance from the screen to be able to produce high-quality images, but not all rooms have this much area to spare.  That's where ultra short throw projectors can help. The CinemaX D2 Series, for example, can cast up to 100-inch images from less than a foot away from the screen. If you increase the distance a bit more, you get up to 120-inch images. 
The CinemaX D2 Series features 3,000 lumens and a 1,800,000:1 contrast ratio, which, oddly, is a bit of a step down from their predecessor, the CinemaX P2 projector, which offers the same brightness, but with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio. 

The biggest boost this series offers is an Enhanced Gaming Mode that claims "blur-free visuals and low lag" with the help of its 16ms response time in 4K at 60Hz and 4ms in 1080P at 240Hz. The 30,000-hour life span (same as its predecessor) seems to be slightly higher than other ultra short throw projectors in this price range as well. Both D2 models have three HDMI 2.0 inputs, instead of the P2's double-HDMI 2.0 and single HDMI 1.4 inputs.

Read more
LG’s latest 4K UST projector only needs 2.2 inches of wall clearance
lg cinebeam hu915qe ultra short throw 4k laser projector 01

LG's new flagship ultra-short-throw (UST) 4K laser projector, the CineBeam HU915QE, sets some impressive new benchmarks, with 3,700 lumens of claimed brightness, and the ability to be placed as close as 2.2 inches away from a wall. At that distance, it can create a 90-inch image, but if you move it just a little farther away, to a distance of 7.2 inches, that image size can increase to a massive 120 inches. We're still waiting to hear how much LG wants for the HU915QE, but the company says it will be available to order before the end of June 2022.

UST projectors are the perfect solution for those who crave super-large image sizes for their movies, sports, and games, and who don't want to contend with a projector in the middle of their room or suspended from their ceiling. LG is no stranger to laser-driven UST projectors and has produced several models over the past few years. The HU915QE is the second and most advanced LG UST projector to be announced in 2022 -- it follows the the previously released CineBeam HU715Q, which only delivers 2,500 lumens.

Read more
8K TV: Everything you need to know about television’s future
A Samsung 85-inch 8K hangs on a living room wall.

When it comes to the TV resolution wars, nothing can stand in the way of progress. When once the world thought 4K was the be-all, end-all, in came 8K to blow us away yet again. 8K TV models have steadily been arriving in stores and online for the last couple of years -- so it's never too late to start familiarizing yourself with 8K Ultra HD.

In a nutshell, if 4K Ultra HD is four times the resolution of Full HD, then 8K Ultra HD is four times the resolution of 4K Ultra HD and 16 times the resolution of Full HD. But is this a worthwhile addition to your home entertainment setup, and will it replace 4K Ultra HD anytime soon? No, not yet. You're still better off getting yourself a 4K TV, and that tech is still improving every year, too. But it's always good to keep one eye on the future, so let's dig into 8K TV and get prepared.
What is 8K?
If you use basic math, it may seem like 8K would provide double the resolution of 4K, but that isn't the case. Since we're talking two dimensions here -- horizontal lines and vertical lines -- it's actually a whopping 16 times the pixels of HD and four times the pixels of 4K: an 8K resolution screen equates to 7680 x 4320, or 33 million pixels (33,117,600, to be exact), instead of 3840 x 2160 (8,294,400 pixels). To more easily visualize it, imagine four 4K TVs placed in a four-by-four grid. That is a lot of pixels.

Read more