LG’s TV Lineup for 2013 [CES]

This is part of our CES 2013 coverage. We will provide you with the most informative stories.
Although life hasn’t been quite good for LG last year, at least when it comes to the smartphone and smart TV section, currently dominated by Samsung, it seems that things might improve this year. Some hours ago, during this year’s CES event hosted in Las Vegas, LG has opened the conference ball with an ambitious set of smart television products, amongst various others.
As rumors predicted in the last days of December, 2012, the Korean manufacturer will introduce several slim TV models in the upcoming weeks and a wide range of house-hold devices that will enlighten the bedroom atmosphere and make it a little bit smarter.

LG’s TV line-up for 2013

In the year that has just started, LG is betting big on television. While there have been no mentions about a future smartphone, and only a few words when it came to refrigerators, washing machines, dryers and other boring stuff like that, the word television was often mention. Pairing this with a successful Google partnership brings LG in front of the game, once again. Here is the complete line-up for this year:

LG OLED Television

One of the biggest bet for LG this year is OLED television, which will be served in three exquisite dishes, at breath-taking prices. Available in the States starting with March, LG’s OLED line-up will be composed out of three, different sized-versions:

• 55-inch wide
• 65-inch wide
• even bigger

This line-up was previously introduced in Korea, just a couple of weeks ago, and by the time it will arrive in USA, the “recommended” sale price for the smallest member will be around $12,000. Considering the fact that LG hasn’t yet revealed the pricing for the two, bigger brothers, it’s safe to assume that they would be quite expensive, even for a generous budget. Here are

For this price, future owners will have the possibility of experiencing smart content on state-of-the art equipment, which will be delivered in a slim and shiny shell, and with more potential than ever inside. For instance, one of the magic tricks performed by these devices will be 3D gaming in Ultra HD resolution by using the rendering engine from a smartphone (LG made, we presume).
Tagged by LG designers as a premium product that it’s worth the price, the LG WRGB OLED TV is capable of intense colors, outstanding viewing experience and “infinite” contrast ratio. Besides the high price, the second most outstanding feature is the slimness of the product, which is claimed to be razor thin. Only 4 millimeters thick, the LG OLED TV weighs just 22 pounds (10 kilograms ) and embeds new concepts, such as:

• Four-Color Pixel – a system that adds a white pixel alongside the conventional red, green, blue, to create even more vivid colors
• Color Refiner – a tonal enhancement that makes images look more vibrant and more natural
• OnNow – a new smart search function which will be embedded in various other models too

LG’s Much Mentioned 4K TV

There are quite a few versions to the 4K resolution story, but regardless of its inventor and the domain used, 4K TVs are devices capable of rendering ultra-high resolution content, often displayed under the 4096 x 2160 pixel margin. In theory, the 4K term refers to more than 4,000 pixels displayed in a vertical line, which means twice than the format of the more-known 1080p HDTV technology.
LG’s implementation of the subject has been around since October, when first words of the subject were leaked. A couple of months after, LG showcases the marvel in Vegas and as Raju has been able to witness, the 84-inch wide 4K TV is a bit thicker and heavier than OLED models.
Presented through the help of a shiny metal stand, possibly a fashion accessory, we’ve learned that the most advanced LG TV has over six million of extra pixels on-top of more conventional technologies and there is rather a small market for movies and content in general, which can make advantage of all of them. As you’ve probably hinted, this thing will cost a fortune, with prices being expected to be around $20,000. Hopefully, it will get cheaper in time.

Conventional LCDs and Plasma

OLED is not the only technology mastered by LG, but certainly the best. As quality demands a bigger price, LG has also plans for LCD and Plasma product. This year, the Korean company will launch no less than three Plasma models with sizes ranging from 42 to 60 inches, for prices yet disclosed.
When it comes to the classic LCD technology, LG will launch several HDTV models with sizes starting from 22-inches and reaching up to 60. Following the trend of the year, all models will be as slim as possible and will embed quite a few smart features, which we will present properly a bit later:

• NFC
• Miracast and WiDi support
• MHL ports
• Enhanced CPU with 120% boost
• Three times more faster GPUs

On top of all things, LG has announced to continue its partnership with Google that started with the born of Nexus 4, and in the TV segment this joint will bring a few interesting features. One of the ones we liked the most was the enhanced Google-built search function, which will allow users to find broadcast TV or streamed content through vocal commands.

LG also has a few new toys for TV use

Besides the models introduced above, LG also plans to integrate a couple of new toys in the market, which are set to improve the viewing experience or, to re-invent it. Besides extending its partnership with the OnLive gaming platform for continuous game streaming onto TVs, and announcing that the manufacturer will only focus on LED materials from now on, LG came up with these babies:

LG Hecto Laser Projector

Projectors have often been seen as boring and even useless inventions when it came to the living-room. Sure, switching the background to a conference hall or even a teaching class would brighten my thoughts but apart from that, I considered them expensive and unreliable. Until now.
Introducing LG’s new project, shortly named “Hecto”, which is a laser TV projector that’s capable of rendering a 100-inch wide TV with high resolution, from only 22 inches away. Coming with Smart TV functions underneath the plastic cover, the Hecto is so strong that it can render screens with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and six figures contrast ratios.
LG’s laser projector is a portable, high quality solution for someone wishing to view movies on the go and for some, even a trusty replacement for conventional screens. While a price has failed to be mentioned during the CES 2013 presentation, we’ve learned that the product will arrive this month in Korea and in March for USA.

TV Magic Remote

With a shape reminding me of the movie Click, LG’s latest smart remote can control and understand most of house-hold appliances, including those TV-related. Although LG released quite a few versions of this gadget until present, the latest edition will understand multiple devices found in your home-theater and even its owner, thanks to the Natural Language support feature.
In plain English, the owner of such piece can simply ask the remote to switch the channel to Discovery and the gadget will act without questions, understanding in ways similar to Apple’s Siri. When it comes to looks, the new version has been redesigned to accommodate new buttons with backlight keys, while the existing ones have switched position.