LG will announce eight new 8K TVs at CES 2020 in Las Vegas next week. These will be headlined by both an 88- and 77-inch LG Signature OLED model, and accompanied by six (slightly) more affordable LG NanoCell sets, which will be available with the choice of either a 75- or 65-inch screen.
These models will be decked out with the latest hardware the manufacturer has to offer, including its state-of-the-art Alpha 9 Gen 3 A.I. processor. LG says it’s a lot more advanced than its predecessor, having been armed with all the skills needed to transform Full HD into an 8K Ultra HD resolution.
In fact, the Alpha 9 is so powerful that it’s helped the 8K TVs surpass the Consumer Technology Association’s benchmark for 8K Ultra HD certification, redefining what it means to be an 8K TV — a dig at arch-rival Samsung’s current 8K TVs, which merely comply with the specification, not exceed it.
Designed with the future in mind, the Alpha 9 supports all the latest codecs, such as HEVC and AV1 — the latter of which is used by major streaming services like YouTube. This means the 8K TVs can theoretically stream 8K Ultra HD at 60 frames per second, so long as there’s an internet connection fast enough to fuel it.
“LG is committed to providing consumers with an outstanding viewing experience,” said LG Home CEO Park Hyoung-sei. “With LG 8K OLED and NanoCell TVs, customers can know they are getting future-proofed products that deliver mesmerizing picture quality regardless of the format.”
In typical fashion, LG made several other claims about the new Alpha 9 driving the 8K TVs, saying it uses A.I. to achieve a whole new level of remastering witchcraft, in terms of both image and audio — but we won’t be able to tell how accurate that is until we set our eyes on them next week.
Just one of these nifty enhancements is A.I. Sound Pro. The manufacturer says this can detect and categorize the audio across five categories — movies and sports, for example — and remaster it accordingly to produce clearer voices and more immersive background noise when required.
Of course, no modern television would be complete if it wasn’t armed with smart software — and LG’s latest 8K TVs sport the brand’s impressive webOS system, which provides one-click access to all of the leading streaming services and voice control for simplified navigation.
LG will detail pricing and availability at its press conference on January 6.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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