At CES, LG Display is demonstrated an 88-inch 8K OLED display with an “advanced 3.2.2 channel sound system embedded into the display”. It also has a 65-inch 8K OLED panel on display.
The future of OLED
LG Display - not LG Electronics - is showcasing the latest innovations in OLED technology that are likely to show up in actual products in the coming years. LG Display is the the only manufacturer capable of mass producing OLED TV panels, so its panels are inside all of the commercially available TVs.
The highlight is an 88-inch 8K OLED display with built-in sound. LG Display calls it ‘crystal sound’ and you may know it from Sony’s OLED TVs where it goes under the name ‘Acoustic Surface’.
- “LG Display will introduce an 88-inch 8K Crystal Sound OLED (CSO) display with an advanced 3.2.2 channel sound system embedded into the display. The sounds which emanate directly from the panel reach new audio heights, and when combined with Dolby Atmos, this acoustic innovation enables viewers to experience dynamic sound coming from their top, bottom, left and right,” the company said.
By using a set of actuators, LG is turninh the actual OLED panel into a speaker membrane. It can direct sound in different directions so with enough actuators, the company claims to be able to at least partially deliver Dolby Atmos sound, including overhead effects.
As you may have heard, LG Electronics - the consumer brand - is launching an 8K OLED TV later this year but unless there is something that LG Electronics is not telling us yet this new panel seems destined for next year’s TVs - perhaps an upgraded “wallpaper” model?
65" 8K OLED panel
In addition, LG Display is showcasing a smaller 65-inch 8K OLED panel (without embedded speakers) as well as a 65-inch 4K “Crystal Motion OLED (CMO) display with the world’s fastest Motion Picture Response Time (MPRT) of 3.5m/s”.
The company is also emphasizing the flexibility of OLED technology by showcasing a sculpture made from OLED panels to look like a flower.
Lastly, the company announced 65 and 75-inch 8K LCD TV panels based on IPS technology, various displays destined for automative and monitor use, and “a giant show window display composed of four 55-inch transparent OLED panels with 40 percent transparency”.
LG Display is a supplier of LCD and OLED but its panels and components indicate where TVs are heading. The company is not talking about microLED yet, which is arch-rival Samsung’s big theme at CES 2019, but LG Electronics has showcased microLED in the past, which suggests that LG Display is also actively researching the new display technology.
