Equipped with AI ThinQ for basic control and connection to other devices

LG Electronics will unveil its 2018 ThinQ TVs, including the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered 'OLED TV ThinQ' and 'Super Ultra HD TV ThinQ', at CES 2018.

'LG ThinQ TV' provides a more convenient and diverse TV usage experience by being equipped with 'DeepThinQ', an independent artificial intelligence platform, and Google's artificial intelligence secretary 'Google Assistant'.

Users can easily control their TV, search for content, and operate IoT-based home appliances such as air purifiers and air conditioners using just their voice.

A new TV experience with AI-powered 'ThinQ TV'

LG ThinQ TVs utilize natural language voice recognition to easily control various TV functions, such as changing screen modes, changing channels, and adjusting the volume. They also easily connect to other devices, such as TVs, soundbars, Blu-ray players, and game consoles.

Previously, users had to go through complicated steps of pressing buttons multiple times to change TV functions or settings, but with LG's AI TV, users can simply press the voice recognition button on the Magic Remote and then give a command. For example, you can control the TV with just your voice, saying things like “Change to cinema mode,” “Turn off the program I’m watching when it’s over,” and “Connect to a game console.”

LG ThinQ TV also makes content search convenient. For example, saying, "Find movies starring Scarlett Johansson" will retrieve related videos from TV shows, VOD services, YouTube, and more. It will also answer questions like, "Who is the main character in the drama I'm watching?" or "Tell me the plot of this drama," by checking the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for information.

You can also control IoT-based home appliances that are connected to Google, such as air purifiers, air conditioners, robot vacuums, and smart lighting. For example, saying "Turn on Air Purifier" will turn on the air purifier. Starting with the United States, Google Assistant is planning to expand its availability to other countries.

OLED TVs with even more perfect picture quality, equipped with the proprietary picture quality chip "Alpha 9."

This year, LG Electronics will equip its flagship OLED TV models with its proprietary "Alpha 9" picture quality chip, delivering even more perfect OLED picture quality. "Alpha 9" further enhances OLED TV's already impressive performance, delivering vivid and realistic picture quality.

OLED TVs with Alpha 9 technology have reduced noise by half compared to existing products. A total of 4 stages of noise reduction processing removes fine impurities on the screen to provide a “clean image.”

Additionally, it analyzes video data to improve contrast ratio, clarity, and three-dimensionality, enabling the expression of more natural and "clear images."

Color correction algorithms have become more sophisticated. Alpha 9 can express even more "accurate colors" by dividing the reference color coordinates by more than seven times, helping to express accurate colors.

OLED TVs equipped with Alpha 9 support 4K resolution HDR (High Dynamic Range) and HFR (High Frame Rate) video, delivering smooth motion without screen tearing. HFR videos can produce up to 120 frames per second, five times more than movies, which are typically produced at 24 frames per second. With more frames per second, even the swift footsteps of a running athlete can be seen clearly and naturally, without blurring.

Super Ultra HD TV combines Nano Cell technology with Full Array Local Dimming technology.

It will also introduce a Super Ultra HD TV that adds 'Full Array Local Dimming' technology to Nano Cell technology.

Nanocell, which debuted earlier this year, utilizes microscopic molecular structures measuring approximately 1 nanometer (nm). These ultra-fine molecules precisely control color wavelengths, enabling the expression of a wider range of colors with greater accuracy. LG Electronics added full-array local dimming technology here to improve the contrast ratio and light bleeding, which are weaknesses of LCD TVs.

Local dimming is a technology that improves a TV's contrast ratio by partially turning the backlight's LED light sources on and off. For example, the LED light sources are turned off in dark areas of the screen and turned on in bright areas.

The new product uses a full-layout (direct-behind) method, which densely distributes LEDs across the entire back of the screen, rather than an edge-mounted method that places LEDs along the edges of the screen. Compared to the edge-mounted method, the full-layout method allows for more detailed screen division, making it more advantageous for "local dimming."

Perfect HDR image implementation regardless of standard/genre

2018 OLED TVs and Super Ultra HD TVs perfectly reproduce HDR images in various formats, including 'Dolby Vision', 'HDR 10', and 'HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma)'.

Dolby Vision is the most widely adopted HDR format by Hollywood production companies like Netflix, Warner Bros., Universal, and MGM. When implementing HDR, proprietary image quality information (metadata) is embedded to make dark areas darker and bright areas brighter. While HDR10 uniformly applies image quality information to the entire video, Dolby Vision embeds image quality information on each frame, allowing for more precise adjustments.

LG Electronics also installed the 'Active HDR' function in its new product, which automatically and precisely corrects videos produced in HDR10. Active HDR uses 'Enhanced Dynamic Tone Mapping' technology to add additional picture quality information to each frame of existing HDR images, creating a clearer and sharper screen.

LG Electronics is expanding the application of the surround sound system 'Dolby ATMOS', which was applied only to OLED TVs last year, to Super Ultra HD TVs.

Dolby Atmos makes sounds appear to come from in front, behind, or above the viewer, based on the movement and position of objects on screen. For example, when an airplane flies over a character's head, the sound is projected from above the viewer, creating a more three-dimensional and realistic sense of space.

LG Electronics HE Business Division President Kwon Bong-seok emphasized, “We will provide a new experience that cannot be felt in existing TVs with artificial intelligence and more perfect picture quality.”