"2018 TV Will Be a Year of Transition to Artificial Intelligence TV"

The domestic TV market is expanding beyond existing picture quality competition into 'artificial intelligence TV.'

LG Electronics unveiled a new OLED TV model equipped with its proprietary artificial intelligence brand 'DeepThinQ' last month. Kwon Bong-seok, head of the HE Business Division, stated, "2018 will be a year of transition from smart TV to artificial intelligence TV."

Han Jong-hee, head of Samsung Electronics' Visual Display Business Division, also unveiled a new QLED TV model at 'The First Look 2018' held at Samsung Building in Seocho-dong and stated, "Going forward, TVs should be called intelligent displays," explaining that they will serve as IoT hubs in the home rather than simple home appliances.

He emphasized, "In the past, users had to study instruction manuals to use devices," and "now smart devices will learn from customers' living environments and usage patterns to provide optimal services."

Samsung Electronics Focuses on Easy Control Tailored to User Needs

Samsung Electronics will launch 2018 QLED TV models in four series (Q6F, Q7F, Q8C, Q9F) with a total of 11 models ranging from 55 inches to 82 inches in the first half of the year in the domestic market. Including six additional models to be released up to 85 inches in the second half, a total of 17 models will be launched in the domestic market this year.

This year's QLED TV features 'Magic Screen,' which allows users to enjoy lifestyle information such as news and weather as well as content like pictures, photos, and music even when not watching TV, and 'Magic Cable,' which replaces peripheral device cables and power cords with a single cable. Additionally, it newly applies Bixby, an artificial intelligence-based voice recognition platform.

'Magic Screen' provides lifestyle information such as weather and news or displays pictures and photos like a picture frame even when the TV is not in use, and allows music appreciation through Bugs Music. The TV features an automatic brightness adjustment sensor that provides optimal screen brightness according to viewing environment, minimizing power consumption.

Through Bixby and the integrated IoT service app 'SmartThings,' users can operate the TV with voice commands and easily control all IoT devices connected to the SmartThings cloud as well as search for information. Additionally, 'Universal Guide,' a user-customized program guide featured in 2018 new models, analyzes viewing history to automatically recommend channels and content tailored to user preferences, making it easy to find content without complex searches.

The 2018 QLED TV models launched by Samsung Electronics in the domestic market in the first half of the year are comprised of large screens in 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, and 82-inch sizes, with Q6, Q7, and Q9 featuring flat designs and Q8 featuring a curved design. The Q6 series ranges from 2.79 million won for 55-inch to 8.69 million won for 75-inch, Q7 ranges from 3.19 million won for 55-inch to 9.19 million won for 75-inch, Q8 is 3.49 million won for 55-inch and 5.79 million won for 65-inch, and Q9 is 6.09 million won for 65-inch and 10.49 million won for 75-inch.

LG Electronics Replaces AI Speaker Role with Alpha9 and Google Assistant

LG Electronics' key OLED TV models unveiled this year are equipped with 'Alpha9,' a proprietary artificial intelligence picture quality engine, and Google Assistant. Alpha9 removes noise in four stages by analyzing video. In stages 1 and 2, it removes broken parts or blemishes in the image, and in stages 3 and 4, it mitigates banding noise where lines appear in the image or color crushing. It separates objects from backgrounds and adjusts contrast and saturation respectively to add depth and clarity. As the color correction algorithm becomes more sophisticated, it automatically performs color expression more than 7 times more accurate compared to standard TVs.

With Google Assistant integrated, control via voice recognition is also possible. After pressing the microphone button on the Magic Remote, it searches for queries such as "Tell me the LG Twins game schedule" or "Play a yoga class." Beyond this, it enables control such as volume/channel changes, broadcast viewing reservations, and sleep timer settings, as well as connections with other devices such as soundbars, Blu-ray players, and game consoles.

LG Super Ultra HD TV AI is priced at 2.1 to 2.6 million won for 55-inch and 3.5 to 3.9 million won for 65-inch, while OLED TV AI ThinQ is launched at 3.0 to 3.6 million won for 55-inch, 5.2 to 11 million won for 65-inch, and 17 to 24 million won for 77-inch.