High-definition TVs have officially graduated to the new Ultra HD standard, and LG is the first to introduce such a device.
The 84-inch Led TV from LG Electronics is the first Ultra high-definition flat panel display, and it went on sale in the U.S. on Friday, Oct. 26, in Los Angeles. The Ultra HDTV delivers four times the resolution of 4K HDTVs, and comes with a $24,999 price tag. The gadget is scheduled to become available in November or early December.
"As television gets bigger and bigger we need more lines of resolution and pixels to maintain the picture quality," said Jay Vanderbree, LG's head of the U.S. home entertainment business.
Just last week, industry trade group the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) officially announced the new Ultra HD standard, and laid down some guidelines for the higher-resolution sets. The next-generation of TV sets must boast at least eight million pixels, i.e. four times the amount of pixels found in current HDTVs. More pixels mean sharper picture display, which was previously unavailable on larger panels.
The Ultra HD label aims to inform consumers that a new HD flavor is coming to raise the bar, and also to eliminate confusion regarding HDTVs.
"You want to make sure consumers understand where the technology fits in," said Shawn DuBravac, CEA's chief economist and director of research, when the Association announced the new standard.
Despite the CEA's move, however, consumers might still be confused. Sony, for instance, will continue to use the previous high-definition moniker of "4K," which refers to the nearly 4,000 horizontal resolution lines. Sony's upcoming sets will bear the name of "4K UHD."
Meanwhile, one downside of Ultra HD is that very little content is currently available to take advantage of the higher resolution. The first color sets and HDTVs faced similar issues when they came out.
Most displays, including LG's and Sony's, will convert Blu-ray disc content to the higher resolution of the upcoming sets. In addition, new Ultra HD sets will also display 3-D content that will allegedly look better than on sets currently available.
The new LG sets are bound to go on sale at high-end electronics retailers and hit most major markets before the lucrative holiday shopping season kicks in.
