LG Electronics will use International CES to showcase a wide lineup of LED-based LCD TVs and more efficient plasma displays.
The company will also showcase its plans to offer 3D TV products in several configurations, with some products slated for introduction later in the year, opting instead to focus on it core LED LCD TV offerings.
In total, the company will offer 11 new LCD series with 52 models this year. Six of those series will include models using LED backlighting.
In plasma, LG will feature seven model series.
In Blu-ray players the company will have six products, including three stand-alone players and three Blu-ray home-theater systems.
In 2010, LG will promote its direction with the tagline “LED Redefined,” using the L to represent “look better,” the E to represent “entertain better” and the D to represent “display better,” said Tim Alessi, LG product development director.
For the “Look” part of the message, LED set designs will continue the “seamless,” single-layer styling of the SL8090 series that was introduced last year, extending the look to more models, while narrowing even further panel depths and bezel widths in many SKUs.
Three LED series — the 7500, 8500 and 9500 series — will all have the “seamless design,” with progressively thinner bezels stepping up the line. Pricing on all new products will be announced later.
The seamless, thin-bezel design will also be extended to a couple of plasma models this year, Alessi said.
Similar design cues will also be apparent in some source components, “to make everything look like it all goes together,” Alessi said.
Ten TV series this year will include Netcast, for streaming video entertainment content from the Internet, and built-in wireless A/V link capability based on Amimon wireless HD technology, enabling owners to place source components out of sight without the need to run connecting cables.
To enable a connection in those sets, LG will sell a separate transmitter box and wireless receiver adapter that sits on the back of the set and plugs into one of the TV’s HDMI inputs to make a connection and power on. Transmission range is about 50 feet, and the signal will run through walls and cabinet doors.
LG’s Yahoo Widget-based Netcast system will also expand its service partners with Picasa, Netflix v2.0 instant movie streaming, and AccuWeather.com, joining YouTube, Vudu, Netflix and DLNA network streaming from last year.
In LED lighting technology, LG will use three approaches: standard edge-lit LED models, edge-lit LED models with new local dimming technology called LED Plus (allows a 1.1 inch panel depth), and full-array LED backlighting with local dimming, called “Full LED Slim,” which achieves a panel depth that is a quarter inch thinner than LG’s edge-lit LED models.
At CES, LG will show standard edge-lit LED models offered in two series: the LE5300 series will feature the 19-, 22-, 26-, 32- and 37-inch screen sizes and the LE5400 series will include the 32-, 42-, 47-, 55- and 60-inch screen sizes.
The LED Plus series with LED edge-lighting and local dimming, will include the LE5500 and LE7500 series, each with 42-, 47-, and 55-inch screen sizes; and the Full LED Slim series will include the LE8500 and LE9500 series, both with 47- and 55-inch screen sizes, and the LEX9 series with 60- and 72-inch screen sizes.
At press time, the LE9500 series was expected to have THX certification, LG said.
Despite the breakthrough of the Full LED Slim technology, LG opted to continue offering an edge-lit line in the LED Plus segment to provide another price step between standard edge-lit LEDs and full-array models, Alessi explained.
Select models this year will also include THX certification, Alessi said.
LG’s three stand-alone Blu-ray Disc players will be highlighted by the BD-590, which is described as a fully featured DLNA-compliant model with an integrated 250GB hard disk drive, called “a fully integrated media library.” This will allow users to both stream and locally store purchased movies from the Vudu online service, rip and archive CD collections with Music ID from Gracenote, and store personal files, including movies and photos. Users can also access and stream content stored on a PC through an in-home DLNA network.
LG will show two Blu-ray Disc players, the BD-570 with Wi-Fi support and the BD-550 without Wi-FI.
