LG introduced a serial roll-up TV. Huge roll-up TV launched Features and voice control
01/09/2019, Wed, 13:33, Moscow time , Text: Elyas Qasmi
LG has created a unique TV with a screen that can be rolled up and thereby take up minimal space in the room. Samsung and other TV market leaders are not yet ready to announce such solutions.TV scroll
LG has announced its latest Signature OLED TV R - the world's first TV with a truly flexible screen that can be rolled up like paper. The premiere took place in Las Vegas (USA) as part of the international consumer electronics exhibition CES 2019. The timing of the start of deliveries of the TV and its retail cost were also announced there.
The Signature OLED TV R was first shown to the public exactly a year ago at the CES 2018 conference. At that time, LG demonstrated only its prototype with a set of basic capabilities, while now we are talking about a device completely ready for mass production.
Release date and cost
In an effort to be the first to market a rollable TV for home use, LG intends to begin distributing the Signature OLED TV R in 2019. A more precise sales start date has not yet been specified.
However, the price of Signature OLED TV R has already been established: in the first days of sales, you can purchase a “roll-roll” TV for $10,000. The model is presented only in a modification with a 65-inch diagonal screen. LG has not yet shared plans to release more compact or, conversely, even larger models.
Design concept
With the Signature OLED TV R, LG initially abandoned the idea of a compact, manually rollable TV. Even at the prototype stage, the TV acquired a weighty base that, in addition to a niche for a twisted screen, also contained a folding mechanism. Thus, Signature OLED TV R cannot be hung on the wall - only placement on any horizontal surface is available.
LG Signature OLED TV R with fully expanded screen
Over the course of the year, LG has primarily improved the base of the Signature OLED TV R, providing it with built-in acoustics and an improved screen unwinding mechanism. Now it takes exactly 10 seconds to fully open the panel, and users now have the opportunity to raise the panel by a third. In this mode, the screen displays the time, date, and control icons for smart home devices, including smart speakers.
Features and voice control
The main component of the Signature OLED TV R is an OLED matrix manufactured by LG itself. It is located on a special polymer substrate, which gives the entire structure elasticity, and has a diagonal of 65 inches. The display supports high resolution Ultra HD or 4K, and it comes with HDR support and a 120Hz refresh rate. Viewing angles reach 178 degrees vertically and horizontally.
LG Signature OLED TV R with the screen opened one third
The panel with the screen is devoid of any connectors - all wired interfaces, including the HDMI 2.1 input for the image source, are located on the back of the base. The use of the HDMI 2.1 standard here is a foundation for the future. This standard supports the transmission of content with 8K resolution, which will allow you to watch it on this TV without the need to purchase a new model. The TV is also capable of playing content from external media connected via USB 3.0 (the interface is backward compatible with USB 2.0).
Dolby Atmos acoustics with a total power of 100 W are responsible for sound output in the Signature OLED TV R. The manufacturer does not specify the number of speakers included in the system. The software component of the TV is represented by the WebOS system in its most current version. The firmware contains a wide range of built-in applications and supports voice control due to the Google Assistant integrated into it. In 2018, “Assistant”, we recall, has developed support for the Russian language, which automatically means full support for voice commands issued in the great and mighty.
For owners of Apple mobile devices, LG has prepared support for AirPlay 2 technology - with its help you can easily display content from iOS gadgets on your TV and, among other things, duplicate the image of their display on the large screen of the Signature OLED TV R. In one of the next WebOS updates LG promises to add support for the Amazon Alexa assistant.
Competitors and legacy of the Signature OLED TV R
As of the beginning of 2019, rollable TVs are not represented in the model range of any manufacturer, so LG’s brainchild does not yet have competitors in terms of concept. On the other hand, Signature OLED TV R is a designer TV designed to decorate the interior of a living room or bedroom with its appearance. In this regard, it already has direct competitors: these are Samsung TVs of the Frame series, which look like paintings and, when turned off, display works of great artists. However, such TVs cannot be folded.
Samsung The Frame - a designer TV that imitates a painting hanging on the wall
As for the legacy of the Signature OLED TV R, LG is going to introduce a roll-up smartphone in the foreseeable future, at the end of 2018. Unlike a TV, the smartphone screen has two twisting mechanisms for ease of use with both hands, and it also has the ability to partially open display.
When folded, this futuristic gadget is a box with dimensions of approximately 120x30x20 cm. It is easy to transport and can be installed anywhere. Inside the stand case there is a TV rolled up, which can be unfolded if necessary. The device is equipped with stereo speakers and a power supply.
Flexible LG 65-inch TV - the future of electronics
The TV presented at CES 2018 has a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels (4K Ultra HD standard). It is made using OLED technology, which provides excellent picture quality that is not inferior to conventional models from LG.
The broadcast image is a little reminiscent of a projector screen, but up close this feeling disappears, this is how visitors to the CES 2018 exhibition in Las Vegas describe their impressions. Interestingly, the device's base aspect ratio of 16:9 can be easily changed to 21:9 by simply minimizing the screen. In this case, the gadget turns into a spectacular TV display or, for example, a cafe sign with current prices.
The production of a roll-up TV is being prepared
LG presented the new product as a prototype, but the participants at CES-2018 liked it so much that it was decided to release a small series of the TV receiver. This will allow us to evaluate the consumer reaction to the futuristic gadget and, if successful, the company will begin large-scale production of the device. Marketers predict success for it, since it is the first large-format roll-up TV on the market.
It is not only convenient to store and transport, but also provides excellent picture quality, which previous models of this kind could not boast of.
Prospects for LG's 65-inch rollable TV
Some two years ago, the same company LG presented a similar gadget at CES-2016, but its screen size was only 18 inches and the resolution was 1200x80 pixels. In modern conditions, these characteristics are clearly not enough for a confident entry into the market, but the new roll-to-roll TV may well conquer a significant niche in the category of innovative electronics. Thanks to the large screen size, the impressive concept can be used not only at home, but also in public places, hanging it on the wall like a painting.
According to Bloomberg sources, LG Electronics Inc. plans to begin mass production and sales of televisions with flexible screens. Electronics market analysts attribute the rush to release a fundamentally new TV to fierce competition, which has intensified against the background of the strengthening of Chinese companies and the plans of an old South Korean competitor, Samsung, which is developing its own flexible displays (in particular, it intends to release a TV and a smartphone). Below the cut are a few more facts about products with new technology that the South Korean giant plans to make consumers happy.
What is known about the new TV
According to insiders, the diagonal of the flexible new products will be 65 inches. It is noted that TVs will roll up when a button is pressed, Bloomberg draws an analogy with a garage door, a roller blind came to mind.
TVs will be equipped with OLED screens. According to anonymous interlocutors of the publication, thanks to organic light-emitting diodes, screens will be able to provide a clearer and more contrasting image than traditional liquid crystal panels.
The world's first flexible transparent OLED display was demonstrated by LG in June 2017.
Another presentation took place at CES 2018. The screen (2017 model) had a diagonal of 77 inches and other quite impressive characteristics, in particular, 4K Ultra HD resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels), 40% transparency and a bending radius of 80 mm, which does not affect the performance of the device.
CES-2018
In 2017 - 2018, the exhibition device from LG looked like a kind of response to the registration of a patent by their compatriots from Samsung describing a flexible TV. In the coming year we are talking about a full-fledged commercial product.
Market situation
It is known that now there is quite fierce technological competition between traditional LCD matrices, OLED technology and the promising development of LCD, which Samsung marketers called QLED. It is known that, according to Statista, LCD TVs in general account for about 98% of the market, while OLED is content with a 1.1% piece of the pie, which is far from LG’s global ambitions. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of authoritative forecasts estimate the growth potential of OLED market share well, with growth expected at 60 - 70%.Cheap Chinese products are rapidly conquering the market, as well as the efforts of the main competitor, pushing the Korean giant to quickly release a serial flexible TV, which, obviously, will appear at the beginning of the year and will be shown at CES-2019. It is known that LG never ignores this event and annually chooses CES as a platform for presenting new products.
Skeptical assessments indicate that for the global consumer, Chinese low prices today are much more interesting than Korean innovations. They say that the market, as has happened more than once with bright and ambitious technologies, will ignore expensive flexible TVs for a long time, and LG will be able to conquer only minor niche segments. Such assessments usually note that global demand for such products will only be possible if LG drops prices to the plinth level, i.e. will make them comparable to Chinese manufacturers.
A little more about the expected flexible displays from LG
It is known that, unlike Samsung, LG is not planning to release a flexible smartphone, while Korean sources have already reported the likely release of a Lenovo tablet with a flexible screen, which is being created by the LG Display division.
According to insiders, the screen diagonal of the new tablet will be 13 inches when unfolded and 8-9 when folded. It was also reported that the device and the screens themselves will be produced in China. It is known that LG plans to offer this display to Dell, whose share of the gadget market has dropped somewhat over the past few years.
LG refuses to comment on any news or reports about flexible displays, TVs and tablets.
Bottom line
It is obvious that, thanks to flexible screens, LG is trying to regain its lost position as market leaders and popularize OLED technology, which, despite its obvious advantages, has turned out to be expensive for consumers. On the other hand, one cannot help but pay attention to skeptical arguments, such as the likely high cost of the new product, which may scare away tight-fisted buyers who will not want to pay for the controversial advantage of being able to roll the screen into a tube.In my opinion, the technology certainly has a future, especially in cases where the TV needs to be transported somewhere. At a comparable cost, such TVs will become an obvious alternative to projectors, which today remain more compact. In my opinion, any technology that gives the user more freedom than a competitor's solution is bound to win sooner or later. Perhaps I'm wrong.
In any case, I will be glad to know your opinion. Participate in the survey and share your opinions in the comments, this is important for us, for the market, for manufacturers and suppliers, for the information field and for yourself.