CES 2020: LG’s New 8K TVs Use α9 Gen 3 SoC with AV1 Decoding & AI Support
by Anton Shilov on January 17, 2020 12:00 PM EST
Modern smart televisions do much more than just display broadcasted programs, so these days TV makers need to equip them with powerful applications processors to decode HD and Ultra-HD content, as well as handle other complex tasks. To that end, LG has revealed that it plans to use its new α9 Gen 3 SoC for its latest Signature OLED and NanoCell 8K televisions set to be available this year.
LG’s latest α9 Gen 3 processor supports playback of 8Kp60 content encoded using HEVC, VP9, and particularly important going forward, the recently released AV1 codec. But since 8K videos are not common just yet, the SoC supports LG’s AI 8K Upscaling algorithm that relies on its machine learning capabilities to analyze videos it upscales and properly apply Quad Step Noise Reduction and frequency-based Sharpness Enhancer.
In addition to intelligent upscaling, LG’s new 8K TVs also support AI Picture Pro technology to correctly enhance sharpening and skin tones as well as Auto Genre Selection to apply general picture settings common for a particular type of content. Also, the televisions monitor background noises and adjust their 5.1 audio subsystems accordingly.
High-end televisions from LG are based on the webOS operating system and therefore the company can add support for new features just by installing appropriate applications. The 2020 Signature OLED and NanoCell 8K TV’s support LG’s Home Dashboard to control IoT using Hands-Free Voice Control (enabled by ThinQ voice recognition). Also the webOS supports a host of third-party voice-based services, including Apple’s AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google’s Assistant. In addition, it can access a variety of content streaming services, such as Apple TV/Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix.
LG’s 2020 8K television lineup includes 88 and 77-inch class Signature OLED TVs (models 88/77 OLED ZX) and NanoCell IPS TVs (models 75/65 Nano99, 75/65 Nano97, 75/65 Nano95). The OLED models will variable refresh rate support (including NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible certification) right out-of-box. The Ultra-HD TVs will be available in the coming months.
Related Reading:
- LG at CES 2020: LG's Press Conference Live Blog 8:00AM PT
- LG’s E9, C9 & B9 OLED TVs to Get NVIDIA G-Sync via Firmware Update
- CES 2020: Samsung’s 8K QLED TVs Use AI Quantum 8K SoC, Add Support For AV1 Video
- 8K Association Sets Minimal Specs for 8K Ultra-HD TVs
- Samsung’s 8K QLED TV 55-Inch: A More Affordable 8K Ultra-HD TV
- Samsung's 2019 QLED UHD TVs: 8K TVs Revamped, 4K TVs Get New Panel & Backlighting
- Samsung Starts to Take Pre-Orders on 85-Inch Q900 8K UHDTV
- Sharp to Demonstrate 120-Inch 8K LCD TV & 8K TV with 5G Modem at IFA
Source: LG
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cbm80 - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
These TVs are way too big for 8K. 43" please.extide - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
You forgot the /sp1esk - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
For me personally, 43" is too big to use as a PC monitor. I'd much prefer 32" - the same size as the old 8k Dell monitor. I wish they made it 120Hz, via dual HDMI 2.1 or DP 1.4 cables, but that's obviously not happening any time soon. So, yeah, no sarcasm here - I'd pay $3k for it today.The Benjamins - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
Just for reference, that's the same pixel density as a 10" 1080p monitor.Fore that's too dense for PC use, but would look amazing
webdoctors - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
We're still lacking mainstream 4K content. You rarely even get broadcast 1080p content. Look how much stuff is still released in DVD and bluray format. UHD blurays is small and the streaming services up-charge for 4K (like Netflix).By the time 8K content shows up mainstream, these TVs with their 8year lifespan will be obsolete.
Its time consumers pushedback. 4K TVs do more than just have higher resolution. The brightness and contrast in the highend TVs are better than their 1080p counterparts.
A lot of content is also grainy at 4K because the original copy was poor or the lens purposely only keep certain areas of the frame in focus diminishing the return on a 4K TV vs 1080p.
The Benjamins - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
I agree, I am far more interested in 4k 120hz+ TVs getting cheaper.niva - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
TVs are getting cheaper though. I was shocked at how cheap TVs are these days. They only get expensive when you need the latest and greatest tech and something like OLED.alphasquadron - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
Mainstream follows the majority, until the majority demand 4k content why give them 4k content when they will pay the same prices for 1080p broadcasts? Society as a whole is dumb, so profit makers are going to take advantage of that.extide - Friday, January 17, 2020 - link
All of the broadcast channels (not necessarily cable, but broadcast like ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) still use either 1080i or 720p from their initial HD migration. Even ESPN still runs 720p :(sturmen - Saturday, January 18, 2020 - link
At least TV companies tacitly acknowledge this by investing heavily in "AI" upscaling tech, which if it were effective would partially overcome the dearth of native 8K content. I believe that, conceptually, AI upscaling actually has promise (check out what Topaz AI is doing for photos) but I sincerely doubt any of these embedded SoCs are pulling off any miracles.