It’s always exciting when new technology starts to emerge. Just ahead of this year’s virtual CES trade show, the consumer electronics show, LG Electronics has announced what it’s calling a leap forward in TV technology.
Check out all the biggest CES 2021 announcements here.
LG will be introducing its first ever 4K and 8K QNED Mini-LED TVs, which will become its top-tier, premium screen options.
What is LG QNED Mini-LED technology?
LG’s Mini-LED is a back lighting technology that uses almost 30,000 tiny LED lights behind the TV screen to create more accurate lighting and light-dark representation.
The acronym, though not spelled out in LG’s announcement press release seems to be a reference to quantum dot colour technology (the “Q”) and LG’s NanoCell technology (the “N”; read up on NanoCell tech here), with the rest of the letters repping the LED lighting?—I guess QNLED doesn’t roll off the tongue so easily. LG does say these are the first TVs to combine quantum dot and NanoCell in one product.
How is QNED different?
So where does QNED tech fit in among all the other television tech?
LCD TVs use LED lights as backlights and are able to dim them by zone for more precision in light, dark and contrast; this is called full array local dimming. Mini-LED light technology is able to use much smaller LED lights (and thousands more of them in a single video panel) to sharpen up that dark-light contrast for even more precision than before.
What can you expect to see with LG Mini-LED TV technology?
What’s the benefit of this technology? LG’s Mini-LED lights have the ability to produce improved peak brightness, and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 when paired with up to nearly 2,500 dimming zones and advanced local dimming technology, according to LG.
Expect excellent video quality with improved contrast and darker blacks, a wide colour gamut and incredible colour accuracy and vibrancy; you should notice more hyper-real images that seem to almost float free from the screen.
“Our new QNED series is a premium home entertainment option that expands and improves the LCD TV space and gives consumers another terrific viewing choice,” said Nam Ho-jun, senior vice president of R&D at LG’s Home Entertainment Company in a press release. “These TVs deliver an experience that set them apart from other LCD TVs and speak to our commitment to innovation and pushing the standard forward.”
LG says that thanks to quantum dot and NanoCell technologies used along with Mini-LEDs as the light source, brightness and contrast are “far superior to that of conventional LCD televisions.”
How to get LG QNED TVs
The 2021 lineup includes 10 new 4K and 8K models covering a wide range of large screen sizes up to 86 inches. LG’s top-of-the-line 86-inch 8K QNED TV will be on display in LG’s virtual exhibition booth during CES 2021 starting January 11, so watch for updates on this announcement after the big reveal, including when this new technology will be available at Best Buy. Meantime, you can shop all current LG Electronics tech here and don’t forget you can check out all the biggest CES 2021 announcements here through January 2021.
LG Evo and a new WebOS smart interface
LG also revealed a supercharged new TV with the best brightness out there: Evo TV. This set has an all-new video panel that’s been re-engineered to improve light replication and to make it brighter and more vibrant than ever before—though not in the glaring way. LG also gave a makeover to its WebOS smart TV platform. The key change seems to be that its simple bottom-row-only design has been replaced with a full screen smart hub that already some are saying is too much.
Additionally, LG’s 2021 Magic Remote will have new shortcut buttons for select streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus—at least in the US. We’ll have to wait and see if the Canadian versions end up the same.
Hopefully we can review these new changes here on the blog and let you know first hand how they come across.
