LG is taking the go big or go home approach to TVs at this years CES. The company is bringing with them a 84 inch 3D TV that they are calling "Ultra Definition."
This 84 inch set that LG is bringing to CES has a resolution of 3840×2160. This technology is currently being referred to as 4k due to the ridiculous number of horizontal pixels. In total there are 8 million pixels in the set which is four times as many as current HDTVs.
This is one of the first times a set is being referred to using its horizontal resolution. In the past, sets were referred to as 720p or 1080p, which is a measurement of their vertical pixel resolution. The reason for using 4k to describe the resolution of this set is two fold. First, 4k sounds a lot bigger than 2k. Second, the set can be used in a number of aspect ratio configurations and apparently no matter which is chosen the horizontal pixel resolution will remain constant.
While 4k is a very new technology and thus doesn't have much video content supporting it, it is useful. Current sets lower the resolution of the screen when used in 3D mode, so having this dense resolution allows 3D to be viewed in a full HD resolution, which is nice for folks who are into that sort of thing.
The 4k technology is currently mostly used in very high end projectors. Other companies have leveraged it for TVs, with Sharp and Toshiba using the tech in 55 and 60 inch OLED sets. Toshiba's set debuted on December 10th in Japan for a ridiculous $11,700. It's not clear if that set will ever be sold outside that country.
LG's 84 inch set includes some interesting 3D features. One they are calling 3D sound, which it seems is just a fancy name for manipulation of stereo so that the sounds appear to be coming from different locations. Simulated 5.1 does the same kind of thing with the simulation of sound coming from in front or behind the viewer. LG's supposed "3D sound" seems to also simulate sounds coming from above and below the listener instead of just in front or behind.
The second feature is called 3D Depth Control. That feature lets the viewer control the 3D experience on the TV, likely by changing how strong the 3D effect is. Devices like Nintendo's 3DS offer this ability as well in the form of a 3D slider and it's a welcome feature for people who are sensitive to the 3D effect and might want to tone it down a bit.
We'll see what kind of insane price point LG puts on this TV. I honestly don't know a single person who has space in their home for something this big. It seems more economical to just buy a high end projector if you have an entire wall to devote to TV.
