LAS VEGAS—LG Electronics today announced it will offer six premium OLED TV models supporting ATSC 3.0 in 2020, ranging in size from 55 to 88 inches.
The announcement, made the day before the official opening of CES 2020, answers the question in the minds of many industry observers about whether or not ATSC 3.0 consumer receivers would actually make it to market in the United States, and offers one more indication for broadcasters that a voluntary transition to Next Gen TV will actually be able to seen by viewers.
“Speaking of futureproofing, another key change in 2020 is the official U.S. launch of Next Gen TV,” said Tim Alessi, director of new products for LG Electronics. “Next Gen TV is the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, co-developed by LG, which is the world’s first internet protocol-based television standard.”
During the LG Electronics press presentation at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, the company laid out several key strategies it is pursuing, including leveraging AI to enhance the lives of customers, and partnerships.
The Next Gen TV rollout is timed with this year’s expectation that more than 60 local TV stations covering around 70% of the U.S. viewing public will launch ATSC 3.0 service in 2020.
Briefly explaining the standard, as a marriage of broadband and broadcast, Alessi laid out how ATSC 3.0 will enable broadcasters to deliver 4K UHD, multidimensional sound and interactive content “among many other potential benefits,” he said.
All of the new 3.0 models will carry the Consumer Technology Association’s new Next Gen TV logo, he added.
While the announcement is a major step on the road to 3.0 success, reaction to the news among the mostly consumer electronics press in attendance was rather low-key.
Their interest was focused on the company’s new G10 OLED Gallery Series 65-inch OLED. With a thickness of only 20mm, the new television mounts flush to the wall without the need for a separate connection for source signals.
The company is also extending its lineup of 8K televisions with six new models, leveraging AI to scale content, touting the use of its new televisions as displays for gaming and supporting the UHD Alliance’s Filmmaker Mode to ensure what a filmmaker intended the audience sees is actually displayed on its televisions.
For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.
