LG unveils rollable TV that disappears into its stand
las vegas — In this age of smartphone streaming, big television sets are no longer the centrepiece of many living rooms. Now South Korean electronics company LG is doing its part to make TVs disappear altogether.
LG has unveiled a “rollable” TV — a 65-inch screen that can roll down and disappear into its base with the press of a button at the CES 2019 gadget show.
The set can still play music when the screen is rolled down completely, or display a clock when it’s just partially rolled down. LG says the TV will be available later this year. It didn’t say how much it will cost.
Meanwhile, LG, Samsung and others unveiled “8K” sets, with four times the resolution of today’s high-definition sets and twice that of 4K sets such as LG’s rollable one. 8K represents the next generation of television viewing, but one that most people won’t see for themselves for some time. So far, 8K has only been deployed for the occasional experimental broadcast, such as during the Olympics. Even 4K shows and movies are just starting to catch on. “As always with TVs, innovations come with display hardware first and adoption of things like content and delivery always follow later,” said Paul Gagnon, an analyst with IHS Markit.
But unlike past developments that never caught on, such as 3D TVs, analysts believe 8K will become more popular eventually — just not ubiquitous.
Samsung announced its first 8K TV last year, an 85-inch model costing nearly $15,000. The company unveiled four additional sizes Monday, sans prices. Also Monday, TCL announced plans for 8K sets with Roku’s streaming technology built-in. LG has two 8K sets coming. —
As always with TVs, innovations come with display hardware first and adoption of things like content and delivery always follow late
Paul Gagnon, analyst, IHS Markit