LG wows CES in Vegas with 97-inch OLED TV

LG Electronics rolled out a 97-inch OLED M TV Wednesday ahead of the CES 2023 in Las Vegas. [LG ELECTRONICS]

LAS VEGAS — LG Electronics unveiled the biggest organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV in the world, a bid to cement its No. 1 position in the premium television market and keep rival Samsung Electronics in check.

LG Electronics rolled out a 97-inch OLED M TV Wednesday during a press conference in Las Vegas ahead of the CES 2023, the largest OLED TV ever with supposedly the highest picture quality.

The TV boasts a resolution of about 4,000 pixels, better known as 4K, and a refresh rate of up to 120 hertz. Those are the best specs for any OLED TV so far.

The LG OLED M TV comes with a Zero Connect Box, which allows people to connect other devices to the TV wirelessly. The box has to be placed within 10 meters of the TV.

It can transfer large amounts of data about three times faster than earlier such devices and offers Dolby Vision visual technology and Dolby Atmos sound.

The device automatically changes transmission direction when it detects an obstacle between it and the TV, including humans.

“It’s been 10 years since LG released its very first OLED TV,” said Park Hyoung-sei, head of LG Electronics’ home entertainment division.

“LG’s new OLED TV will offer customers what they have not experienced in any other OLED TVs.”

The introduction of the TV came a day after Samsung Electronics unveiled a 77-inch OLED TV ahead of the CES. That television comes with a QD-OLED Display, which deploys a blue OLED layer as a light source and a color filter consisting of quantum dots to enhance luminance.

The battle to build better OLED TVs has intensified between Samsung and LG in recent years. Chinese competitors like BOE and Xiaomi threaten to dominate the liquid crystal display (LCD) TV market, the technology that preceded OLEDs.

Samsung, the world's largest TV maker, has been behind rival LG Electronics in the OLED TV segment. LG controls over 60 percent of the world's OLED TV sales.

LG Electronics will also show off 83-inch and 77-inch OLED TVs during the CES trade show this year. The show runs from Jan. 5 to 8 in Las Vegas.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]