LG may be showing off an 8K TV at CES in January, but the company hasn’t lost sight of the 4K market. In fact, 4K will no doubt become the new premium TV resolution to have in 2015 thanks to a growing amount (albeit slowly) of 4K content to watch. With that in mind, LG is set to release some new, high-end Ultra HD TVs that take advantage of quantum dots for the first time.
Quantum dots sounds like a great marketing term, but also turn out to be a useful addition to these high-resolution displays. The quantum dots are actually tiny nanocrystals made of semiconductor materials ranging in size from 2-10nm. The size determines the color emitted, and LG has placed a sheet of these dots on top of the LCD backlight. The end result is greatly enhanced color reproduction and brightness, not that I’ve seen a 2014 LCD TV that doesn’t have ample brightness already.
Example of quantum dots with vivid colours stretching from violet to deep red
So what do quantum dots mean in real terms? According to LG, you’ll see a 30 percent improvement in both color reproduction and viewing angles over conventional LCD TVs and LED TVs. Of course, you’re going to end up paying a premium price for those improvements.
Two LG 4K TV models will use quantum dots next year, with both the 55-inch and 65-inch versions expected to be on display at CES in Las Vegas next to that promised 8K TV. What will be interesting to see, if they are indeed next to each other on the LG stand, is just how much of a difference there is between 4K and 8K, assuming LG actually has some 8K content to show.