Every time LG talks about its new QNED TVs, we can’t help but think of Nedal band Okilly Dokilly, a Ned Flanders-themed group — who really need to be seen (and heard) to be believed. But that’s just a convenient excuse for a silly header image, what we’re really here to talk about today are LG’s upcoming TVs, which are set to drop in the States first and the rest of the world soon after.
QNED’s neighbour
There are three main models of LG’s QNED mini-LED TVs heading to market, which will be available in a range of sizes. There are two 8K TVs, the QNED99 and QNED95, as well as a 4K QNED90. That’s a whole lot of NED in one place. Sizes for all three versions will range from 65in to 86in (probably with a stop at 75in in between).
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of LG’s new hardware — they were supposed to arrive in SA in Q3 but it looks as though we’ll get a look-in a little earlier than September this year. Their panel sizes are a little humongous, but that’s by design. The LEDS are smaller than usual (one might even say they’re… ‘mini’) to create more local dimming zones. LG says that its 86in 8K TV offers ten times better contrast ratios than regular old LCD screens — that’d be the result of 30,000 LEDs creating 2,500 dimming zones. We notice that they’re not measuring against their own OLED tech, which will blow these new sets out of the water when it comes to contrast and colour reproduction. But you’re unlikely to get an 86in 8K for the price of one of these QNED sets.
Overseas, the 65in 8K sets start at around R50,000, which isn’t an unreasonable sum for that much resolution, but we don’t have local pricing or confirmation of which models will land in SA later this year. We have asked for both, though, and we’ll let you know as soon as LG gets back to us. Otherwise, we’re going to have to give them a Reneducation, we guess?
