Announced a few weeks ago in Korea, LG’s 84″ 4K Monster the 84LM9600 is not officially announced in the US at a whooping $19,999 USD (MSRP) and set to be available within October! The US 84LM9600 will be identical to the Korean version and will come with a mind blowing 4K Resolution (3,840×2,160), WiDi, LG’s Smart TV, Dual Core L9 CPU, Magic Remote and so on…
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 7, 2012 – LG Electronics today announced U.S. availability for its enormous …
Here’s one reason why Apple may not be producing a television with its name blazoned on it in the near term: it doesn’t look like people have, so far, shown that much interested in them yet. According to a new report out from consumer researchers GfK, connected TV televisions are faring much better in markets like China, Brazil and India compared to the U.S., UK and other developed markets — with China commanding the highest usage at 44% and the UK and U.S. leading more advanced markets with just 11% penetration.
GfK puts it down to consumers in the latter category stuck in an “analog” mindset — although consumers in the latter markets are also big users of other ways of getting the same experience without forking out for a pricey connected TV set.
On top of set-top boxes from pay-TV providers, there are consoles like the Xbox, Roku, and PlayStation that also provide on-demand and connected services to users through their TV sets. And devices like tablets and PCs, which are more suited to interactivity, are also proving to be among the fastest-growing devices for video viewing. And there is of course the increasing multiscreen trend, in which users use at least two devices at the same time to provide a simultaneous lean-back/lean-forward experience.
And there is also the issue of price. A smart TV can cost upwards of $200 or more than a more basic set, and that might not even give you a significantly better screen than a less expensive make.
The supremacy of China in the connected TV category comes on the heels of a report last week from NPD that noted that China — or those in urban centers at least — watch the most online video content, across the most devices, of any other regional group of consumers.
Users don’t care much about getting their Twitter fix right on the screen. GfK found that there seems to be little demand at the moment for the kinds of bells and whistles that a lot of connected TVs are offering. Only 28% of respondents thought interactivity made programs more interesting. Only 25% thought tweeting and other commenting formats make the experience more interesting.
“Our findings suggest that broadcasters need to integrate their social elements far more engagingly into the fabric of the programme, to encourage viewers to interact,” writes Richard Preedy, Research Director at GfK. This particular study took into account a total of 7,000 interviews from Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, UK, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, USA, China, India and South Korea — 500 in each country except Belgium, where it collected 1,000,
On the other hand, services that helped users find more info on programs fared much better: 33% more viewers searched for information on the shows they are watching than use social networks to share the experience with friends, GfK writes.
Smart TVs go where PCs do not? It seems that smart TVs are faring much better in markets where PC penetration is lower: as they do with their mobiles, users in these markets as a result look to their TVs to fulfill some of the functions that might have otherwise been relegated to the PC: 75% of Chinese smart-TV owners used their TVs’ fancy interactive features in past month; in Western markets the average number was less than half, GfK said.
That also seems to translate into buying intention, too: among U.S. and UK consumers, less than one-third (29%; 26% respectively) said they would look for Internet-enabled TVs in the future. In China and India the numbers were respectively 64% and 61%.
Now also could be the time to strike while the iron is hot: just as Apple effectively created a whole new market for smartphones that were largely the terrain of very early adopters and business users before the iPhone, it could could do the same for televisions. GfK notes that sales of smart TVs in the six biggest European economies were up by 31% in the first half of this year.
It could be newer features that may get users in these markets more interested in smart TVs: 67% of respondents said they were interested in touch and gesture control; and 43% want to control their TVs with something other than a remote, such as a smartphone. Yes, these functions are already here and getting more popular all the time; the question is whether users will look to their TV sets or other gadgets to provide them longer term.
It wasn’t a part of Samsung’s IFA 2012 press conference, but Samsung is showing off Google TV hardware for the first time since CES 2011 (pictured above), and will release a Smart TV with Google TV later this year. According to its press release and a blog post by the Google TV team, it will “enhance the Smart TV experience” with premium content from its Samsung Apps services. How exactly it will be merged we should see soon, but now that ARM chips are powering a cheaper, more conventionally built experience we figure whatever hung up the deal has been squashed. We should get an eye on it if it’s anywhere on the show floor soon, as well as the Google TV box from Hisense, and Sony’s NSZ-GS7 which already launched in the US and UK, but is coming to Germany, France and the Netherlands soon.
Update: We caught up with working hardware at Samsung’s booth, but the device was disconnected from the internet, so we weren’t able to take it for a proper spin. You can take a somewhat superficial look in our hands-on gallery below, along with the video after the break.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Samsung Smart TV with Google TV on display at IFA 2012, ships ‘later this year’ (update: hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 04:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Smart TV and set-top box users unhappy with tedious menu-clicking might have already found Redux, a Google TV app that streamlines online content selection. Now though, buyers of new Sony Google TV and LG Smart TVs and Blu-ray players will find the handy streaming guide baked right in. It works by allowing user “curators” to create their own video channels on subjects like music and tech, which the software then presents in a directory for other like-minded viewers. Redux also has deals with publishers like Hearst, letting it stream premium content from Popular Mechanics, Car and Driver and other brands. Already one of the top apps in the Google and Samsung TV ecosystems, the new deals with Sony and LG mean it could appear on up to 40 million devices by the end of the year. So, if you’re tired of hunting and pecking and want to couch-surf online programs more traditionally, check the source for more info.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD
Redux promises to bring a ‘lean-back TV experience’ to new Sony and LG devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Designed for more realistic living quarters, LG’s unleashed its Personal Smart TV to the IFA crowds. With a 27-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display, you’ll also find the typical stable of connectivity options, including two HDMI, three USB, component, LAN and SCART connections. The screen seemed well-lit with the IPS panel offering suitably reliable views from most angles. It’s a pretty stylish-looking TV too, with a rough metallic finish to the bezel, which while not jaw-dropping, is still suitably narrow. The Smart TV functions were also navigable through LG’s Smart Remote, offering a WiiMote-ish approach to media browsing. Our demo model was already packed with German media content — in both 2D and 3D — ready for when it launches here next month. It’ll be appearing in shops across Europe around the same time, although there’s no word on the set landing on US shores. Check out our quick hands-on video after the break.
Follow all of our IFA 2012 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Gallery: LG 27-inch Personal Smart TV
Continue reading LG 27-inch Personal Smart TV hands-on (updated: video)
LG 27-inch Personal Smart TV hands-on (updated: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Smart TV Alliance consisting of LG and TP Vision (Philips) is still hammering away at its dream of platform-independent Smart TV apps, and as IFA 2012 gets under way it has a few new announcements. After promising Japanese manufacturers would join back in June it has welcomed Toshiba to the fold, as well as other supporters like Qaulcomm, Mstar, Onigo and YuMe. At IFA 2012, LG is showing off the first apps built to the original SDK 1.0 spec built by Accuweather, Eurosport, online music channel Vilanoise and others. It’s not stopping there however, as the SDK 2.0 we’d heard about is still due before 2012 is out, and has been built to take advantage of the new more powerful SoCs that companies like Qualcomm (the S4 family) and Mstar can provide to HDTV manufacturers.
Continue reading LG’s Smart TV alliance grows, promises first cross-platform HDTV apps in September
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
LG’s Smart TV alliance grows, promises first cross-platform HDTV apps in September originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 23:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The folks at Hillcrest Labs have revealed a brand new addition to their Freespace MotionEngine software family: MotionEngine Lite – made specifically for in-air cursor control with Smart TVs. Systems with this software will be able to bring on Smart TV motion control action with lower cost and simpler implementation than the larger cross-section of solutions on today’s market. This little magic wand-waving solution will be working with Texas Instruments ZigBee RF4CE and Bluetooth connected devices starting this week.
One of the most fabulous elements in this software solution is the lack of a need for the end-user to calibrate anything. It just works right out of the box. Stig Torud of Remote Control Strategic Marketing and Wireless Connectivity Solutions for Texas Instruments spoke on the product this week, noting how pleased TI is to have the Hillcrest crew bringing their tech together with the next generation of Smart TVs: “Hillcrest’s MotionEngine Lite software combined with TI’s ZigBee RF4CE and Bluetooth low energy solutions bring low-latency and high-performance cursor control to Smart TV, set-top box, and PC motion remote controls.”
The software being used here, Freespace MotionEngine Lite, works with both accelerometers and gyroscopes to bring on Smart TV navigation as well as web browsing and point-and-click gaming galore. Orientation (or roll) compensation is in place here, as is precise cursor control and no-effort real-time sensor calibration. MotionEngine Lite is able to function with Hillcrest’s host-based Gesture Recognition Engine for cursor gestures as well. This means that the controller is able to make more than 50 pre-defined gestures right out of the box and that it comes with an SDK for developers to be able to create more gestures in the future.
The device you’re seeing above and integrated into the MotionEngine Lite logo are the Hillcrest Scoop Pointer. This device is used to demonstrate the software and give a visual to the software before it’s implemented on a variety of hardware setups. Texas Instruments’ ZigBee RF4CE and Bluetooth low energy solutions will have the software pre-integrated while a collection of Hillcrest’s remote control OEM partners (including their preferred partners SMK and UEI) will have the next-generation solution in place soon as well.
MotionEngine Lite revealed with Smart TV intentions is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
LG has just announced Game World, a new Smart TV portal that’s only available to Cinema 3D Smart TV owners. The service will let users snap up downloadable games in categories such as action, RPG or arcade, then play them in 2D or 3D with the company’s Magic Remote or other third-party controller. The service is not to be confused with LG’s Gaikai cloud gaming service, and the company said most of the titles will be family-friendly. Mind you, that looks like Shadowgun on the main page above, so there’s clearly some grown-up only entertainment, too.
Continue reading LG’s Game World landing on its own Smart TVs
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
LG’s Game World landing on its own Smart TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LG is gearing up for a “new era of downloadable casual 3D games” by announcing Game World, a new casual games store for its CINEMA 3D line of Smart TVs. As you can probably imagine, Game World functions similarly to other app stores out there, allowing users to search for, purchase, and keep a collection of casual games. LG says that the games featured in Game World can be played with the company’s Magic Remote, but if you’re not crazy about the idea of playing video games with a remote control, many of the games also come with support for third-party gamepads.
Game World will be split up into nine different genres: action, adventure, arcade, puzzle, RPG, shooter, simulation, sports, and strategy. Players will also be able to browse through lists of featured games, top sellers and titles that are new to Game World, but of course can search for specific titles if that’s preferred. Given that Game World will be exclusive to LG’s CINEMA 3D line, some of the games will naturally be available in 3D, and company also says that Game World will be comprised of both paid and freeware titles.
New users will get to take advantage of a tutorial, which will provide information on how to navigate the store with a Magic Remote or gamepad. LG says that most of the titles available through Game World will be family-friendly ones, so don’t expect to find a bunch blood and boobs while browsing the store. We’re not sure which games will be coming to Game World actually, but the image from LG you see above shows games like Cut the Rope, Plants vs. Zombies and Air Penguin 3D featured prominently on the main menu page.
Some of those games are already available on LG Smart TVs, which makes it pretty safe to assume that they’ll be featured when Game World lands. LG doesn’t talk about any games specifically in its announcement, so it looks like we’ll have to wait for more details on those. Since Game World’s “second half of this year” launch window means anytime between now and December 31, we’ll should hopefully be getting some more information on the service in the next few weeks. Stay tuned, folks.
LG announces Game World for CINEMA 3D Smart TV line is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
LG just outed the Optimus Vu II for the Korean market, designed around a remote control app, QRemote. The company’s translated PR claims (erroneously) that the new device will be “the world’s first smartphone using infrared,” letting it operate gear like set-top boxes and home appliances, including other companies’ products. The device is scheduled to launch next month in the maker’s home country, around the time the Tegra 3-powered Optimus Vu will go on sale in the US as Verizon’s LG Intuition. The company hasn’t released any technical details for the phone — in fact, other than the remote functions, we don’t even know if there are any changes from the current pen-capable model. In any case, it might give pause to another Korean maker about to announce an awfully similar product.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Household, Tablets
LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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