2023 LG OLED TVs will deliver 70% more peak brightness and DTS:X support

At the CES show in Las Vegas, LG Electronics, among other things, presented a new line of TVs, the most interesting part of which was OLED models. Most of the information portals, at the suggestion of the company itself, were interested in the flagship TV with the designation M3: this 97-inch model with 4K resolution was shown at the exhibition in a floor version with four “legs”, which made it take up even more space on the stand and attracted attention.

But the main innovation is not in its size, but in the fact that all connections to it, except for power, are made through a proprietary wireless protocol. The TV has a large and heavy Zero Connect external unit, to which all sources are connected, and it already transmits the final video and audio signal to the TV “without noticeable loss of quality,” according to a press release.

It also states that this “revolutionary” technology is superior to Wi-Fi 6 in efficiency, but in a series of questions and answers at the conference, LG representatives said that for stable data transfer, the distance from the TV to the unit should not exceed 10 m.

As a result, against the backdrop of the M3, two other innovations went by the wayside. First, LG, starting with the G3 line, will use a new generation of OLED panels with an increased, according to a press release, peak brightness by as much as 70%.

It will be achieved, as expected, due to the new META Booster control algorithm and MLA technology. The essence of the latter lies in the use of an array of microlenses that redirect the radiation of organic diodes to the audience. In the press release of LG Electronics, which actually produces TVs, there is not a word about this technology, but in the presentation of LG Display, which produces the panels themselves and drivers for them, there was more information about MLA. For example, 77-inch 4K WOLED panels will use about 42.4 billion microlenses, that is, more than 5 thousand for each subpixel.

It is claimed that this not only raises the brightness, but also increases the viewing angles by 30%, although logically it should be exactly the opposite. But there is no doubt that due to microlenses, new TVs will be more energy efficient – by about 20%, according to LG Display.

At first, the new panels will be used only in one series of TVs – G3, but LG Display assured that LG 8K OLED models will soon receive MLA technology, and the ultimate goal is to extend it to all series of the company’s OLED TVs.

The second innovation is support for the DTS:X audio codec on all new LG TVs. A few years ago, the company, like some other manufacturers, refused to support all DTS variants – both with and without compression (in DTS Master Audio codecs). There were two reasons for this: the introduced royalties and the lack of such tracks from streaming services. Now the situation has changed: Disney announced that films with DTS:X will be available on its Disney + video platform from the new year, namely, first of all, those that have the IMAX Enhanced variant. As a result, LG at CES 2023 confirmed that its new TVs will also support this audio codec.

The company’s statement does not mention support for other DTS tracks, but technically this should not be a problem, since DTS with compression and DTS Master Audio are essentially components of DTS:X. In addition, there is a high probability that LG models from previous years of release will eventually also receive support for this codec – there are no technical obstacles to this, and there is a need to provide IMAX Enhanced movie selection service.