A Curved-Screen TV From LG

LG Electronics plans to throw consumers a curve. At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company unveiled an OLED television with a curved screen. The five-degree curve is supposed to correct for a phenomenon in human perception in which images seem to “drop off,” or degrade, toward the edges of a flat screen. The curve overcomes that problem, said Tim Alessi, director of new product development at LG. There is no planned launch date for the curved TV, but LG also announced it would be the first to market with an OLED TV, a 55-inch model due in March with a price tag of $12,000. OLED technology demands less power than standard screens and throws off little heat while producing vivid pictures with deep blacks. OLED screens are used now in many smartphones, but it is costly to produce the large panels needed for TVs. Other manufacturers are also working on OLED models, including Samsung, which uses the material extensively in its phones. LG also announced it was adding to the line of Ultra HD TVs, which have 4K resolution, roughly four times that of 1080p high-definition TVs available now. The 84-inch LM9600 Ultra HD TV is shipping now and is expected on retail shelves within months at a price of $20,000.