It’s not OLED, but rather Mini LED, as LG takes on Samsung’s art frame screen with an anti-glare display for art.
Art is always great in the home, but it’s not the sort of thing everyone has room or budget for.
While nothing really beats a properly painted painting or a beautifully printed photo (or even a lovely printmaking print and so on), and independent artists can definitely provide some beautiful art in the home, if you’re after something more famous, you’ll probably need to make your way to the gallery or settle for a reprint.
That’s been changing in recent years, however, as the TV in the home has started to become used for art, as well. Wall mounts and special TV frames that effectively disguise a television as a work of art have helped companies such as Samsung and Hisense build art-focused TVs, and it’s an area LG wants in on, too.
In the past, we’ve seen LG try to blend the difference with its G-series OLED TVs, models of TV that have technically supported art, but not to the same extent as Samsung’s “The Frame”, a lifestyle TV specifically made for art that also works for movies, TV shows, and games.
However this year, LG will release a TV specifically made for showing art.
The LG Gallery TV is an addition to its lifestyle TV screens that has reportedly been developed with the help of museum curators, and includes a mode to optimise the colour and brightness to retain the texture of masterpieces, with a screen type that reduces glare and reflections. To do this, the LG Gallery TV adjusts picture quality based on ambient light, making sure your viewing of the art looks good under the available light of the home.
It’s distinct to a piece of art, which doesn’t need to adapt to available light and simply shows the colour and texture based on how it was made. Digital images are different, but this is LG’s best attempt at delivering a middle ground that not only renders a recreation, but does so more accurately.
Interestingly, the technology will skip the organic light emitting diodes of OLED that LG typically champions, and instead opt for the miniature LED dimming tech of Mini LED, while also bringing virtual 9.1.2 surround, because it’s also a proper TV, as well.
And as part of the gallery package, LG will also provide access to its Gallery+ service with access to over 4000 artworks refreshed monthly, but will also provide a way for Gallery TV owners to upload their own photos and images, and even create images using generative AI. Here’s hoping they’re better than the generative AI we saw on the Acer Swift 16 AI laptop.
“We will continue to lead the market by expanding our lifestyle TV lineup, transforming the screen into a companion that fluidly adapts to our customers’ preferences,” said LG’s Park Hyoung-sei. “Our goal is to enrich customers’ lives by providing the freedom to design every aspect of their personal space.”
LG Australia hasn’t quite said whether the Gallery TV will be a local release, but has said that it will come in 55 and 65 inch varieties, complete with magnetic frames you’ll be able to switch out yourself.
Our guess is the LG Gallery TV will come to Australia, but we’ll check with the right people, and let you know as and when we find out.
