LG Z9 (OLED88Z9) 8K OLED Preview

State-of-the-art OLED technology

by Phil Hinton
The LG OLED88Z9 is the company's flagship 8K OLED TV, it has a resolution of 7680 x 4320 and comes in a single 88-inch screen size.

The 88Z9 uses a new 8K OLED panel and includes all of LG's 2019 features such as the Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor (optimised for 8K), ThinQ AI smart features, and High Dynamic Range support (HDR10, Hybrid Log-Gamma, and Dolby Vision with dynamic metadata).

Crucially the Z9 includes HDMI 2.1 connections, allowing the TV to support both 8K and High Frame Rates (HFR) such as 4K at 120fps over HDMI.

There's also support for Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), allowing the TV to send lossless object-based audio such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X back via HDMI ARC.

LG has also added support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which is sure to please gamers. In fact, the only feature that the Z9 doesn't currently support is HDR10+.

The Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor is not only optimised for 8K, but also applies machine learning to improve the upscaling. There's also OLED Motion Pro, an upgraded black frame insertion system that uses 100/120Hz for a shorter black frame cycle, thus reducing flicker and maintaining brightness. This year LG has also added a separate decontouring control in the menu system.

The ThinQ AI features add AI processing to many features, including the TV's audio. ‘AI Sound’ monitors what is being shown on screen and adjusts and enhances the audio based on this. It will also be able to upconvert stereo to 5.1, as well as support Dolby Atmos.

A new version (4.5) of webOS will also be introduced, which now includes voice assistance from Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant5, along with support for Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit features.

LG hasn't announced a price yet, but the 88Z9 will be available in the spring.

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