At CES, we typically see two kinds of TVs: the kind that many people actually (can) afford, and the kind that are technologically impressive, but inaccessible to many people. The latter is therefore no less interesting, because this is where we find the biggest news. This also applies to the new LG Signature OLED M series, which is called “wireless” TV. No, you don’t get energy through the air via a Tesla coil; It’s just walking a tightrope. However, it has no outlet. Connect all your sources to a separate box, the Zero Connect Box, which connects wirelessly to your TV.
Why did you develop this? Because you can better position or hang your TV without having to deal with messy cables to remove. Samsung’s competitors achieve this with a OneConnect box and a single thin cable, which is basically a much simpler option. What LG is producing now seems a bit complicated, but that doesn’t make the concept any less interesting.
Zero contact box
During a private session in a hotel room somewhere on the 60th floor of a Las Vegas hotel, we were able to take a closer look at the OLED M and ask questions of the LG experts. Unfortunately, answers and technical details are sometimes difficult to find. However, we can learn a few things about the overall function.
First of all, LG claims to have developed its own technology. We can interpret this statement in different ways. It could be something from LG from scratch Comes pre-installed, including all hardware, antenna, and full suite of software. It is also possible that the manufacturer has extended existing standards and made changes. For example there is a file 802.11ay specificationswhich supports up to 40Gb per stream and can act as a backbone.
In any case, what I like the most is the stability of the system. I once wore a pair of WiGig-enabled HTC Vive VR wireless glasses, and once someone opened them View He worked his way between the goggles and the WiGig transmitter and the image started to stutter. Not at all with the LG OLED M. I tried for a long time to mute the signal by shielding the box with my body, but this had no effect on the picture on the TV. According to LG experts, the system itself searches for the best “path” through space, although we don’t know exactly what that means behind the scenes.
It is also said that the frequencies used are those that are not used by any other device in the house, but we don’t know exactly which ones. Since more bandwidth is required, it is likely to be somewhere in the 60GHz region, as is WiGig.
LG claims that the range of the Zero Connect Box is at least ten meters. In the demo we saw, she was about ten feet away from him. He’s a big guy and I personally prefer to hide him in a closet, but LG advises against it. There is a joke that you can put a plant in front of it, but the fact remains that it is something extraordinary. It is also not recommended to hide it behind the TV. At the top of the box is a spinner that acts as an antenna and should always be pointed at the TV.
On the back of the box, you’ll find all the connections you’d expect: triple HDMI 2.1, coaxial cable for tuner, S/PDIF, USB and Ethernet. There’s also support for FreeSync, G-Sync, VRR, and QMS, so wireless is unlikely to affect various HDMI 2.1 features. Except for the maximum frame rate at 4k, which maxes out at 120 instead of 144Hz.
The main question we address in this session is simple: is compression used and does it affect picture or sound quality? We have an approximate answer to this question, but not quite. LG experts have assured us that the quality is unaffected by the wireless signal and you can expect the same quality as an LG TV that runs on wires only. However, we have not yet received a definitive confirmation that there is no pressure. By the way, the TV looks good at first glance, so if there’s wasted pressure, it won’t be noticeable anyway. We also can’t get a definitive answer on possible latency, although it undoubtedly exists. How amazing it is, it must be seen in practice.
By the way, the OLED M doesn’t have the same panel as the new OLED G3. Comes with Precision lens group So it has a much higher brightness. However, the M series, like the other new models, runs on the 2023 webOS version.
Is the Signature OLED M an impressive piece of technology? What we can be sure of is. Sounds like a complicated solution? This also. Ultimately, you still need to hide the power cord, so if you’re hanging the TV, you still need some cable conduit. Also, you get a black box that you have to give it somewhere. However, we can’t wait to put the OLED M through its paces in our test lab. It will be in the second half of this year when it arrives in 77″, 83″ and 97″ sizes.
