LG opens CES 2012 in light, slim style

The company's been uncharacteristically forthcoming with information in advance of CES 2012, but nonetheless LG's press conference (at 8.00am local time) was standing-room only in a subterranean Venetian Hotel function room.

From Smart TV and integrated home cinema solutions to Smartphones and kitchen appliances (we won't dwell on that last one), LG's 2012 line-up looks deeply impressive.

The much-trailed EM9600 OLED TV was the undoubted star. This is the world's largest OLED TV, a 55in screen with a depth of just 4mm and tipping the scales at a flyweight 7.5kg.

It's due in the UK in the second half of 2012 and, although there's no hint of a likely price just yet, it looks to us like a superstar-in-waiting.

Also due in the third quarter of 2012 is the world's largest 3D Ultra Definition (UD) TV. The 84in UDTV, with a pixel-count of 3840 x 2160, offers four times the resolution of existing Full HD TVs.

LG has also been finessing its Smart TV platform, with the introduction of more premium content services and the much-heralded partnership with Google likely to result in twin-OS TVs by 2013.

More than 70% of the 2012 range of TVs will feature integrated wi-fi, and there's also an improved Magic Remote which includes a scroll-wheel (for easier browsing) as well as voice- and gesture-recognition technology for those who simply can't bring themselves to look down the back of the sofa for the Magic Remote itself.

LG's 2012 TVs run from 32in (the LM660T) through 42in, 47in and 55in, as well as that exciting 84in UDTV.

The new design language makes for screens that are handsome and attractive even when switched off, and as LG is pushing its 'passive' 3D technology even more aggressively in 2012 (does that make the company passive-aggressive?) they're provided with at least four pairs of 3D glasses.

Models like the LM760T (42, 47 and 55in) and LM860V (also 42, 47 and 55in) feature ultra-narrow bezels with an apparent depth of just 1mm when the screen is switched off.

LG also intends to bring the 3D experience to home cinema sound, too. The BH9520TW cinema-in-a-box system features 'sound zooming', a technology designed to offer corresponding depth to audio when 3D video effects are at their most pronounced.

It's a 9.1 system, with wireless rear speakers and a claimed 1100 watts of power. And, as almost goes without saying, it offers support for iPod, iPad and iPhone as well.

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Simon Lucas is a freelance technology journalist and consultant, with particular emphasis on the audio/video aspects of home entertainment. Before embracing the carefree life of the freelancer, he was editor of What Hi-Fi? – since then, he's written for titles such as GQ, Metro, The Guardian and Stuff, among many others.