You see some funny things at gadget trade shows, but the highlights are often the overblown multimedia launches. LG excelled itself at IFA with a video on the theme of removing borders, with footage of the fall of the Berlin Wall segueing neatly into a discussion of the invention of the Internet — followed by some tellies. Our hogwash detectors were off the charts at this point, but what the heck, we like tellies. Say hello then to the SL8000, SL9000 and LH9000 and LH9500 ‘borderless’ high-definition televisions.
Each of the new TVs has a face made of one sheet of glass, which is where the borderless bit comes in. Yes LG, that’s definitely equivalent to the downfall of communism. Well done. The LH9000 is, however, a 200Hz, 1080p backlit LED TV with a whopping 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The LH9500 is a 25mm 200Hz model with no fewer than five HDMI connections.
The 100Hz SL9000, pictured above, boasts LEDs around the edges and measures a mere 3cm across. The contrast ratio is 3,000,000:1.
The SL9000 and LH9000 both come in 42-inch or 47-inch varieties. The 200Hz SL8000 offers more choice with 32-inch, 37-inch, 42-inch and 47-inch versions. All the TVs offer Bluetooth, DivX and YouTube support, and a 24p Real Cinema mode.
We’ll see the new tellies in October and November, but prices have yet to be confirmed.