Netflix Ultra HD on LG TVs
January 7, 2014
By Colin Mann
In the presence of an eager press corps at CES in Las Vegas, LG revealed that its broad new 2014 line of Ultra HD TVs with LG’s proprietary webOS Smart TV platform will support content streaming in Ultra HD 4K from Internet television network Netflix. In total, 12 new models comprise LG’s 2014 Ultra HD lineup, which is being demonstrated for the first time this week at the the show.
“LG and Netflix have had a long-standing history of first-to-market introductions including the first network Blu-ray player to offer Netflix streaming back in 2008, which created the new category of Internet-connected consumer electronics devices,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, president and CTO, LG Electronics. “Netflix 4K content delivered on our amazing Ultra HD screens through our new webOS Smart TV platform will change the way consumers enjoy television.”
Reed Hastings, president and CEO of Netflix, said that as the world’s leading Internet TV network, Netflix would be among the first to deliver Ultra HD 4K to consumers. “Streaming will be the primary way consumers receive Ultra HD 4K and we are excited to be working with LG to make this a reality later this year,” he declared, confirming that House of Cards would be “one of the first major shows available in 4K”.
LG’s 2014 Ultra HD TVs are designed to include the latest standards for connectivity, content protection and program encoding, meaning they equipped to handle 4K streaming. Key to ensuring this capability is the built-in 4K HEVC 60p decoder. The LG TVs decode broadcast signals in both H.264 and HEVC H.265 formats, in either 30p or 60p.
“Content delivery has been the looming question with Ultra HD TVs ever since LG was the first to market with our 84-inch class TV in 2012,” said Sam Chang, LG Electronics USA senior vice president and head of the LG Silicon Valley Lab. “While our Tru-Ultra HD Engine provides excellent upscaled quality, the overall goal was always native 4K content delivery and Netflix was the perfect partner.”
Each TV also features LG’s new webOS Smart TV platform, which includes an intuitive user experience designed to make Smart TV simple again — a modern TV experience. Users can move back and forth between services in a more intelligent manner enabling smoother, faster transitions between screens. Additionally, the webOS’s Live Menu offers a variety of information, features and content including TV show recommendations, a search bar and previously viewed programmes.