CES 2011 Coverage

LG Electronics

One of the first things you notice when entering the LG Electronics booth, aside from them handing out 3D glasses that work with all its televisions and monitors, is the 60" Expandable Multivision display mounted up on one of the walls. You may be thinking 60" doesn't sound like a lot, but that's where the "expandable" part comes in. The mounted display consisted of a 3x3 array of 60" plasma displays, providing an 180" overall display. LG's Plasma TV features an ultra thin seam of just 0.06" (1.5mm) on all sides, as well as the world's fastest Subfield Driving Technology of 600Hz, providing a response time of 0.001ms. Though showcased as 3x3, it can be used in a variety of configurations, as well provide simultaneous displays of various inputs, as seen below.

If you don't have thousands of dollars to spare or a twenty-foot wall in your house, then LG's monitors may be more your style. LG was showing off a bunch of Super LED monitors. The "LED" portion of the name is obvious, but why the "Super"? Super Slim, Super Angle, Super Picture Quality, and Super Energy Saving. First up were the E2370V and E2770V. Both monitors are 1080p (1920x1080) with a Digital Fine Contrast (DFC) ratio of 5M:1, 5ms response time, and 250cd/m² brightness. The E2370V is 23" and classified as an entertainment monitor, with D-sub, DVI-D, HDMI, and headphone out ports. But most importantly, it's an IPS panel. The E2770V is 27" and classified as a gaming monitor, with the same ports as the E2370V, but a second HDMI. Unfortunately, no IPS display this time around, but rather your standard TN panel.

Two more Super LED IPS displays were the IPS236V and IPS226V. The IPS236V is a 23" monitor while the IPS226V is a 21.5" monitor. All other specs are the same — 1920x1080 resolution, 5M:1 DFC, 5ms GTG response time, 250cd/m², and D-sub, DVI-D, HDMI, and headphone ports. What sets these monitors apart is the "Super Viewing Angle" of 178/178, thanks to the IPS panel. You can see a comparison below, with the IPS monitor on the left and the TN monitor on the right. The difference was very noticeable — it definitely makes me want to switch to an IPS monitor, if only they came in 1920x1200 at a reasonable price.

To explain the Super Picture Quality and Super Energy Saving aspects of LG's Super LED line, we'll just let LG explain it.

In this day and age, we'd be remiss if we didn't at least touch upon 3D displays. LG was showing off its Super 3D technology with a tri-monitor setup using its D342P Super 3D monitors. At 23", the D342P has the same specs as all the previous Super LED monitors mentioned, except it obviously includes 3D support.

Although LG had a lot of other displays being shown, the last one worth mentioning, at least from a technological standpoint, is the LG Touch TV. The LG Touch TV is a plasma television that allows interaction via a digital pen, and up to a maximum of two can be used simultaneously for multi-touch support. LG says it's great for edutainment, painting, or a family board to share your calendar, diary, memos and more. Unfortunately, the screen does not respond to your finger, you must use the supplied pen.