SoylentNews

upstart writes:

LG's outrageous direct-view LED TV tops out at 335 inches, $1.7 million:

[...] Direct View LED is a refreshingly self-explanatory name. You're directly viewing LEDs. It sounds similar to MicroLED, although when we asked whether DVLED actually is MicroLED, LG's reply was somewhat vague (we're seeking clarification and we'll update this article when we get it).

Generally "micro" LEDs are in the range of 0.1mm, often smaller. All LG is discussing is the pixel pitch, which is the distance from the center of one pixel to the next, which includes the size of the pixel but also the space between. The smallest version of LG's DVLED has a pixel pitch of 0.9mm. There are also models with 1.2mm and 1.5mm pixel pitches. So they're small, that's for sure, but perhaps not small enough to qualify as MicroLED.

Why these numbers are important is because of a counterintuitive characteristic of all direct-view LED tech: There's a lower limit to sizes of direct view LED displays. There's a limit to how close they can currently get the pixels, and this is true with LG's DVLED, as well as Samsung and Sony's tech. That's the reason these TVs are all wall-size, at least for now.

The smallest LG DVLED Home Cinema Display is 108 inches diagonally. With a 1.2mm pixel pitch, this means HD resolution, or "2K" as LG calls it. Interestingly, LG includes BTU specs, just like heaters and air conditioners. Remember, LEDs create heat as well as light, just in a better ratio than, say, incandescent bulbs. So in this case, they spec the 108-inch at putting out 6,288 BTUs per hour. So yeah, worst case is you can use one as a space heater if you get chilly while sleeping on your piles of money.

If 4K is more your thing, sizes range from 163 to 393 inches. You can also do dual 2K or dual 4K versions, which have a 32:9 aspect ratio for watching two or more shows side-by-side. I would absolutely use this to watch TV on one side of the screen and play a game on the other.

The 8K version, for a cool $1.7 million, is 325 inches diagonally. It weighs in at exactly one Mazda Miata. It puts out a toasty 56,592 BTUs [...]

NB: 1 meter = 39.34 inches.

Original Submission