TV : LG 84LM9600

One of the biggest buzzwords to emerge from this year's CES was 4K, which is pinned as the next consumer resolution after 1080p. But after a promising beginning we haven't heard much about actual product since then.

Toshiba's 4K screen has quietly slipped off the radar, but it appears LG's 84-inch LM9600 is still on track for release this year. In fact it could be available as early as September, which would make it the first 4K TV available for sale in the U.S.

The LG 84LM9600 will have a resolution of 3,840x2,160 pixels, aka the consumer version of 4K, since it's four times the number of pixels employed by garden-variety 1080p TVs (1,920x1,080). For its part, LG calls the resolution "UD" for "ultra-definition," making this a (wait for it) "UDTV."

When it ships, this monster will actually be only the second-largest flat-panel size widely available to the public. Sharp's 90-inch LC-90LE745U is the biggest, although it has "only" 1080p resolution.

(Credit: LG)
That difference begs the question: is 4K worthwhile it an of itself, or are the benefits of all those extra pixels even visible from normal seating distances? We won't know for sure until we can test it out in person, but let's just say we're quite skeptical. Geoff Morrison's Why 4K TVs are stupid lays out the reasons.

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