LG Unveils Transparent LED Film and More at InfoComm 2017

LG Electronics is no stranger to displays. The company has been pushing the envelope for digital signage technology in the past year, and InfoComm 2017 has proven that they have no plans to stop. Proof positive is the company’s new Transparent LED Display.

“It is a film that you attach to existing glass,” says Gary Wicka, Head of Marketing for LG Electronics USA Business Solutions. “Think of going to a retailer – all of that glass can instantly become signage. If you go to an airport, you think of all of the massive windows – all of that glass that they’ve got throughout a transportation hub. That can now become a digital signage application.”

The LG Transparent LED Film display offers digital content and information while interacting with its surrounding environment. The LED Film offers over 1,000 nits brightness, with each 480mm by 480mm panel containing 256 LED pixels that support gray-scale tones. The product will support standard and irregular aspect ratios to provide more display options.

“It’s not designed to be a perfect image because it’s transparent,” says Wicka. “We don’t want to take away the fact that you need to see through the glass. It’s a way to bring that transparent view, and bring to life a message on it. Most importantly, you don’t have to rip out all of the existing glass and infrastructure that you already have. All you have to do is add in the film. It’s a very low cost methodology.”

As a result, the LG Transparent LED Film display is ideal for indoor and window-facing areas with large glass surfaces such as retail storefront windows, where it draws the attention of passing customers without obstructing the view of the products behind the glass or blocking light from coming into the store.

Other applications include mass transit rail platforms and safety barriers, where it can display digital content and information while interacting seamlessly with the environment; and lobbies and large public areas where the film can convert ordinary glass into digital signage displays. Even tall glass elevator shafts can be transformed into pillars of graphics and light.

At just 0.8mm thick, the 30mm Pixel Pitch display can be installed on any existing glass surface using its self-adhesive transparent film, making it easy to install with minimal construction required.

“This is one where you’re going to want to bring an integrator in,” says Wicka. “It is a film that’s got microscopic wires that go through it. There are LEDs on each one of the sheets. You’ll need to connect that into the setup, run electronics, and run content. This is a brand new area for integrators to look at. They go into all sorts of environments where there’s glass already. Every one of those opportunities is now a signage opportunity, and it’s at a much lower cost conversation.”

With the ability to connect up to two film panels to the display’s bezel kit and support up to 24 film panels through daisy-chain from the unit controller, the LG Transparent LED Film can be scaled to fit a variety of installation environments. Even more, the flexible display works on curved surfaces and in parallel to the bezel, can be cut to size, truly converting any area of ordinary glass.

“On one side of the film is the electronics. You can connect two panels to each – one on the left and one on the right. Then you can daisy-chain 24 of these together,” says Wicka. “We’ve done a test project on a retail scene in Korea where they used many of these and brought them together through a player system by daisy-chaining it. So it’s running content through multiple rows.”

As for running content, typical content players should work. As the launch point approaches in the second half of this year, LG plans to release a more detailed list of content management technology that will be compatible with the transparent LED film. But the company has no plans to offer its own proprietary box and expects to include as many providers as possible for compatibility.

“This product is in no way going to replace any of the traditional displays that we manufacture. It is completely opening up a whole new avenue. That’s a big thing around what LG is doing – we don’t want to be the follower, we want to be the innovator in establishing and growing the digital signage market.”

While it’s the most extraordinary product LG is showing at the booth this year, it’s far from the only new product that LG is introducing at InfoComm 2017. Here’s a quick glimpse of other new products at the booth:

55-Inch Ultra-Bright Video Wall

The 55-inch LG Ultra-Bright video wall features a slim 3.5mm bezel to bezel width and is three times brighter than conventional solutions. With 1,500 nit peak brightness, and a high-performance system-on-a-chip, the new display offers image quality and high brightness necessary to grab customers’ attention from distances near or far, even in brightly lit areas. With each display having 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, a 2×2 array creates stunning 4K Ultra HD images. Utilizing LG’s In Plane Switching technology, the display produces accurate and consistent colors from virtually any viewing angle and contains fast liquid crystal recovery properties that prevent display blurring and flashes when touched.

“When we think about the Ultra-Bright Video Wall, it’s 1500 nit. So this is really setting the groundwork for video walls in all sorts of different applications,” says Wicka. “LG wants to be the provider that can do that for you. It has the standard video wall capabilities that LG is pioneering and bringing to the market, but it also gives you additional items like a temperature sensor that enables it to function without blacking even after being exposed to direct sunlight. It can handle temperatures as high as 230 degrees.”

88-inch Ultra Stretch Display

The sleek 88-inch LG Ultra Stretch display joins the 86-inch Ultra Stretch to offer an expanded portfolio of displays from LG that address an array of installation needs. The new 700 nit display measures over seven feet long and nearly two feet wide and features an incredible 32:9 aspect ratio for excellent image quality in a variety of commercial applications.

“We’re expanding our ultra-stretch lineup with the 88-inch stretch,” says Wicka. “This is roughly a seven foot long display, but it’s two feet wide. So it’s almost double what the 86-inch stretch was. It gives you a lot more of screen real estate to use. Think of taking two 49-inch displays side by side – that’s really what it is, but it’s seamless, there’s no break in there. It’s that ultra-stretch design that allows you to put a display into areas that you weren’t able to before. We’ve seen great uses with these types of displays in hotels, where they put it above conference rooms. We’ve seen it in the transportation sector – in fact we’re having conversations about it being on buses and in some of the ferries in New York. So this is a type of product that is changing the way people think.”

4K UHD Desktop Monitors

LG is introducing new commercial 4K UHD desktop monitors to address the proliferation of 4K content across a variety of industries. LG’s new family of 4K UHD monitors – 43-, 32- and 27-inch class units – feature 3840 x 2160 resolution to deliver four times more detail than 1920 x 1080 Full HD displays.

“We are the second company to offer this groundbreaking new size of a 43-inch desktop monitor,” says Wicka. “It’s obviously in the 4K UHD range, but what’s unique about this product is that you can connect four separate pieces of players, content, PCs, whatever it may be, into that same display. With the software built in, you can run and show all four at the same time in a picture-by-picture or picture-in-picture setup.”

You can check out all of the new products from LG at InfoComm 2017, booth #1626.

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!