LG Plans 480 Hz LCD TV

LG says it's planning to up the ante on screen refreshes with a new LCD TV that refreshed 480 times per second. But will anybody watch?

In early 2008, one of the things the high-definition video market was all a-flutter about (besides the outcome of the Blu-ray/HD DVD battle) was increasing refresh rates on big-screen displays. Typical LCD TV panels have refresh rates of 60 Hz, meaning they refresh 60 times a second. The idea was that by refreshing the screen more often, motion would be smoother and the perceived quality of the display higher. So manufacturers leapt to release LCD HDTVs with 120 Hz and 240 Hz refresh rates…and, unfortunately for the manufacturers, the results generally proved underwhelming, with only modest improvements in perceived picture quality visible to experienced eyes.

But South Korea’s LG is not ready go give up the fight, announcing that it plans to demonstrate a new LCD TV at this year’s CES show with a 480 Hz refresh rate. Dubbed “Trumotion 480Hz,” the set will feature a 4 ms response time and a “scanning backlight” technology that turns the backlight on and off rapidly to reduce motion blur and power consumption. LG also claims the display improves contrast and brightness for improved picture quality.

“LG Display will provide its customers with unique, high-end products while delivering crisp picture quality for fast moving images,” said LG Display TV Business Unit executive VP Eddie Yeo, in a statement.

LG hasn’t announced any pricing details, but says it expects to begin offering the 480 Hz sets in the second half of 2009.