LG: curved OLED and smaller Ultra HD TV coming to Australia

Launching its 2013 TV range in Australia, LG has shown off smaller-sized Ultra HD TVs, a curved OLED TV and Ewan McGregor.

Smaller, more affordable versions of its 84-inch Ultra HD TV are a key strategy of LG's home entertainment offering for Australia, with the sets due to arrive in August.

Launching its home entertainment range for 2013, LG also announced that it will be releasing the 55-inch curved OLED TV in Australia, and introduced Ewan McGregor as its new brand ambassador.

The new Ultra HD range will come in 65 inches and 55 inches, costing AU$8999 and AU$6999, respectively.

Describing Ultra HD as a "relatively affordable technology", LG's head of marketing for home entertainment Russ Prendergast also unveiled the curved OLED TV. Already priced in Korea at 15 million won (around AU$13,100) there is no pricing or timing information on this set for Australia.

Indeed, it was unclear whether the curved TV will be available before or after the smaller Ultra HD TVs arrive in August, or even whether it will arrive before the end of 2013.

LG's marketing general manager Lambro Skropidis told CNET Australia that he was unable to say whether the curved version of OLED will arrive before the standard flat OLED panel, which was also revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year.

It had previously been stated that a standard 55-inch OLED panel would be available in Australia by the end of March for AU$11,999.

LG's range of more traditional LED smart TVs took a back seat at the launch. Speaking generally about the company's smart TV offering, Prendergast noted that 70 per cent of LG's TVs this year will be smart TV enabled.

The range features an updated version of Time Machine, adding PVR functionality to the TV, as well as new gesture and voice control for the Magic Remote. Content sharing between connected devices has also been improved, with MHL, WiDi and Mirrorcast all appearing.

In all, 23 different models will be available in the LED/LCD range for 2013, ranging in size from 22 inches to 60 inches. The flagship will be the LA8600, coming in both 50-inch and 60-inch versions. LG has scaled down its plasma range for this year, with just five models available. LG stated that plasma panels have been just 9 per cent of total dollar sales in the TV market for the first quarter of this year.

In a Q&A with event MC Andrew O'Keefe, Ewan McGregor spoke about his new relationship with LG, touching on the upcoming ad campaigns for OLED and Ultra HD, before describing his brand ambassador role and telling people that LG makes "f***ing good tellies".