LG's 2012 TV range: voice control, WiDi, still pushing 3D

LG unveiled its Australian TV range last night, showcasing the innovations that we first saw at CES, including Intel's Wireless Display (WiDi) technology, Dual-Play for gamers and some new advances in 3D.

The bulk of the range falls under the banner of Cinema 3D, referring to LG's new passive 3D panels, a shift away from the Active 3D offered by TVs last year. Passive 3D is similar to the experience you have in a movie theatre, with the obvious advantage of using glasses, which are lighter, cheaper and don't have batteries to recharge.

LG also introduced a new Magic Remote accessory, which replaces the traditional numeric keypad of TV remotes with a new infrared mouse pointer, a mouse-like scroll wheel and a microphone for inputting voice commands. There are also some basic gesture controls, as well. The voice-control component uses Nuance Dragon technology to convert speech to text, similar to the Siri feature on the iPhone 4S, and is available in the top four Cinema 3D models.

Dual-Play is a unique feature that takes 3D to an interesting new place, offering gamers the chance to share a single TV by using glasses that only view one half of the polarised image. With the Dual-Play feature active, a split-screen game is automatically translated into two parts of a 3D image, and gamers wearing the Dual-Play glasses will only see the image for their part of the game. The best part is that the TV does all the work, so you don't need games that are designed specifically for Dual-Play or a new gaming console.

Connectivity continues to be a major touchstone for LG TVs, with most of the Cinema 3D range supporting DLNA media streaming and file browsing, plus Intel's new Wireless Display technology. Dubbed WiDi by LG, Wireless Display streams an image of the display from a compatible laptop to the TV, letting you share all content on a PC, rather than just certain multimedia types.

The flagship model is the LM9600, which comes in a single 55-inch model and features all of the goodies listed above. LG will have it in Aussies stores in May, with an AU$4599 RRP. The full Cinema 3D range, with sizes and prices, are listed in the table below.