South Korea’s LG Electronics will add the world’s first LCD 8K TV models to its premium TV lineup this week as it leaps forward in migration beyond 4K mainstream.

According to industry sources on Wednesday, the home appliance giant will launch its rechristened 75-inch NanoCell (previously called Super UHD) LCD TV models in Korea as early as this week in hopes to expand the 8K TV market by complementing its OLED counterparts launched early this month with relatively cheaper options.

LG Electronics will expand its 8K TV lineup in North America and Europe from the third quarter of this year. The price tag of the LCD 8K TV models starts from 8.9 million won ($7,600), much cheaper than the 8K OLED TV worth 50 million won.

Both models are equipped with LG’s second-generation alpha 9 8K intelligent processor to optimize content and sound by recognizing source quality. The two models also boast improved noise reduction to 6-steps from 4-steps in the 4K version, resulting in the most life-like 8K image.

LG’s addition of an affordable model following Samsung Electronics’ launch of a QLED 8K version last year is expected to bring vitality to the market, where 8K content availability has been a challenge for manufacturers.

According to global market research agency IHS Market, the 8K TV market is estimated to grow from 215,000 units this year to 1,428,000 units next year and to more than 5 million units in 2022.

By Hwang Soon-min and Minu Kim

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