AI For TVs Is A-OK

There’s something new to consider if you’re upgrading your TV set.

When it comes to sales of television sets, 2011 was a bumper year in New Zea-land. Thousands upgraded their screens, eager to watch the Rugby World Cup in high definition.

Back then, it was all about pixel count and how many inches of screen real estate you could get for your money. But seven years is a long time in the world of TVs.

We’ve seen new screen technologies such as OLED (organic light-emitting diode) offer incredibly lifelike colours, and streaming video apps such as Netflix and Neon have come to television.

Buying a TV in 2018 is still first and foremost about how good a picture you can get. But there’s a new factor to consider: artificial intelligence. The same technology that is powering virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa is being built into TVs, so there’s a good chance a TV that you buy this year will be AI-enhanced.

LG’s entire 2018 line-up of TVs, unveiled last week in Sydney, includes ThinQ, the AI engine starting to appear across LG’s line-up of fridges, washing machines and vacuum cleaners as well.