This was LG’s first attendance as an exhibitor at PTE and the company had an attractive booth, although it was not in a great position, in a second hall. However, in such a small show, that should not have been a problem. There was not a lot that was new on the hardware side, so close to ISE, but the company told us that transport was one of the vertical markets that it is targeting.
LGs FIDs. Image:Meko
The company was keen to highlight the improved anti-glare treatment on its latest top end digital signs that would be used for FIDs. The company confirmed that the technology used is the ‘moth eye’ technology developed by Sharp and others (although I wasn’t completely convinced that the staff I spoke to really knew, so treat this information with caution!).
Our photo shows the improved LG Anti glare surface (right). Image:Meko
Another feature that was highlighted was the converter for OPS. Much of the kind of software used by airports can run on the latest version of WebOS, so a PC is not needed. Adding an OPS slot means a deeper case being needed, so LG has an adaptor that can be fitted to the back of the displays that can then accept an OPS module. Without the converter, the monitor is just 30mm thick and is also 7-8kg lighter than previous units. The SH7DB range has 700 cd/m² of output, is certified to IP5X and runs WebOS 3.5.
LG has this OPS Converter that can be fitted. Image:Meko
The latest smart signs have reasonable levels of internal memory and LG told us that the signs can run internal media in the case of a failure in data coming from external sources.
We next had a closer look than we been able to at the new LED film that LG had previously shown at ISE. The monochrome LEDs are mounted on a film in a 16 x 16 array in a 470mm square module and at the PTE event, the films had been attached to glass sheets. Transparency was still very high, although figures were not being discussed. The company is hoping to develop colour systems in the future.
LG’s LED Film was mounted on glass at PTE. Image:Meko
Finally, of course, LG was showing its OLED displays for commercial use. We queried the duty cycle but were told that the rating was now 18/7, up from 16/7 and this is enough for the kind of high end retailers and duty free stores that might be tempted by the high visual quality. At the show, flight information was being shown on the OLEDs, but was only there for short periods of time before being exchanged for video, to avoid burn issues, which the company admitted would be a problem if the FID application was continuously run.
LG was showing flight information on this OLED but kept changing it for video to avoid burn. Image:Meko
Analyst Comment
As with Samsung, which has been trying to develop its B2B sales for several years, LG knows that its consumer business will come under huge pressure from China and it needs to develop into other areas. However, historically, LG has not shown a huge amount of patience in developing markets, and aviation is very, very conservative. It is also doing well and has the money to buy what it wants, rather than having to fight for every penny, so a price-based strategy won’t have a huge amount of success in building loyalty long term. It’s hard to develop genuine product differentiation for such a small market, so in the end, its about long term commitment, support and marketing. It will be hard for LG to displace incumbents. (BR)
