The first OLED TV from Bang & Olufsen, produced in collaboration with LG, has been unveiled as the BeoVision Eclipse. The combination of fantastic audio and picture quality as well as good craftsmanship and design delivers the ”ultimate TV experience”, the company said.
BeoVision Eclipse
With Eclipse, Bang & Olufsen shifts to a new display technology. After having partnered with manufacturers of LCD panels for a number of years, the launch of BeoVision Eclipse marks an important step to OLED technology, which can reproduce perfect black, vivid colors, and bright pictures.
OLED is the first new TV display technology for over a decade. Each pixel is an organic-based light emitting diode that can control accurately luminance from pitch black to bright white. Combined with 4K resolution and HDR (High Dynamic Range), OLED delivers the best picture quality on the market. BeoVision Eclipse also supports Dolby Vision HDR.
- “By merging LG Electronics’ OLED TV technology to the Bang & Olufsen experience, we have reached an even higher level and created the ultimate TV experience. That is why we have chosen the name 'Eclipse' – two outstanding objects meet and create something even more spectacular and beautiful,” said Stefan K. Persson, Executive Vice President, Bang & Olufsen HOME.
Of course, others manufacturers can say the same but at Bang & Olufsen “sound is more than half the picture”, the company proclaimed at the announcement event for BeoVision Eclipse. That is why the OLED TV is equipped with a powerful speaker directly under the display panel.
The Danish company calls it a ‘SoundCentre’ because it is more capable than a simple soundbar. Stereo sound is output in 3 channels via 450W amplifiers. You can of course expand the sound stage to surround by connecting additional speakers. In such a setup, the SoundCentre will become a center speaker.
- “At Bang & Olufsen, we strive to evolve alongside our customers and deliver products that fit into their lives. BeoVision Eclipse is in many ways a flexible solution for the modern consumer, and it represents another leap forward in the way we make TV’s. It is what you want it to be at any given time,” said Stefan K. Persson.
OLED, video processor & webOS from LG
The launch of BeoVision Eclipse marks the beginning of a close partnership between Bang & Olufsen and LG Electronics.
As part of this partnership, LG has developed the video processor in BeoVision Eclipse. It is designed to process all types of source signals from SD and HD to 4K and HDR, and reproduce the optimal picture on the OLED panel. The video processor also supports Dolby Vision.
Dolby Vision is an HDR format that offers some key advantages over the HDR10 base format. HDR is a industry term for an expanded brightness range and a wide color gamut that includes visible colors not included in previous video standards. To experience Dolby Vision you need content in the format. Examples are Netflix, Amazon and UHD Blu-ray. The same sources also offer movies and TV shows in 4K resolution.
- “The partnership will enable Bang & Olufsen to focus on its core capabilities of design, craftsmanship and acoustics, and combine this with LG Electronics’ technological leadership in OLED TV technology including their webOS and 4K video processing capabilities.”
B&O will adopt LG’s TV platform webOS, too, just a few years after the company switched to Google’s ’Android TV’ platform in TVs such as BeoVision Horizon. As such, the BeoVision Eclipse is based on webOS version 3.5. This also marks the first time that another TV brand has licensed webOS from LG.
webOS is an operating system for TV that combines the classic TV guide with apps for streaming in a unified menu that slides up from the bottom. Here you have access to apps such as Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube as well as localalized services. You can also record TV programs via the dual tuner by connecting an external USB hard drive.
- “Consumers all over the world will immediately recognize LG’s unrivaled OLED and video processing technology inside this beautiful television crafted by Bang & Olufsen, a company with a strong heritage in design and sound,” said Lee Sang-woo, vice president of business strategy at the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. “We are looking forward to further developing this relationship going forward.”
You can control everything from the updated BeoRemote One that now has dedicated Netflix and Amazon buttons at top. Besides these buttons, it includes ”MyButtons” that you can program to open for example apps.
From the outside it appears that the partnership with LG opens to door to a modern Bang & Olufsen TV. The company no longer has an in-house video development team as it has opted to let LG control development and production. On the other hand, Bang & Olufsen now has, with Eclipse, its first OLED TV; its first HDR TV; and its first Dolby Vision TV – in the same package. It was left unsaid if the partnership involves a full shift to OLED display technology.
SoundCentre and wireless sound
Bang & Olufsen says that the integrated ”SoundCentre” delivers exceptional sound in 3 channels. It is also a very capable music system.
SoundCentre completes the visual side of things, B&O believes. It extends slightly beyond the glas panel that makes up the display. Buyers can choose either aluminium or coloured fabrics. The TV has been designed by Torsten Valeur, David Lewis Designers.
- ”This makes for some exciting contrasts – between image and sound, slimness and volume. However, at the same time, the design naturally integrates all elements in an appealing design,” the company said.
Stereo sound is delivered from six units in 450W and can be extended to surround sound with BeoLab speakers via the built-in surround module. If you own B&O’s wireless speakers (IWS / WiSA) you can of course also connect these speakers wirelessly to BeoVision Eclipse.
In addition, the SoundCentre supports a range of wireless audio protocols, including Apple Airplay, Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth. These systems allow you to listen to music from almost any music service out there. That is why Bang & Olufsen calls Eclipse a “music system in its own right”. SoundCentre can furthermore be included into B&O multiroom, the so-called BeoLink system.
Eclipse can hang on the wall via a motorized or manual wall bracket or rest on the floor via a motorized floor stand that can “move soundlessly across the floor, as if it were floating towards you” when you turn on the TV.
BeoVision Eclipse is available in 55 and 65 inch formats from September.
