LG Display’s 97-inch OLED panel vibrates to create “cinematic” 5.1 sound

LG Display announced a new 97-inch OLED EX TV panel that vibrates to produce 5.1 audio without the help of a built-in speaker.

The giant display features LG’s CSO (Cinematic Sound OLED) technology seen previously on devices like this bendable 48-inch OLED panel. CSO uses a thin film exciter applied to the back of the panel to vibrate the display, resulting in audio being generated directly from the OLED without the need for additional speakers. LG Display claims the 5.1 channel system will offer a “cinematic level of immersion,” which is a bold claim considering all the sound will be coming from the TV rather than surround sound speakers placed behind the viewer.

While we can’t vouch for the quality of CSO-produced sound within this LG panel, we found the technology’s performance was lackluster on the LG G8 smartphone we tried with the tech in 2019, though things may have improved since. Looking at reviews for the Sony Bravia AG9, an OLED TV that features similar vibrating panel technology, Expert Reviews called it “one of the best-sounding TVs on the market.” That’s not quite the same as “cinematic level of immersion,” but it does bode well for LG’s own branded offering.

LG Display’s 97-inch panel uses the same OLED EX technology found in the latest flagship OLED TVs from LG and others to create a brighter and more accurate image. LG Display calls it the largest OLED panel ever made, although the company’s consumer electronics division, LG Electronics (whose TVs use panels produced by LG Display), already announced a 97-inch OLED TV back in January 2022 without the vibrating sound feature.

LG Electronics’ 97-inch OLED should hit retail channels for around $25,000 later this year, according to FlatpanelsHD. That means you can expect any TV produced around LG Display’s new vibrating panel to be around that same price or maybe a bit more.