LG UK Disavows Retailer Ads That Falsely Claim Music Flow Speakers Deliver ‘HD Sound’ via Bluetooth

LG’s U.K. subsidiary was forced to disavow full-page color magazine ads from the Dixons Group’s Currys PC World chain that falsely claimed LG’s Music Flow home network speakers can deliver “true HD sound” over a Bluetooth link, a feat hitherto not thought possible. Many modern Bluetooth devices use the aptX stereo encoding system, which employs 4:1 compression to squeeze CD-quality 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio into a 352 kbps data stream. Chip maker CSR, which now owns aptX, claims “CD performance” is possible using the aptX compression scheme, but even Chris Havell, CSR senior director-audio, expressed doubts about the claims in the Currys PC World ad when he emailed us to say: “I don’t believe that Bluetooth supports HD Audio.” An LG U.K. spokeswoman emailed us Monday, thanking us “for drawing our attention to this advert,” which she said was “a creative from Currys PC World,” not something LG had drawn up. “LG did not write the copy or have any creative input into this advert,” she said. “The advert would have been sent to LG prior to publication but unfortunately it appears the claim was missed on this occasion. LG will notify Currys PC World to ensure that any future adverts are amended.” She stressed that “no LG-owned channels,” such as the LG U.K. website, its Music Flow page or any Music Flow product user manuals, “mention HD playback via Bluetooth.”