It’s time for LG to join the ranks of other electronics manufacturers, many of which seem to be launching their own cloud service.  LG Cloud is the latest entrant to the consumer cloud market, launching tomorrow.  The free beta service will be available initially in the US and South Korea.

The release comes just four days before the expected launch of Samsung’s own cloud service, S-Cloud.

LG Cloud will tie its whole ecosystem of devices such as smartphones, tablets, televisions, computers, etc. under one platform, where the user has direct access to photos, videos, music files, etc.

The service automatically synchronizes all mobile content with the cloud so that you can view pictures, videos and multimedia content taken on your smartphone across your desktop and LG smart TV.

LG Cloud will be available via an app that users can download from Google Play, lgecloud.com or LG SmartWorld. It will work on Android phones running 2.2 and higher, desktops running Windows XP and Windows 7 and LG smart TVs with Netcast 2.0 and higher.

Users can create a free LG Cloud account with 5 GB of storage, but those who buy products from LG or have an LG Smart TV or LG smartphone will get 50GB of free storage for six months. LG said the paid service pricing will be announced separately as the service becomes available in more countries.

“Most companies today only see the cloud as a storage device or in the case of YouTube or Flickr, only for one type of content,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG’s Home Entertainment Company, also responsible for the new Smart Business Center created for LG Cloud service.

“LG makes the devices that millions of people watch content on so we can set a new yardstick for ease of use by setting up our own cloud service. Tomorrow’s consumers don’t want to go to one cloud for music, another cloud for video, another location for photos and yet another cloud for their office files. In the end, our solution is about making life more convenient.”

Beating competitors in a crowded market

LG Cloud will differentiate itself as data-plus-multimedia rich cloud storage offering, competing with rivals by using Real-Time Streaming Transcoding technology. LG claims that the advantage lies in technology that converts files directly on the server, and you do not have to download codec files and other instruments to play the video.

“The difference is in LG’s Real-time Streaming Transcoding technology. The conversion happens on the server in real-time, not on the device,” LG said in a released statement. “There is no need to worry about installing codecs or converters, everything happens seamlessly and in the background with no involvement from the user.”

LG Cloud also works with 3D content, technology that is embedded in several Korean smartphones manufacturers. The service also foresees the possibility of access to users’ data via web site and the presence of a synchronized folder on your PC just like Dropbox, Box and SkyDrive.

The cloud continues to be one of the biggest bets for most technology companies. Big companies are presenting their own cloud computing services with an aim to increase the reach of their existing products. We have seen many such services launched or upgraded in the past few days, the latest being Google Drive, veteran Dropbox, Microsoft’s SkyDrive and Box.

LG Cloud is looking specifically to extend the mobile experience, coming to market several months after Acer unveiled a similar service last year called AcerCloud..