For much of the past decade LG has become known as the experts on televisions with Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology and every year it has raised the bar on premium video performance. After a thorough review, we’re pleased to report this year’s step-up CX series 4K OLED TVs take sound and picture performance up a notch.
Although this isn’t LG’s entry bargain series (that would be the BX line), the CX line offers some of the most affordable prices at the launch of a step-up 4K OLED television set. We found it delivered even better pictures and sound than last year’s impressive C9 and E9 series.
Please note that at the time of this review some LG C9 models (the 65C9PUA was listed at $2,196.99 on Amazon at time of posting) were still available at retail for significantly reduced prices. Picture and sound performance last year was excellent and not radically inferior to what we saw in the CX version. This might offer a reasonable savings for some in the first half of 2020.
From our observations, the on-board picture and sound processing in the CX series does a terrific job upscaling lower resolution content and handling issues like color banding and background noise, but a lot of this was true last year. The improvements this time out are subtle, though the next generation a9 Gen 3 processing chip does an excellent job overall with upscaling, motion smoothing and video noise handling.
The LG CX 4K OLED series features the same 55-inch ($1,796.99 retail at time of posting), 65-inch ($2,496.99 retail at time of posting), and 77-inch screen sizes as last year, plus it adds a new 48-inch model this year that is optimized for desktop placement. The smaller screen size should appeal to hardcore video gamers who want to get right up close for lean-forward gaming competition. It should also appeal to those who have certain special furniture size constraints and apartment dwellers looking for something that takes up less space.
The CX model series – like the 2020 GX, WX, and ZX OLED series – incorporate the aforementioned powerful a9 Gen 3 processor, which brings a step-up in performance for AI picture and sound processing. The opening price point BX OLED series is the only OLED class that uses a step-down processor. The BX models might present somewhat weaker content upscaling and will likely show artifacts like color banding and background noise more noticeably in some content. The rest of LG’s 2020 4K OLED series should deliver comparably excellent picture performance to the CX models. The images were stunningly clear, colorful and contrasty, with noticeable improvement at presenting visible textures and reducing some motion handling artifacts. For movie viewing the motion smoothing systems should be turned off if you want to preserve the artistic intent of the content producers.
Improvements for 2020
This year’s system also brings a new dedicated facial recognition feature that presents enhanced consistency and accuracy in skin tone presentation. It also adds an auto content detection system used for the television’s auto picture adjustment to continually present the best look for the type of content being displayed, avoiding the need for tweakers to manually switch picture modes between cinema, gaming, sports etc.
More impressively, LG is a among a small list of manufacturers this year that has added the Ultra HD Alliance’s Filmmaker Mode as a separate picture mode setting. By activating this, the television detects when a 24fps film-based signal is playing and automatically turns off motion smoothing, video noise reduction and so forth, while setting the color temperature to D65 — all settings long advocated by filmmakers. Some argue that artistic intent is compromised with the way typical default TV settings make movies look in the home.
On a practical level we expect many consumers will find this to be one of the biggest improvements for 2020, as it can activated as a set- it and forget-it utility to ensure optimized delivery of film-based movie images when triggering metadata is detected. It might take some time for such content to be widely available. Manually activating Filmmaker Mode from the Picture Mode settings will accomplish the same task for all content.
Nevertheless, the hope from advocates of the feature is that most people will simply activate the auto Filmmaker Mode setting and leave it. This can be done by going into settings>picture>additional settings menu and turning on the Filmmaker Mode auto change tab.
Meanwhile, LG’s new auto AI Picture optimization tools can be set to change picture settings to sports or standard mode when live video is playing. This will turn on motion smoothing systems to clear up image blurring of fast-moving objects and reduce judder, where desired. When these modes are engaged for film-based content, images can look overly sharp producing the so-called Soap Opera Effect. This takes away the cinematic illusion filmmakers wish to preserve, ruining the immersive theater-like qualities of the picture.
Note that out of the box, the TV will be in Auto Power Save (APS) mode, which reduces electricity use, but might not be presenting the most realistic images possible. For most cinema enthusiasts, turning this off and setting the correct mode (in this set Filmmaker Mode, Cinema, ISF Expert Day or Night are among them) is typically priority No. 1.
Video Gaming Input
Perhaps disappointingly to some advanced PC video gamers, LG is not offering the full 48 Gbps bandwidth afforded by the new HDMI 2.1 spec in its 4K TVs this year. This has turned into a controversy online among some hardcore enthusiasts. However, we believe for most consumers this will be a none issue. The HDMI ports do support a still high 40 Gbps which should be sufficient for 4K/120fps games at up to 4:4:4 chroma sub sampling over any of the set’s HDMI inputs when using next-generation gaming consoles, but some gamers who use PCs with the latest high-end graphics cards have worried that they would hit limitations when running 4K/120fps, 4:4:4 along with untranscoded advanced surround sound formats. In short, most people are unlikely to find any practical limitations.
Quoting Dolby, LG told us: “Dolby TrueHD supports up to 24-bit audio and sampling rates from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz. Dolby TrueHD supports up to 7.1 audio channels as well as Dolby Atmos immersive audio. As Dolby TrueHD is a lossless audio codec, the data rate is variable. For example, Dolby TrueHD bitrates average around 6,000 kbps for Dolby Atmos at 48 kHz with peak data rates up to a maximum of 18,000 kbps for high sampling rate content. Remember that kpbs is very small.
18,000Kbps = 0.018Gbps
6,000 Kbps average = 0.006Gbps
Almost any specs that are given are maximums and in reality are considerably smaller. As you can see, 40Gbps can certainly handle max video of 4K 120P 4:4:4 RGB and 0.018Gbps of audio. “
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One of the missing capabilities in the 48 Gbps equation is bandwidth-compromising 12-bit color support, but no consumer TV on the market yet has a display panel that supports higher than 10-bit color. HDMI ports have been capable of handling that for some time. Otherwise, LG nicely provides a robust selection of supported HDMI 2.1 spec features including: high frame rates up to 4K/120 Hz, e-ARC, advanced High Dynamic Range profile support, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), FreeSync (with a firmware update) and G-Sync.
Those expecting to get every feature in the HDMI 2.1 spec should be aware that the HDMI developers offer a suite of voluntary advancements, and just because a device is listed with HDMI 2.1 input doesn’t necessarily mean that the display or connected HDMI 2.1 devices are going to support all these features. If one or more features are important to you, look for them clearly listed by name in the product spec sheets. The full-spec 48 Gbps speed will be most meaningful in 8K televisions where high frame rates like 8K/60p are desired along with advanced surround sound formats and other capabilities.
We received this explanation from LG for its decision to change the HDMI 2.1 capabilities for 2020 from the 2019 lineup:
“While LG covered most of the HDMI 2.1 related specs in its 2019 TVs, including full bandwidth support in all of the HDMI ports for its 4K and 8K TVs, the market situation evolution indicated that real content that requires 48 Gbps is not available in the market. Based on this market situation, LG decided to re-allocate the hardware resources of 2020 chipsets optimizing for AI functions including CPU & GPU and supporting full bandwidth in only 2 ports of 2020 8K TV series (ZX series, NANO99, NANO97, NANO95). The rest of the ports of 8K TVs and all HDMI 2.1 ports of 4K TVs have lower bandwidth than 48 Gbps which supports up to 4K/120p 4:4:4/RGB 10 bit.“
DTS, Technicolor Expert Picture Modes No Longer Supported
Also note that LG is not supporting internal DTS decoding in this year’s models. However, this can be easily addressed by simply connecting the source device to a supporting soundbar, AV receiver, pre-amp, integrated amp etc. Virtually anything streamed over the internet with DTS support should default to a compatible base-level sound format like Dolby Sound to hear soundtracks on the set’s internal speakers.
In addition, LG explained to us: “Over the last few years there have been industry changes that made DTS decoding/support unnecessary on TVs. Most current playback devices already have the ability to decode DTS audio by themselves so, there’s no need for TV to support it. Consumers who wish to listen to DTS content from their player can do so by setting the audio output of the player to PCM (pulse code modulation). The TV can both play that audio as well as pass it over eARC to a compatible eARC audio device. For consumers who wish to play DTS:X content, their source devices need to output the audio directly to the audio product with DTS:X support.
- “DTS audio may be transcoded to PCM and passed through the TV via e-ARC, the user should simply go to the output settings on their player and switch from Bit-Stream to PCM. This conversion is lossless and therefore the same quality as the original DTS audio track. Object based audio enhancements in DTS:X audio tracks can not be transcoded to PCM; to preserve these object based features, see below.
- In order to retain the object based audio enhancements in DTS:X audio tracks, we recommend connecting the video source device directly to the audio device rather than using eARC / ARC through the TV. DTS:X audio tracks must be Bit-Streamed to the audio device and this is not possible with eARC / ARC on 2020 LG TV models.”
Concerning HDR, LG’s 2020 OLED TVs continue to support a wide range of profiles including: baseline HDR10, dynamic metadata-based Dolby Vision and Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) live broadcast HDR. LG still does not support the (dynamic metadata) HDR10+ profile (LG says its TVs can present the same or similar results from HDR10+ content without supporting the actual profile).
For those looking at an LG 4K OLED TV this year to get a new NextGenTV (ATSC 3.0) broadcast tuner built into the set, please note that the CX models are not among the six ATSC 3.0 supporting models announced by LG at CES 2020. If that’s a deal breaker, consider LG’s 55-, 65- and 77-inch models in the GX 4K Gallery OLED Series, the 65-inch class WX Wallpaper 4K OLED model and 77- and 88-inch class ZX Real 8K OLED models. However, for CX and other TV owners, you will soon be able to purchase an external NextGenTV tuner at prices starting around $200 to pick up the ATSC 3.0 over-the-air broadcasts set to launch this year and in the future in most areas of the country. You will still be able to tune in ATSC 1.0 OTA broadcasts with all television sets for a number of years.
Also this year, LG has dropped Technicolor’s expert picture mode settings that have been included in models for the past couple of years. We found this mode presented some clipping issues in some streamed native 4K content in last year’s NanoCell sets, so we wouldn’t have used the mode anyway. This year’s selection of picture modes include: APS, Cinema, Sports, Game, HDR Effect, Filmmaker Mode, ISF Expert (Bright Room) and ISF Expert (Dark Room) settings. Some of these will auto default into the corresponding HDR versions of these modes when HDR content is detected.
Design
The look of the 2020 CX series 4K OLED TV isn’t much different than it was in the C9 series a year ago, but it’s still a great looking set. The design continues to emphasize the ultra-slim panel depth afforded by OLED technology, and LG maintains a thin black bezel trim around the perimeter of the screen that is visible against bright picture elements but not distracting. We point out that one of the strong suits of OLED technology is how great we think these sets appear when hung on a wall. The set conforms to the VESA wall mount standard and can be mounted against the wall with only a couple of inches between the wall and the set. The mounting bracket holes are on the thicker section of the panel in the rear of the screen. This also houses the circuity and inputs. On the wall, the TV looks almost like a framed picture viewed straight on, a point LG drives home with screen savers and gallery images that offer artworks with onscreen picture frames that match up with the bezel trim of the television for an integrated look. It you find that desirable you might also want to consider the GX (ultra thin) or WX (“Wall Paper” thin) OLED TV series that make that design statement even more impressively.
For those content with traditional tabletop placement, LG trades off the curved stand design from last year’s C9 for a sloped, straight front nose piece that blends nicely with the screen trim while allowing just a 1.5-inch clearance gap between the base of the screen and the table or credenza’s mounting surface. This allows placing a small source device like a streaming media adapter, cable box or some Ultra HD Blu-ray players at either end behind the screen without blocking an IR remote control signal.
Inputs
The LG CX series televisions all support four HDMI inputs with HDCP 2.2 support, 1 rear facing and three facing out from the left side. The HDMI 2 port supports the new eARC feature. See an explanation of HDMI 2.1 feature support above. In addition, these sets include 2 rear positioned USB Ports (v 2.0) and one side facing; and a rear facing RF connection input (Antenna/Cable) supporting ATSC 1.0 but no internal ATSC 3.0 tuning in this series. Other inputs include 1 set of composite AV, an Ethernet port, an RS-232C (Mini Jack) input; a rear facing optical digital audio output and a rear positioned headphone output.
Calibration
LG nicely continues to support Portrait Display’s IP-based AutoCal component inside the CalMan display calibration software suite and includes a set of test patterns internally in the television. When used with a suitable light meter/colorimeter/spectroradiometer (we use a relatively affordable Portrait Displays C6-HDR colorimeter), this helps significantly speed up the calibration process and delivers a relatively precise setting at the panel level (outside of the manual control picture settings). We choose to use AutoCal in our reviews where ever possible and the resulting pictures are generally fantastic.
Of the CX series picture modes, we found Cinema, Filmmaker Mode and ISF Expert (day and night) to produce the most accurate picture settings for artistic intent, with the settings in Cinema and Filmmaker modes being very similar. Other modes will produce exaggerated results for movie viewing. Game Mode is the best picture mode when the lowest lag time is desired for competitive advantage. When 4K Ultra HD content is detected, the selected SDR picture mode setting will automatically change to that mode’s equivalent for HDR or Dolby Vision HDR, as the case might be for the title played.
As mentioned, many of LG’s better 4K and 8K televisions this year feature the UHDA’s Filmmaker Mode (added as a picture mode option), which was developed in collaboration with Hollywood directors to quickly set-up to have the television making settings adjustments such as turning off motion smoothing, noise reduction and and other picture enhancement systems to achieve a look that is closer to a film-based cinema quality that content almost universally strive to maintain. This also means the mode should be tuned to the D65 color temperature and colors should be as accurate as possible without a full calibration. In the settings menu, users can set-and-forget the television to automatically switch into the Filmmaker Mode when film-based content is detected by the television, but at launch the necessary metadata is not universally available to content must be enabled manually by the user from the settings menu. A planned feature is to offer automatic detection of film content to enable Filmmaker Mode.
HDR
We found LG’s 4K 65CXPUA OLED TV did a fantastic job presenting high dynamic range from both HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR supported content. We measured peak brightness to about 782 nits in a 10% white window pattern running the HDR analysis workflow in Portrait Display’s CalMan calibration software. This qualifies as a “premium 4K OLED TV” by the Ultra HD Alliance benchmarks. The set’s auto brightness limiter that protects the screen ramps brightness steadily down the larger the white window pattern becomes. We measured about 161 nits at the center of a 100% full white screen pattern. The OLED panel’s wide color gamut was (like last year’s E9 OLED we tested) excellent. We measured more than 98% of the Ultra HD Alliance DCI-P3 color space recommendation. (Anything greater than 90% qualifies as a “Premium 4K” TV. In addition, black level measured nearly zero with our somewhat less sensitive C6-HDR colorimeter.
As always, the pixel-by-pixel light control of OLED technology delivered inky deep blacks with virtually no blooming artifacts. After calibration we did see some level of crushing in fine shadow detail; things like the outlines of black suit jacket lapels tend to be engulfed by the surround background material, but this is the trade off for deep rich color reproduction and less diffuse dark backgrounds. The moving star field test pattern in the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark didn’t exhibit any of the clouding around bright stars we typically see from the haloing produced by full-array and edge-lit LED LCD TVs. We also spotted a nice wide field of visible stars from deep space scenes in Ultra HD Blu-ray versions of movies like The Martian’s opening title sequence.
One thing that always surprises us is just how brilliantly bright HDR spectral highlights appear on LG OLED panels even though the peak luminance level is several hundred nits lower than the LED-LCD technology competition. This makes for spectacular looking peak bright elements in the 4K HDR of the UHD Blu-ray of Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II. This effect combined with the tack sharp 4K resolution on screen is nothing short of spellbinding. We could literally count the grains of sand beneath the claw pad of a lioness stalking a giraffe in Planet Earth II.
Dolby Vision IQ content was similarly spectacular. We were impressed with the brilliant bright background lights that stood out against a dim giant dance floor full of shadow detail in an early scene from the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version of Mission Impossible: Fallout. Since last year, Dolby Vision IQ is now used to adjust picture brightness to the ambient light conditions in a viewing room using input from the TV’s built-in light sensor. Similar functionality has been applied for a number of years to SDR content and is also used with dynamic tone mapping for HDR10 content as well.
The CX does an excellent job presenting native 4K video content streamed via YouTube as well. Scenes from “Majestic Winter Wildlife in 4K HDR – Arctic Wolves, Foxes and More” simply look gorgeous with rich colors, sharp resolution and wide contrast that preserves details in bright highlights. Bright winter sun reflects off of white snow surrounding a white-furred arctic wolf, preserving visible texture, detail and color in the highlighted points. In the same frame, we can see fine details in shadowed wooded areas. Still present was some visible block noise around blurred moving animals in soft-focused background resulting from digital compression used for the streamed clip. The brilliant clarity of the foreground subjects tends to make such artifacts a little more noticeable than they would ordinarily be.
SDR
Out of the box, the 65CX was very close to the accurate settings for BT.709 color space and 20-point gray scale accuracy and could be quickly tweaked with AutoCal to meet more precise levels for our room lighting conditions. We chose to use ISF Expert Day mode in our calibration for a moderately well lit room. This required us to knock down the OLED light level a bit from the default Mode setting to hit a 100 nit brightness level.
Noise Handling, Up-scaling, Motion Smoothing
Among the benefits of the new a9 Gen 3 processor are improvements in upscaling and noise reduction in this year’s models. These changes are subtle but the overall picture result is quite good. The television does an admirable job removing reducing low-light background noise while preserving film grain to maintain the artistic intent. This can be seen in the night sequences in the Asian harbor scene in the opening moments of the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End from the upscaled Blu-ray disc. These artifacts can get distracting on lesser televisions.
Uniformity and Screen Angle
Screen uniformity in our test model was excellent overall. Both full gray and full black screen test patterns produced very solid even result across the screen without any distracting dirty screen effect or color shifting from left or right angles. Being OLED technology, the wide angle viewing remains the best on the market. Both contrast and color saturation remain on point at a wide radius from center screen as well as for above and below screen viewing. If you are going to mount you television on a wall, this is a very strong benefit.
Smart TV and Magic Remote
LG has made some changes to the smart TV platform with the latest upgrade to webOS this year. The user interface retains the same familiar scrolling ribbons of apps and function choices at the bottom of the screen that are controlled by the same slick LG Magic Remote of prior years. The remote offers the choice of what is effectively an air-mouse with a point-and-click free-floating cursor. This can be quickly changed over to the more conventional highlighted icon style when desired using the centrally positioned directional arrow keys. The remote also contains a mic pin-hole to take spoken commands and search requests when pressing-and-holding the clearly labeled mic button on the remote.
This year, certain apps running LG’s API including Netflix and YouTube now support AI Preview. This will show highlighted recommended content in the UI above the icon. Support for this capability is limited to a handful of services now but we expect this will be updated in other apps over time.
LG also includes its “LG Channels” icon in the bottom ribbon of the dual-ribbon menu. This shows a string of aggregated ad-supported programming aps–some powered by Xomo–above the icon including History, CBCNews, FilmRise, Forensic Files, Vevo, Newsy, Sports Illustrated, Bloomberg, Global Got Talent, Fox Sports, The Preview Channel and many others. This is very similar in look and use to the Pluto app with different channel selections. Clicking on the LG Channels app calls up an on-screen grid of available programs from each of the disparate participating channels. This is a convenient tool for cord cutters looking to find what’s on from a host of subscription-free sources and it leverages IP-delivered content so that those without a connected antenna can still use it, unlike the traditional over-the-air channel guide.
In addition, by selecting the search icon on the bottom menu ribbon, users will be presented with a string or recommended movies and programs pulled from across multiple sources including over-the-air TV channels, YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.
LG supplies a large library of popular streaming apps including most of the major ones. However, as this was posted the just launched HBO Max service from AT&T was not yet among the supported choices.
In other developments, LG is now supporting AirPlay 2, HomeKit and the Apple TV app on later-version webOS models. AirPlay 2 allows pushing streaming videos, music and photos from a supporting iOS or macOS device to the TV screen. HomeKit is Apple’s platform for the connected home automation products. AirPlay 2 and the Apple TV app will support 4K Dolby Vision content streaming streaming to compatible webOS TVs. Further, Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound support will be added via a forthcoming firmware update.
For sports lovers, LG also added another new feature under AI Recommendations called Sports Alert. This lets a viewer select a favorite team through the television to get notifications when the team is playing a game. When a live televised game is found, the TV notifies the viewer that the channel will automatically change at start time. Unfortunately, being smack in the middle of COVID-19 lock-down, we there weren’t any live games being played to give it a try.
In addition, a Who.Where.What? setting is also offered to provide recommendations when activated on people, products and locations related to a current program.
Sound
On-board sound from the OLED65CXPUA this year is impressively good for a flat-panel television this thin. The set features downward-firing speakers for a 2.2-channel output driven by 40 watts. LG has done a nice job limiting some of the boxy sound that is common in many built-in TV speaker systems, and when activated, the AI Sound Pro in the set widens the sound field, particularly for music soundtracks. All the while voices remain clear and understandable.
LG’s AI Sound Pro technology has been improved this year to even more accurately identify and adjust levels to enhance dialog in programming. It delivers a somewhat wider sound stage than last year’s AI Sound platform. The result is a nice overall acoustic output for small compact speakers built into a television of this depth. It is certainly suitable to many viewing applications that won’t be getting any sort of external sound support, like a good soundbar or multi-channel surround sound system. For the most immersive experience, however, we still recommend something with a nice center channel, a powerful subwoofer and a complement of wired or wireless surround speakers to really bring the fully immersive experience home. It will also allow you to get much more from the built-in Dolby Atmos decoding that does little more than broaden the sound stage from the built-in speakers.
One option nicely included again this year by LG is compatibility with WiSA-standard wireless speakers. This will enable the wireless connection to a full complement of self-powered front, center, surround and subwoofer speakers without the need for an AVR or separate amp/preamp sources. Just plug each speaker into a nearby power outlet and pair them with a WiSA transmitter to make a connection to the television set.
For those who prefer a soundbar or a powerful wired AVR-based system, LG nicely supports the new enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) feature of the HDMI 2.1 spec in this television. This now allows you to connect all of your various input sources into the HDMI ports on the television and output the sound of each to HDMI-eARC-ports on the TV and connected AVR, preamp or soundbar. Further, everything is designed to interoperate without any hiccups that for years plagued the original ARC and HDMI-CEC platforms. This new pipeline also offers far greater bandwidth sufficient to relay most of the latest video and multi-channel audio formats, including lossless ones. Another nice benefit is more precise method for lip syncing. For those with legacy sound products who require it, LG also offers a digital optical audio output.
This year’s models newly add support for wirelessly connected Bluetooth speakers as a cheaper alternative to WiSA versions to serve as rear channels in a surround sound mix. This implementation is, however, limited to drawing 2-channel sound from streaming services and upmixing that for the two Bluetooth rears in a 5.1 presentation.
Gaming
Once again, LG has delivered an excellent big-screen display for gaming, and the new 48-inch screen size model offers a new alternative for gamers who would rather sit right up close to the screen positioned atop a desktop. Gamers will find a nice arsenal of tools to compete using the advantages a big screen display has to offer. Other than the already mentioned 40 Gbps HDMI 2.1 through put, the LG CX, like most step-up 2020 LG 4K OLED TVs, offer Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM); Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), G-Sync, FreeSync (via a forthcoming firmware update) and HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) Mode, covering most of the latest gaming-related technologies. The HGiG mode is found as a setting in the menu under Dynamic Tone Mapping. This ensures tone-mapping for HDR gaming output from PlayStation or Xbox consoles is not repeated in the television set.
When in game mode, input lag in the CX measured a consistent and excellent 13.3 ms in 1080/60p and 4K/30p. This is among the most responsive televisions on the market. Of course, the caveat for gamers here is that OLED technology is still at risk of image retention, so some care should be taken that static elements of a gaming picture, like menu over lays, of static graphic elements in a title aren’t left up for extended periods of time. Similar warnings apply for those who like to leave the television tuned to one news or financial channel with static stock or news tickers left stationary for long periods of the day. Otherwise, we find that this issue can be easily mitigated with a little preventive care and varying the displayed content over the course of use. For most conventional television uses, this is a fantastic display for video gamers and movie lovers, alike.
Conclusion
The LG OLED65CXPUA 4K OLED TV is an excellent all-around TV and one of the best displays we’ve test to date. Pricing for OLED technology is slowly dropping into more affordable levels as performance advances. The a9 Gen 3 processor offers a slight edge in overall picture presentation from a year ago, and is a stronger challenger to competitive offerings from both Sony and Samsung. As ever, OLED TVs won’t get the peak brightness levels of high performance full-array LED LCD TVs, but nothing on the market to match OLED for its ability to present deep blacks and a virtually infinite contrast ratio. If you enjoy watching television in a dark room and/or you plan to mount your television on a wall, this is television technology to consider. Keep in mind, you won’t get ATSC 3.0 tuning in this model, you might not be able to play some high frame rate PC-based games through the supplied HDMI inputs and OLED technology still has a risk of image retention if not used with some degree of care.
This is a highly recommended HD Guru buy and we therefore award the LG OLED65CXPUA five out of five hearts.
The LG OLED65CXPUA sample used for this review was a company loan.
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By Greg Tarr
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