LG OLED65C8PTA

THE MASTERS OF OLED ARE STILL AHEAD OF THE PACK.

IT’S WELL KNOWN that LG is the king of OLED technology, the panel type of choice for many AV enthusiasts, as they’ve been supported longer than every other TV company on the market. In fact, most OLED TVs under other brands, such as the Sony reviewed later, actually use LG OLED panels, though the hardware powering the panels is different. This year is no different for LG, with its aim to deliver ever thinner OLED panels with class-leading image quality at the top of their range, with more affordable technologies further down the stack.

LG has broken its 2018 range into three categories — OLED, SUPER UHD and 4K UHD. Obviously, the first in the range is based on superior OLED panel technology, and this year’s sees an upgrade to the processor used to power the screen. The Alpha 9 intelligent processor is a significant improvement on prior chips, delivering some of the finest images we’ve ever witnessed. Fully Dolby Vision compliant, the contrast ratio on the 65-inch LG C8 OLED that we tested was simply too high for our colorimeter to accurately measure, while blacks registered as exactly 0 nits. Detail in dark areas was much improved on prior OLEDs we’ve tested as well.

There is now support for high framerate video up to 120fps, as well as being one of the very few sets to support the new Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) standard. Setting the frame interpolation too high still resulted in the soap-opera effect, but at lower values, it definitely improved the smoothness of panning shots and motion. Thanks to the way OLED screens are built, it’s also impossibly thin, though the base does blow out to 4.7cm.

The SUPER UHD range is based on LG’s Nano Cell technology, which is based on IPS technology but uses an improved backlight technology called Full Array Dimming. It’s similar in concept to the Hisense backlight array, in that there are more lighting zones, helping to stop light bleed, as well as improving contrast performance. The use of IPS technology allows for wider viewing angles, as seen on most of today’s high-end laptop displays.

TVs in the SUPER UHD range use the Alpha 7 chip, which also supports full Dolby Vision HDR and is also 4K. Finally, there is the entry-level 4K UHD range, which also supports HDR and HLG, and starts at just $1,549 for the 43-inch model. These use an LED/LCD screen to keep costs low, so there is obviously going to be a trade-off in image quality here.

Voice control is included across the range thanks to the AI ThinQ controls, while the C8 we tested had the same gesture-controlled remote as seen previously. It’s not the easiest remote to use, but support for every streaming service is included or downloadable, thanks to the LG Smart TV webOS. Strangely our set wouldn’t connect to our network via Ethernet, but worked perfectly over Wi-Fi.

If you’re serious about your viewing addiction, LG’s premium range is hard to beat, but you’re going to have to pay for the privilege. And while they’re still the masters of OLED, the rest of the field is slowly catching up, so LG is will have to continue to improve wherever possible to maintain its lead.