LG Nano90 LCD TV Review & Comments

32 zones in their top model......
 
Hi Phil,

Thanks for the review, I was hoping for better results than those that you reported, but I guess that is the case with fewer dimming zones amongst the various parts of the technology that can't replicate the QLED performance.

Apart from QLED flagship, this result makes me think that for proper Film viewing OLED is the only way to go, with that choice being a personal preference, to get great film performance.

Although the TV will be discounted, this is in the ball park currently of a entry level OLED at the same size, so for me at least OLED is the one to choose.

The reason why I was hoping for better results is that I want a TV at 75 inch, and OLED is still out of my price bracket at that size.

Still, for viewing in lighter environments and just enjoying some light watching I can see these being a good choice, especially when discounted. It might make me look at the 75 inch version for the lounge I have which is well lit during the day.

Gordon
 
Good review, Phil, thanks.
Looks like another average LCD TV from LG, I would just stick to OLED for critical movie viewing and Samsung QLEDs if you live in a house made out of glass
 
A bit confused by the comment about WebOS being the best if it doesn't have Catch up services, surely for a higher end LCD TV this should be cause for concern?
 
A bit confused by the comment about WebOS being the best if it doesn't have Catch up services, surely for a higher end LCD TV this should be cause for concern?
As an OS it is fast, slick and powerful, allowing you to jump between apps easily without any signs of crashing or hanging. In the UK there is no Freeview Play which is mentioned in the review and at the moment means no catch-up apps, but that doesn't take away from the fact that WebOS works as it should and if you are not in the UK, it's not an issue for you.
 
Ah ok, thanks Phil. Have LG commented on when the catch up apps are likely to appear, as I am considering the CX but don't want to lose a HDMI with a catch up box?
 
Sorry, I edited my post I just realised what you meant. I've added that to the cons which I missed.

Peak brightness is however around the level of most LCD TVs in this sector of the market and you need to step up to the next level to get significant gains in those peaks. Plus, most FALD sets use blooming mitigation which means that the brightest highlights are held back to prevent blooming.
 
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Ah ok, thanks Phil. Have LG commented on when the catch up apps are likely to appear, as I am considering the CX but don't want to lose a HDMI with a catch up box?
Their statement is in my CX review verdict.
 
Quite disappointing, but as expected I suppose from LG, whose LCDs have few takers and only OLEDs are its prized goods.
 
Absolutely agree 👍 with Phil statement. So many people seem to have this particular fixation with just NIT rating all the time. One of my favourite YouTubeers apart from Vincent at HDTV Test & Rtings is a guy from the US call STOP THE FOMO. He's acutally bloody good and seriously worth watching.

Anyhow I agree with that comment this is how Samsung do their Qleds they get far better blacks because of the very aggressive dimming algorithms they use which completely crushes detials which has been proven many times.

This is why LG curb their NIT rating down to have a decent balance of brightness vs detials. Its the same with IPS and VA panals. If your LEDs get to overly bright you are simply just going to "clip" everything around it hence lossing loads of finer detials within the picture. Otherwise you will just see very bright white lights as opposed to seeing the detials within those bright lights. So Yes having more dimming zones on paper is great but in reality it's down to how those dimming zones are being controlled by it's algorithms and CPU.

You could have 100 dimming zones but if its not implemented very well its going to absolutely suck. You may acutally find a TV with let's say 30- 40 local dimming zones correctly implemented rather than a FALD panal with 70 dimming zones may acutally out preform a TV with FALD sounds crazy but I think it's true. Also a TV with less dimming zones will less lightly crush detials. So the same issues its NIT rating not always the most important thing on the check list to be honest and its very badly marketed.

I own a LG 2019 55SM8600 and I'm dam impressed with its preformance. Recently upgraded from a 2017 49SJ810V.

NIT RATING +DIMMING =balance of picture PQ and detials.

Anyways just some of my own throughs on the matter. :thumbsup:
 
32 zones in their top model......
It's not their top LCD model for 2020. The new 8K resolution Nano99 is the top LG LCD tv this year with roughly 120 zones plus the new advanced α9 Gen 3 AI Processor.
 
Peak brightness is however around the level of most LCD TVs in this sector of the market and you need to step up to the next level to get significant gains in those peaks. Plus, most FALD sets use blooming mitigation which means that the brightest highlights are held back to prevent blooming.
Is it really the case that you have to spend over 2000 quid for a decently specified HDR experience now?
Absolutely agree 👍 with Phil statement. So many people seem to have this particular fixation with just NIT rating all the time. One of my favourite YouTubeers apart from Vincent at HDTV Test & Rtings is a guy from the US call STOP THE FOMO. He's acutally bloody good and seriously worth watching.
You can get a very nice HDR picture from an OLED. It can approach the levels of details in highlights with Dolby Vision etc but not without compromising overall image brightness. Plus it can never match the colour volume of a well made high nit LED. So for those of us whose priority is HDR, LED makes a lot of sense.
 
STOP THE FOMO yes watched a few of his videos, seems to be well into it. Though I do disagree with him on a fair few points but that is life.
 
Absolutely agree 👍 with Phil statement. So many people seem to have this particular fixation with just NIT rating all the time. One of my favourite YouTubeers apart from Vincent at HDTV Test & Rtings is a guy from the US call STOP THE FOMO. He's acutally bloody good and seriously worth watching.

This is why LG curb their NIT rating down to have a decent balance of brightness vs detials. Its the same with IPS and VA panals. If your LEDs get to overly bright you are simply just going to "clip" everything around it hence lossing loads of finer detials within the picture. Otherwise you will just see very bright white lights as opposed to seeing the detials within those bright lights. So Yes having more dimming zones on paper is great but in reality it's down to how those dimming zones are being controlled by it's algorithms and CPU.

NIT RATING +DIMMING =balance of picture PQ and detials.

Anyways just some of my own throughs on the matter. :thumbsup:

Colour accuracy looks good, but it's a shame about the blooming and relatively low HDR Peak Brightness levels.

I'm not fixated with cd/m2 (NITS), but if you're buying a TV to enjoy HDR, you want decent black levels and you want it to be able to deliver specular highlights of at least 500 cd/m2 in a 10% window.

Whilst you may not be able to get the best black levels from LCD technology, somewhat higher peak brightness should be achievable on mid-range products.

Regards,
James.
 
Colour accuracy looks good, but it's a shame about the blooming and relatively low HDR Peak Brightness levels.

I'm not fixated with cd/m2 (NITS), but if you're buying a TV to enjoy HDR, you want decent black levels and you want it to be able to deliver specular highlights of at least 500 cd/m2 in a 10% window.

Whilst you may not be able to get the best black levels from LCD technology, somewhat higher peak brightness should be achievable on mid-range products.

Regards,
James.
This TV looks seems to have the worst of both worlds. The blooming of a high nit TV without the high nits. They basically skimped on hardware and software. Not enough zones, poor dimming algorithm, not enough nits.
 
Going to be more of the same, it's an IPS panel, you can't polish a turd.
It's not a turd :rotfl: it's had early positive reviews. As a day time tv or with the lights on it looks a very good tv. The 8K AI upscaling is said to be as good or better than the Samsung 8K tv's.

Though wouldn't use it for dark room lights off cinema viewing. OLED will easily remain king in that regard until the likes of Panasonic, Sony etc bring their dual panel LCD tv's to the market in the next few years.

Hisense duel panel LCD tv tech looks very promising with black levels almost the same as OLED. But unfortunately they don't use the wide viewing angle panels that Sony and Samsung use.
 
It's not a turd :rotfl: it's had early positive reviews. As a day time tv or with the lights on it looks a very good tv. The 8K AI upscaling is said to be as good or better than the Samsung 8K tv's.

Though wouldn't use it for dark room lights off cinema viewing. OLED will easily remain king in that regard until the likes of Panasonic, Sony etc bring their dual panel LCD tv's to the market in the next few years.

Hisense duel panel LCD tv tech looks very promising with black levels almost the same as OLED. But unfortunately they don't use the wide viewing angle panels that Sony and Samsung use.

Well hopefully it reviews well, it's a shame the 4K models haven't, as competition and choices are great for us consumers. Unfortunately I watch tv in a relatively dim room.
 
I thought this year 2020 model Nano 90 had a better contrast/FALD performance as it has a more intelligent power supply or something? Is it better performance because of this in general, and/or than last year LG models?

I think I’m down to 65” Nano 90 or Sony 65” X90H The Sony is £300 more though - worth it? Don’t want a Samsung as definitely want Dolby HDR. It’ll be my first 4K and HDR TV.
 
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If you had this money, why would you not just buy an OLED?
 
I don’t understand why the absence of Freeview Play means no bbc, it or ch4 catch up apps on LG models. Samsung TVs don't have Freeview Play either, yet have the catch up apps available. It’s seriously off putting - my elderly parents already bought a Samsung TV rather than LG a few weeks ago because of this very issue.
 
Well hopefully it reviews well, it's a shame the 4K models haven't, as competition and choices are great for us consumers. Unfortunately I watch tv in a relatively dim room.
A OLED would probably be best if it's a relatively dim room. I don't watch as much movies with the lights off as much as years ago but decided to get a 2020 OLED later this year black Friday. Hopefully the deals are decent a few pounds knocked off them.
 
I read in the review that the 2.1 inputs are "full fat" 48Gbs, but I have read elsewhere that they are only 40Gbs, as are the 2020 Denon receivers.
 

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