GOOD as OLED in 2020 - LG 90 Nanocell 4K Smart TV Review

GOOD as OLED in 2020 - LG 90 Nanocell 4K Smart TV Review

Is LG’s new 90 Series Nanocell 4K Smart TV as good as OLED in 2020 - LG 90 Nanocell 4K Smart TV review answers that question. In our opinion the best display technology on the market is OLED. We understand that OLED however isn’t perfect or right for everyone. While OLED was originally cost prohibitive for many, it has come down in price dramatically. As a result, more people are asking themselves should they buy OLED over an LED Smart TV in 2020.

Historically LED backlit LCD TVs, also known as LED TVs, have been cheaper to buy, come in a wider range of sizes and generally are a bit more robust in terms of their build quality. LED TVs have not be as good as OLED TVs when it comes to picture quality, but the trade-offs have largely been worth it. With the roll out of new LED technologies such as Quantum Dot, or in LG’s case, Nanocell, the gap between OLED and LED has shrunk.

QLED OR OLED

QLED or OLED. What is the difference? OLED is self-illuminating so it does not rely on LED lighting for its backlighting or brightness. OLED displays have true to life contrast and arguably more natural colors, though they’re not as bright as many LED displays. LED displays can be way brighter than OLED, sometimes three to five times brighter. Brighter smart TVs are good for rooms with a lot of ambient light. Brighter LED TVs are also good for gaming and HDR content. QLED or Quantum Dot LED displays come closer to producing the picture quality of OLED while retaining the brightness LED TVs are known for.

NANOCELL VS QUANTUM DOT TECHNOLOGY

Nanocell vs Quantum Dot technology; which is better? While Nanocell is not exactly the same as Quantum Dot, the two technologies are very, very similar. Quantum Dot is a Samsung technology whereas Nanocell belongs to LG. Both use a filter layer on the LCD for better light uniformity which in turn (should) produce better, more OLED like contrast. The filter layer also aides in more natural color rendering. The idea is that when combined with full panel LED backlighting and local dimming, the presence of the Quantum Dot or Nanocell filter layer should result in a more natural and organic looking image. Focusing on the LG 90 Series specifically, we think LG succeeds in this regard.

AN AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE TO OLED

While we would still give the edge to OLED in an OLED vs LED battle, the differences between the two are slight. The 90 Series has a few more tricks up its sleeve when it comes to besting its OLED counterpart. For starters, the LG 90 Series is an affordable alternative to OLED. It is available in a wider range of sizes, including sizes up to 86 inches. That’s a big screen and a great solution for home theaters!

MAXIMUM BRIGHTNESS

However, like OLED, LG’s 90 Series Nanocell Smart TV isn’t the brightest display on the market today. We measured a maximum brightness of around 1,000 Nits. Day-to-day regular viewing the LG’s brightness was measured closer to 500-700 Nits of total brightness. This is honestly plenty bright both for HD and UltraHD/4K content, not to mention HDR viewing, but it is a far cry from the light output from say Samsung or Vizio’s latest Smart TVs. It is the 90 Series’ slight lack of light output however that helps it to have OLED-like black levels. While the 90 Series was not able to produce absolute black in our tests, it measured close enough that we feel most viewers wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in regular viewing situations.

LG 90 SERIES NANOCELL PICTURE QUALITY

Out of the box the LG 90 Series Nanocell picture quality is most accurate in when set to its Cinema picture preset. Filmmaker Mode is LG’s newest picture profile available on the 90 Series for 2020. As creators, we’re big fans of Filmmaker Mode. It automatically disables any and all motion interpolation features that plague a lot of modern TVs. Filmmaker Mode in the 90 Series measures as well as LG’s own Cinema preset with respect to accuracy out of the box. Filmmaker Mode is not as bright as the Cinema preset out of the box so some users may prefer the Cinema picture preset over Filmmaker Mode. We are fans of both presets and believe this is a great starting place for even the most avid TV watcher.

ULTRAHD

Regardless of which picture profile you choose, you’ll be treated to a stunning UltraHD 4K image thanks to the TV’s a7 Gen 3 Processor and upscaling capability. If you’re a fan of HDR programming from the likes of Netflix you’ll be happy to know that the 90 Series Nanocell has support for Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG. We especially liked streaming video in Dolby Vision, as shows like Netflix’s The Crown looked positively brilliant.

Gamers will no doubt be pleased with the 90 Series’ list of gaming specific features such as FreeSync, variable refresh rates, ALLM and HGiG. LG claims the 90 Series Nanocell’s panel has a native refresh rate of 120Hz, which is great for gaming -though we aren’t the biggest gamers ourselves so we didn’t put this claim to the test.

Our only real gripe with the 90 Series Nanocell is its use of webOS and its remote, which LG had dubbed the Magic Remote. It’s a gesture based remote control that while easy to use, can be a bit polarizing. We know a lot of people like the LG’s Magic Remote, it just isn’t for us. Likewise we prefer AndroidTV to webOS, though we did find LG’s webOS to be very responsive and incredibly stable in use.

At the end of the day, to our eyes (and tests) the LG 90 Series Nanocell proved itself to be not only a capable LED Smart TV for 2020, but one of the best we’ve viewed to date. While it’s not as good as LG’s own OLED displays, it’s close enough in everyday viewing that we’re not sure most average viewers would notice that big of a difference. Plus, with the 90 Series being able to be ordered in sizes up to 86 inches diagonally, the 90 Series Nanocell could easily serve as a big screen centerpiece in a modern home theater or media room system.

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