HD PICTURE QUALITY. HD picture quality is excellent. Reproduction of fine HD image detail is excellent. Color accuracy is excellent, so colors, especially flesh tones, look very natural and lifelike. Contrast--the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites--is good, so images have some depth. Black levels are acceptable, though not the deepest, so dark scenes won't look hazy (though quality does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). This is among the brightest models we've tested (with the backlight control turned up), so the picture is well suited for a very sunny room. A lower setting is recommended for a dimmer viewing environment. In scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, the model does a very good job producing a smooth transition without distinct, coarse bands. The deinterlacing and film mode operations are excellent on HD content; there is little or no trace of jaggies on the edges of objects for video and film-based 1080i video content, such as from cable.
UHD PICTURE QUALITY. 4K UHD picture quality is excellent but HD-to-UHD upconversion falls short. All native 4K content (non HDR) we played on this model, including movies and test videos, is presented in full 4K detail with excellent fidelity when played back via the TV's HDMI input. Via the USB port, high-resolution photos are displayed in full 4K detail. With regular HD content, the TV's HD-to-UHD up-conversion processing falls short, revealing some visible jaggies along the edges of diagonals when playing HD content.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) PERFORMANCE. HDR performance has limited effectiveness. The display's lack of high peak brightness capability (by HDR standards) limits its ability to show the benefits of HDR on 4K content. The contrast between moderately bright and very bright highlights within a scene is very good, while the brightness levels in the mid-to-lower tones, like those in an indoor scene, are dimmer than expected. It does a good job reproducing a greater range of nuanced shadow detail from black to white, with no obvious banding on areas of the image that have subtle shade variations. There is no visible loss of detail within the highlights of the brightest areas. Brighter colored objects remain nicely saturated.
VIEWING ANGLE. This LG has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs for this attribute. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. When we view the TV from the sides image quality degrades significantly. The picture shows a strong loss of color, so flesh tones look very washed out. Black levels visibly brighten, reducing contrast especially on dark scenes. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle is good. The picture shows only a slight change in color, contrast, and black level.
MOTION BLUR. This LG TV has good motion performance, with some blurring on our motion tests. This model does not include a blur reduction feature.
SOUND QUALITY. This model has good sound quality; about average among the models we've tested. When watching a blockbuster movie, a concert, or TV show, it delivers decent performance but falls short of the better performers. Bass is adequate, which adds some fullness to the sound but is lacking in definition a bit, and treble is nicely detailed, while the overall sound is on the bright side and a bit closed in. The speakers produce a good volume range so this model should play sufficiently loud in typical room environments and without obvious distortion. Also, at higher volume, dynamic compression keeps the sound from distorting but also limits the clarity of peaks in loudness, which can be a bit distracting on some audio content. Most people would find this sound quality acceptable.
EASE OF USE. On first power up there is an on-screen guide that helps you through setting up the TV. LG’s Blue-tooth remote allows you to navigate on-screen menus using either a traditional button key pad or a gesture-controlled on screen cursor. Using a point-and-click operation, the cursor’s movement is linked to the motion of your hand and is used to make selections. It includes a built-in microphone to access the voice assistant feature. It also provides convenient direct button access to streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Consider the TV's stand is 41 inches wide when choosing a table top to place it on.
INTERNET FEATURES. This Smart TV provides Internet functionality via its "WebOS" portal with access to a library of applications, and a full Web browser. Movie streaming services that can be downloaded to this TV, or are built-in, include Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. Includes built-in Google Assistant and Alexa, a virtual assistant, which allows you to use natural speech to ask questions, launch applications, and search programming via the remote's built-in microphone. Claimed support for external voice assistants (not built in to the TV) include: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant.
CONNECTIONS. This model has three HDMI inputs-- one supports ARC (Audio Return Channel), one "component/composite shared" input (which means you can only use one type or the other at a time). It also has two USB ports, an optical digital audio out, an Ethernet port, WiFi wireless networking; DLNA, to access files within your home network; Casting, which allows you to send streaming content from your mobile device to the TV via your home network; Screen mirroring, where the image on your smartphone or other compatible device can also appear on the TV.
INCLUDED IN THE BOX. A printed user manual. A quick start guide. An electronic user guide via the TV's menu. A remote control with batteries. A detachable power cord.
