LG adds brilliance to its 2022 OLED TV range
The consumer electronic giant’s 2022 OLED TVs are brighter, gaming ready and support Dolby Vision IQ.
For years LG has offered the premium TV experience, having invested heavily in making quality organic LED screens. For years rivals have come close to mimicking the signature pure whites and deep blacks of OLED, often at cheaper prices, but they’ve never quite rivalled OLED’s supremacy.
In 2022, LG is taking OLED up another notch with four OLED TV series starting with the top-of-range Z2 8K series, followed by the G2, C2 and A2 4K sets.
Brightness has been an issue with OLED, and LG has significantly increased the brightness of its 2022 OLED models. You don’t get sunburnt standing in front of it, but images on the 83-inch G2 model I viewed are significantly brighter at up to 1200 nits, from 950 nits last year. The Z2 wasn’t available and we were concentrating on 4K sets.
LG says it has been working on making OLED brighter and could produce panels offering up to an amazing 4000 nits brightness. That’s like having daylight coming through your TV. The main limitation is power output and Australia’s energy standards; the sets need to be more energy efficient. Of course, the more power you consume, the more you pay. Do you and the planet really need this?
LG still produces cheaper TVs without OLED. It has largely shifted its 2022 budget TV range away from Nanocell panels, which include an extra screen layer to improve colour. This year there is only one Nanocell range.
The replacement is QNED TVs, which blend quantum dot and nanocell technology to improve colour. Cheap models are still side lit, so the detail between adjoining bright and dark areas can be a little fuzzy. Better models have mini LEDs that distribute light evenly from behind the screen.
The big story nevertheless is OLED and premium LG OLED models have a fifth generation Alpha 9 processor for faster screen refreshes, and advanced Dolby image processing.
The difference is noticeable. I could see a trailing shadow of images moving rapidly across the screen using demo software on QNED models. That shadow was non-existent on its 2022 OLED TVs.
Does this matter? It may, if you’re playing fast action games or watching very fast movie sequences.
The 2022 OLED TVs have a higher stand so you can more easily fit a soundbar underneath which wasn’t necessarily the case last year.
The G2 is fatter due to the heat dissipation sink that keeps the panel cooler. It has a new mounting bracket that lets you position the TV flush against the wall. This makes it a great choice for wall mounting.
Click on the image to enlarge.
However, LG has not gone down Samsung’s road of a one-connect box which lets you connect a wall mounted TV to devices near the floor with one thin cable; you have to thread the cable from your set-top boxes and gaming console up the wall. LG has added etched channels on the back of the set to help you hide excess cable.
I reviewed the 83-inch G2 costing $15,599, but LG will sell a monster 97-inch G2 series OLED around October for $47,999. You’ll be emptying your pockets for that.
The C2 I saw is thinner and is made of more environmentally friendly materials. The C2, like the G2, offers LG’s gaming ecosystem based on nVideo cloud gaming, which is $20 per month. You can use standard gaming controllers. The C2 also is brighter than in 2021, but not quite as bright as the G2, but at $13,199, a great option.
LG has added a smaller 42-inch C2 OLED that targets professional gamers. It retails for $3239 but some stores are selling it for $2695, so check around. You can’t connect a gaming PC to it with USB-C as you might with a standard computer screen, but the 42-inch C2 does offer fast HDMI 2.1 throughput.
The C2 series is cheaper than the G2 and probably the best choice if you can do without that last extra morsel of brightness.
Apart from being extra bright, the 83-inch G2 OLED offers stunning picture detail. Snow looked powder white in winter images while surrounding rocks were dramatically darker yet retaining detail. Textures whether they were the backs of lizards or intricate exterior designs of buildings were stunning. There was nothing to complain about.
I viewed a G2 next to a C2 and A2, and the G2’s contrast also was considerably stronger.
LG has included 48 gigabit per second input for PC gaming along with 12-bit colour for graphics. The new OLED TV processors will support Dolby’s coming Vision IQ technology. Dolby uses a light sensor to adjust the vision to suit ambient room lighting.
LG this year has released a new version of its TV operating system – webOS 22. It ditches the long scrolling rows of recommended content for each service you use such as Netflix, Stan, Prime etc, and displays them more compactly in tabs. My index finger wasn’t so tired from scrolling the magic remote.
LG has released new sound bars for its 2022 TV range. There’s a new centre upfiring speaker which definitely gives sound a lift, but isn’t the same as the full spatial audio offered by third party vendors, where sound originates from pinpoint positions in your room.
The pandemic, manufacturing disruptions and component shortages mean TVs can cost more in 2022. G2 OLED sets cost $4799 to $47,999 (55 to 97 inches), C2 is from $3239 to $13,199 (42 to 83 inches) and A2 is $3719 (55 inches) and $4919 (65 inches).
LG does say it has kept prices in check. Australian sets are assembled nearly in Indonesia which should help. Components come from South Korea, Taiwan and China.
In 2022, LG has made a great OLED product even greater. The question is whether to bathe in the sunlight (relatively speaking) with G2 or save a few dollars and be kinder to the planet with C2 and A2.
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