When you walk into a store to buy a flat panel high-definition television, the sheer choice and variety boggles the mind. It is no easy decision, particularly when you are spending a lot of money on something you expect will last. If LCD, LED and IPS weren’t already enough to confuse you, we now have something known as curved OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TVs.
LG has introduced the new curved OLED TV range in two screen sizes. The 55-inch version is priced at Rs.3,84,900, while the 65-inch version will set you back by Rs.5,79,900.
The main difference
The self-lighting pixel technology in OLED TVs is what gives them a significant advantage over standard LED TVs in terms of picture quality, the level of detailing and contrast. Essentially, what this means is that each pixel can light up or switch off, improve white and black levels and enhance detailing—blacks look deep instead of being dark grey, the dark parts of a scene don’t look unnaturally lit up and improved white colours mean every other colour in the gamut looks better and more accurate. This isn’t possible, to the extent that OLED TVs can manage, in LED panels, irrespective of whether they are using an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel or not.
Design: Perfect angles
This is a gorgeous TV to have in your living room. The extremely thin bezels lend it a very premium look. On the 55-inch TV, LG has given a flat base table-top stand, which has almost the same curve angle as the TV itself. On the bigger 65-inch screen version, there is a metallic finish semi-circle table-top stand which will be able to hold the wider and heavier TV a bit better.
Connectivity: Thin doesn’t mean compromise
There is no shortage of connectivity options, even if the TV itself is extremely slim—there are four HDMI inputs, three USB ports for connecting external storage and a LAN port in case you don’t want to use the built-in Wi-Fi.
Screen: Canvas of entertainment
The curved panel has a native 3840x2160 resolution, also known as Ultra HD or 4K. LG’s Super Resolution feature boosts the clarity of the content being sent to the TV. Content that is already Full HD (1,920x1,080) looks extremely crisp. This image processing engine does really well to improve even lower quality Standard Definition (SD) content, which subsequently look sharper. The only niggle is that on certain SD content, there are some pale white horizontal lines occasionally visible.
We were quite impressed by the smoothness of the fast moving visuals—in a lot of 4K TVs, quick transition visuals such as a cricket ball speeding across the grass can bring out some minor amount of ghosting. The LG Curved OLED TV suffers from no such issues.
There is not a lot of 4K content available as far as direct to home (DTH) services are concerned. But if you have a fast enough broadband connection (we are talking 24Mbps or more at least), perhaps signing up for Netflix 4K would be a good idea.
Curve experience: Straightforward curve
The fact remains the same—you can only really enjoy the curve if you are buying a TV around the 65 inch size. Less than that, and the impact of the curved screen and the subsequent “theater-like experience” just doesn’t feel as involving.
Then, not everyone just takes to the curved screen TV with the same amount of comfort. The distance and angle at which you are sitting in relation to the TV placement will make or break the experience.
Audio: Sounds just about right
Audio is, for once, much better than what we usually get from slim TVs. LG has packed this TV with Harman Kardon speakers. The clarity of vocals and the spoken word is excellent, and these speakers can hold their own even when you push the volume really high. But as expected, the bass is quite subdued.
Apps and more: WebOS is doing a great job
The Smart TV features are based on the latest version of the WebOS operating system. The card-based home screen layout is extremely intuitive to navigate, and the entire experience is made a lot easier by the clear fonts, and the motion remote that you can swing around in thin air to control the cursor on the screen. We aren’t big fans of running apps on a TV, but if you do, the range is quite solid.
Verdict: Have money, must consider
These expensive curved OLED TVs are ticking almost all the boxes—excellent picture quality that works for movies and sports, a design that you’ll want to show off in the living room and a smart TV interface that doesn’t overwhelm the user.
