Jul 23, 2019 UPDATE: The LG SK85 Super UHD TV is more than a year old now, which means if you want to keep up-to-date with the latest TVs from LG it's worth waiting to.
LG TVs 2017: Everything you need to know about this year’s lineup
If you’re looking for a new TV and were considering buying LG, this is the page you need. Here’s a comprehensive list of the key models, along with their features and prices – from the top-end 4K OLEDs to more bog-standard LED LCD sets. I’ll get into the differences below, but first, here’s LG’s 2017 TV lineup in full. Skip past if you just want to get to the model explanations and product reviews.
Related: Best TVs
LG TVs 2017: Model numbers, sizes and prices
LG ‘OLED TV 4K’ models
Black Friday: LG’s stunning B7 OLED just got a massive £1500 price slash
LG ‘Super UHD TV 4K’ models
LG ‘UHD TV 4K’ models
LG ‘FHD TV’ models
That’s all the models LG has confirmed so far, but I’ll update the list as more information is announced – I’ve been told additional pricing is coming soon.
In the meantime, here are a few key points that apply to the entire line-up, which should provide a bit of context. Mini 14 vs mini 30.
Alternatively, scroll down for a more detailed breakdown of the individual models.
Related: Panasonic’s 2017 TV lineup explained 6 things you should know about LG’s 2017 TVs
1) There’s more OLED
This is to be expected, as for years now, LG has been the only one pushing and developing the technology, while others stuck with LED LCD screens.
That commitment seems to have paid off, because now LG is providing panels to Sony and Panasonic to make their own OLED TVs.
As for LG, it’s releasing five ranges of OLED TVs, going from 55 inches to 77 inches, with prices ranging from £2999 to £24,999.
2) There’s better OLED
There are many reasons to buy OLED, but there is one weakness that LG’s LCD-wielding rivals like to point out: peak brightness. OLED just doesn’t get as bright as LCD can, although its ability to reach properly deep blacks has always been an effective counter-argument.
But now, the argument for OLED is stronger than ever, because LG has managed to bump the peak brightness to about 1000 nits, which is on par with the top LCD models from 2016.
3) There’s not just OLED
LG loves to bang the OLED drum, but it is also putting out LED LCD models. There are six product lines, ranging from 43 inches to 86 inches, all of which sport IPS panels.
Three of these lines, dubbed the ‘LG Super UHD TV 4K’ models, also use Nano Cell technology, which LG says will give you more accurate colours, deeper blacks and better viewing angles.
Related: QLED vs OLED
4) There’s Wide HDR compatibility
High Dynamic Range (or HDR) gives you a wider range of colours, brightness and contrast, and is the latest must-have feature. But it’s still early days and the AV industry at large hasn’t decided on one format to use, leading LG to take a belt-and-braces approach.
It supports the common HDR10 format and the cinema-favourite Dolby Vision, plus LG’s own Active HDR, which is supposed to add dynamic metadata (found in Dolby Vision) to HDR10 sources.
Then there’s the upcoming and broadcast-friendly HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma), plus Technicolor’s Advanced HDR format. Buy the fijitsu 18rlxfz ottawa.
5) There’s no 3D – and no curves
As LG charges ahead with future-proofing its lineup, it has decided to ditch both curved screen designs and 3D technology – I’m told it’s because not enough people wanted them.
6) There’s an updated Smart TV interface
LG makes the best TV software, as far as I’m concerned. The WebOS menu system came up with many tricks that are now standard, but still nobody does it quite as smoothly.
Now we’re on to WebOS 3.5, which doesn’t change all that much but adds performance improvements and a couple of nice tweaks.
My favourite? The ability to assign apps to the number buttons on the remote. Now you can have Netflix on speed dial.
Related: What is HDR? High Dynamic Range TVs explained
LG Signature W7 OLED LG ‘OLED TV 4K’ models – top of the range
I’ll start with the top of the food chain: the OLEDs. LG tells me that all the models share the same panel, chipset and processing, and that picture quality should be the same.
They all claim a peak brightness of about 1000 nits. They can all handle 10-bit colour. And they all feature the same polarising filter, used on top of existing anti-reflective film to improve the contrast ratio. The difference, then, is in the aesthetics and sound system.
At the very top is the W7 OLED, where the W stands for ‘wallpaper’. It’s so thin it’s slightly flexible. Everything else – power, sockets, sound – goes into a large Dolby Atmos soundbar. It’s an incredible design, which is why LG has given it ‘Signature’ status.
The other Signature TV in the range is the G7 OLED. This is similar to last year’s OLED65G6 in that it has super slim picture-on-glass design, and a folding sound base that can be flipped back to act as a wall mount.
LG E7 OLED
The E7 is the slightly more subtle version of this, with the same picture-on-glass design but a static soundbar base that doesn’t flip or transform. This is the follow-up to last year’s OLED65E6. You will find it in John Lewis from the beginning of May 2017.
The C7 is a departure from its predecessor the C6, because it’s not curved. LG has given up on curved screens and so the C7 is flat. The only curve you get here is on the slightly rounded bezel, painted black so you’ll focus on the picture. LG tells me you’ll find this one in Currys PC World.
The B7 is the ‘entry level’ model, although it has the same retail price as the C7. This has a slightly louder design than the C7, with a sweeping arc stand and silver trimmings instead of black.
LG SJ850V
LG ‘Super UHD TV 4K’ models – premium LCD
LG is keen to point out it’s not just about the OLED – it takes LED LCD TVs seriously too. This is the only route to take if you want a massive TV, because the sizes here go up to 86 inches.
The LED LCD market is fierce, and LG hopes to differentiate itself with the use of ‘nano cell’ technology – a rival to the quantum dot system used by Samsung. LG says the uniform 1nm size of its nano cells means it can achieve more accurate colours and deeper blacks, as well as improve viewing angles.
LG doesn’t want you thinking this is some cut-price alternative to OLED – even the junior model here, the SJ810V, has a sound system by Harman Kardon.
Then there’s the SJ850V, which is a step up with a frameless panel design, which is LG’s way of making this LED LCD look more like its OLED design. The SJ950V boasts the best contrast of the lot.
Related: Sony’s 2017 TV lineup explained
LG UJ670V
LG ‘UHD TV 4K’ models – LCD
These models don’t use nano cell technology, but LG says they’re still HDR.
The UJ630V, UJ634V and UJ635V all have LG’s Active HDR, which is supposed to add dynamic metadata to HDR10 sources, even without Dolby Vision.
The UJ650V, UJ670V and UJ701V are similar, but offer a step up in brightness – LG calls this ‘ultra luminance’.
At the top of this batch is the UJ750V, which adds a premium metal construction and Dolby Vision support.
LG ‘FHD TV’ models – 1080p LCD
Not everyone wants a 4K TV, and LG is still making plenty of HD models for those with more basic needs or smaller spaces, e.g. for the bedroom or kitchen.
The LJ624V, LJ614V and LJ594V all have the WebOS3.5 interface as a minimum. For those wanting the no-frills option there are the LJ515V and LJ510B, which don’t have any smart functionality whatsoever.
Related: Best cheap TVs
Which LG TV tickles your fancy right now? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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When LG launched its truly impressive 2018 OLED TV lineup, it was easy to overlook the company's 'Super UHD' sister range. But while these LED models may lack their bigger siblings' more-expensive, organic light-emitting diodes, they still have many of the same futuristic features.
UPDATE: The LG SK85 Super UHD TV is more than a year old now, which means if you want to keep up-to-date with the latest TVs from LG it's worth waiting to see the updated model the tech giant will bring out next.
In other LG TV news, the latest range of the company's 8K TVs will be available to buy soon. The 88-inch LG 8K OLED (88OLEDZ9), and 75-inch LG 8K Nanocell TV (75SM99) will bring the latest 8K resolution to our homes.
Backed by LG's ThinQ artificial-intelligence (AI) technology, the LG SK85 Super UHD TV feels cutting edge in its implementation of AI, making it one of the smartest smart TVs we've tested.
Combined with the television's built-in Google Assistant functionality, the ThinQ platform helps to streamline the TV viewing experience, performing such tasks as switching picture modes on its own, or providing you with an expanded range of voice commands.
That's all very impressive, but when it comes down to it, picture and sound quality remain the most important aspects to consider when purchasing a new 4K television.
Thankfully, the inclusion of Full Array Local Dimming, nano cell technology and support for HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos means that LG's 2018 Super UHD range is ready to deliver the goods in the audio visual department.
For the purposes of this review, we were able to test the 65-inch SK85, but there's also a more affordable 55-inch model available. The 65-inch model (known as the 65SK9000PUA in the US) is priced at $2,199 (£2,499 / AU$4,799), while the 55-inch model (known as the 55SK9000PUA in the US) is priced at $1,499 (£1,699 / AU$3,099).
Design
From front on, the LG SK85 Super UHD presents a striking, minimalist visage that, at first glance, seems to eschew bezels entirely from its design — they're there, but you'll need to squint to see them.
While switched off, all that's visible is a sleek black rectangle with an austere metal stand — and it's a design whose appearance is even more restrained when the SK85 is wall-mounted.
In profile, you may notice that the LG SK85 isn't quite as slim some other LED-LCD televisions on the market and at its thickest point, it's 62.5mm. There's a good reason for that though: the extra width is there to accomodate the SK85's Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) system, which employs hundreds of tiny backlights across the entire panel, rather than the edge-lit backlighting systems that many other TVs implement.
This FALD system allows the SK85 to be much more precise with its backlighting, making it possible to light small individual sections of the panel while minimizing backlight bleed — we'll look a bit deeper into this technology in the Performance section below.
On the rear of the television, you’ll find a nifty brushed-metal finish, plus four HDMI ports, three USB 2.0 ports, component/composite inputs, a digital optical audio output, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an Ethernet port and an RF antenna port.
Like the front, the LG SK85's rear is quite spartan, which helps to keep the back of the set neat, if not quite to the extent of Samsung's Q9F QLED television, which displays only a single all-purpose cable from its chassis.
Design TL;DR: The LG SK85 Super UHD bears a minimalist design that exudes sophistication. Its slim bezels and sturdy one-piece metal stand go to great lengths to keep things simple in your living room.
It's not the thinnest TV around, but the inclusion of Full Array Local Dimming backlighting at least puts that extra thickness to good use.
Smart TV (webOS)
With its reliance on LG's Magic Remote, which prompts users to point at the screen in a Wiimote-like fashion, the webOS smart TV platform can be an acquired taste, requiring a bit more attention and precision to be paid when selecting a function or menu item.
That said, with its implementation on the LG SK85 Super UHD, webOS has finally started to win over this reviewer thanks to a refined presentation that feels intuitive and perfectly suited to LG's unique point-and-click control mechanic.
Hitting the 'home' button on your remote will bring up the webOS launcher, which sits at the bottom of the display and cleverly lets you cycle through the TV's various inputs and installed apps without having to leave what you're currently watching.
Hovering over an individual blade will bring that app to the forefront, filling the screen with attractive graphics that solidify webOS as the most visually-arresting platform currently available for smart TVs.
And, if you want to cut down on all the remote waggling, you can also assign your favorite apps to the 1-9 buttons on the Magic Remote, allowing you to quickly launch your most frequently used functions with the push of a button.
Speaking of visually-arresting features, LG's 2018 Super UHD range has brought over the popular Gallery Mode from the company's OLED TVs, giving users the option to cycle famous artworks on the display when you're not actively watching something.
When it comes to controls though, it's really LG's AI-backed ThinQ functionality that will have users talking in 2018 — and we mean that literally.
Combined with Google Assistant voice control functionality, it's possible to use many of the SK85 Super UHD's functions by speech alone.
Asking the television what the weather will be like next week is one thing, but we love being able to hand out more casual commands — saying 'show me something to watch' or 'I'm bored' will automatically launch YouTube and start playing popular videos, for instance.
In our review materials, we were given a huge list of voice commands which we tested at random. To our surprise, the SK85 Super UHD was able to make out what we were saying the vast majority of the time without any specific setup. This includes commands such as 'What's the latest TV series?', which brought us to Netflix's newest additions, and 'volume up' to crank up the noise.
And, if you're the type of person who regularly plants themselves on the couch for multi-hour binge-watching marathons, you can pre-emptively encourage yourself to get up and move around a bit by asking the TV to 'turn off after this program ends.'
We're told that the aim for LG ThinQ is to learn what you like over time — something that will eventually provide added convenience by predicting your needs. Unfortunately, that isn't something we were able to put to the test in our limited time with a LG SK85 Super UHD test unit.
Smart TV TL;DR: LG's webOS platform continues to get better with every iteration, though its reliance on the Magic Remote's point-and-click control method may irk some. That said, we really dig the TV's ThinQ and Google Assistant voice functionality, the inclusion of which makes the SK85 feel like a futuristic device.
HD and SDR Performance
Having tested a number of Full HD TV shows, movies and videos on the LG SK85 Super UHD via Netflix and YouTube, we found performance to be exemplary across the board.
We kicked things off with a bit of animation by watching The Simpsons Movie, which looks utterly fantastic on this telly. Lines were incredibly sharp with very little instances of noticeable aliasing, and colors popped from the screen with immense vibrance.
Likewise, watching the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 1080p proved a great demonstration of the SK85's SDR color accuracy, appearing vivid and bright even without any high dynamic range tinkering. It also appeared clean and high in detail, often appearing close to Ultra HD.
That said, some visible instances of very minor color gradation did crop up while watching older content, such as The Fifth Element, but this was never noticeable enough to spoil the viewing experience.
Blacks appeared much darker than most other LED LCD TVs on the market, thanks to the aforementioned Full Array Local Dimming technology behind the display.
While the SK85's local dimming system exhibited far less blacklight bleed than we're used to seeing on LED LCD televisions, it never quite fooled us into thinking that we were looking at the perfect blacks of an OLED display — a quick boot up of Netflix revealed to us a backlight that was still visible in the black areas of the service's launch screen. That said, the SK85's black levels are extremely impressive for an LED TV.
HD/SDR TL;DR: Newer HD content looks fantastic on the SK85 Super UHD, appearing vibrant, bright and high in detail. You may notice some minor instances of color gradation in older content, and its Full Array Local Dimming system doesn't quite reach OLED levels of pure blackness, but this is about as good as LED LCD gets.
4K and HDR Performance
As expected, much of what we've discussed above in the HD/SDR section can be also applied to this 4K/HDR section, only the picture quality is even more exceptional when it comes to HDR and Dolby Vision material.
A lot of this can be attributed to the SK85's nano-cell technology, which aims to provide a superior HDR picture by outputting narrower, high-density primary color wavelengths, which it's claimed improve both color accuracy and contrast.
LG has employed nano cell technology in the past, but we're getting the second-generation version of the tech here, which the company says achieves 30% less ambient light reflectivity when compared the tech's previous iteration, and a 44% reduction compared to conventional LED TVs in general.
We watched some content on the LG SK85 Super UHD during daytime hours with the curtains open, and while there was still light reflecting from the screen (which is unavoidable, really — even on the most expensive sets), it did seem less intense than some of the other TVs we've reviewed in the past 12 months.
In terms of dedicated 4K HDR content, we kicked things of with a viewing of Christopher Nolan's space epic, Interstellar, and were floored with the results.
Picture quality, particularly during the film's many full-frame IMAX sequences, was extraordinary, especially in well-lit scenes.
During the film's space sequences, such as the moment in which the crew's shuttle passes through a blackhole, also impressed. As we mentioned in the section above, you might not be fooled into thinking that you're watching the infinite contrast of an OLED display, but the SK85 gets pretty darn close.
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version of Justice League also revealed exceptionally vibrant colors, with highlights, such as Wonder Woman's glowing lasso, and Cyborg's glowing red eye, piercing through the darkness with a burning intensity.
We followed up Interstellar and Justice League with some HDR shows and movies on Netflix, including the food-centric Ugly Delicious, spectacular sci-fi series Lost in Space and the Dolby Vision-boasting Luke Cage. As expected, the LG SK85 delivered a high level of detail and color accuracy.
We'd also like to point out that at no point did the LG SK85 Super UHD falter when it comes to image processing and motion. Regardless of which mode the television was in, it achieved smooth, consistent motion with absolutely no ghosting.
4K HDR Performance TL;DR: Fantastic color accuracy, exceptional brightness and consistent motion and image processing are just some of the SK85's most impressive feats. Black levels aren't quite as perfect as an OLED, but we're impressed by what LG has been able to achieve with LED LCD technology.
Sound
For the purposes of our review, the LG SK85 Super UHD was connected to a SK9Y Dolby Atmos soundbar — although we did turn it off in order to get an idea of what the TV's own built-in speakers were capable of.
Boasting 40W speakers with Dolby Atmos capability, the LG SK85 Super UHD's speakers did a pretty good job creating a three-dimensional surround soundscape.
Clean and clear, the speakers delivered speech with terrific clarity and not a single hint of crackle. Where the SK85's sound performance falls a bit short is in the bass department.
While not exactly weak or tinny sounding, the SK85 could stand to be a bit more powerful, giving you an aural experience that's about what you'd expect from in-built TV speakers. Unlike Samsung's 2018 Q9F QLED, you probably won't be fooled into thinking there's a hidden soundbar nearby.
Sound TL;DR: Though perfectly capable when it comes to delivering sound, those looking for powerful, bass-filled audio will probably want to complement the television with a soundbar or hi-fi system.
Other panels to ponder
As Dolby Vision continues to gain traction with TV manufacturers, we're seeing more sets that are able to boast incredible color accuracy and brightness.
Sony's X900F (XBR-65X900F) 4K TV is a fantastic alternative that provides excellent HDR picture and color vibrance. Though it doesn't have Dolby Vision support out of the box, it's been promised that a future update will bring the format to the X900F.
Alternatively, while it's a bit more expensive, LG's own C8 OLED TV is a best-in-class product that features all of the AI ThinQ features included in the LG SK85 Super UHD, along with the infinite contrast and perfect blacks that OLED technology is known for.
Verdict
While OLED is generally considered the gold standard when it comes to TVs, the LG SK85 Super UHD shows that LED LCD technology still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve.
Featuring impressive backlighting technology in full Array Local Dimming and the most cutting edge AI-assistant functionality currently available for televisions, LG's SK85 Super UHD TV is a terrific alternative to the company's more expensive OLED range.
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