4K QNED

Product Information

As both of these are the 2021 models they come with LG’s game optimiser mode. This new overlay shows you some extra and easy to access settings you can change. These don’t boost performance at all, but you can control things like the shadows and highlights along with the picture profiles. This next point only really applies to these two TVs, not QNEDs and OLEDs in general, and that’s upscaling. Both TVs can upscale content to 4K, in fact the QNED can actually upscale to 8K. So with that in mind, you’d expect the QNED to look better at upscaling anything SDR.

Size class of the display as declared by the manufacturer. Often this is the rounded value of the actual size of the diagonal in inches. This is an 8K TV with a 7680 x 4320 resolution. That’s over 33 million pixels, and because this is an OLED TV, every one of those pixels can be lit and coloured independently of the rest. Colours are well judged, with an overall balance of naturalism and vibrancy. There’s a consistent subtlety of shading that ensures skin tones, in particular, are very convincing. Images are crisply defined without looking exaggerated. The TV’s AI smarts do a phenomenal job in 4K upscaling and color management to display a beautiful, true-to-life picture in movies and streaming. Unlike the C1 OLED, I hardly experienced the soap opera effect when watching content. HDR performance is great thanks again to those Mini-LEDs and the improved contrast and brighter highlights for a peak 1000 nits and an impressive 6000:1 contrast ratio. In conclusion, the LG Nano91 represents a lot of smart TV for a reasonable outlay. It’s able to deliver impressive images and audio, is very well specced for next-generation gaming and is simple to operate regardless of which method of control you opt for. Those are the differences, but these are the similarities between the two. They are both 2021 models, similar size, have HDMI 2.1 support, webOS and LG’s game optimiser mode. Picture QualityWe uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for four months in our Accelerated Longevity Test. The picture really delivers, with the MLA tech producing noticeably brighter colours (though to get its full impact, you'll need the Vivid mode, which is too garish for us). Overall, the image is more vibrant and alive than most OLEDs, even if the sound is a bit underwhelming compared to its predecessor (as ever, we recommend adding a soundbar). The percentage of the approximate area, taken by the active part of the screen, to the total front area. We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for two months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.

You might assume that the same fate faces its 42-inch sibling. However, LG’s 42-inch OLEDs have always been a somewhat different proposition to their larger siblings, and while the 42-inch C3 is certainly very similar to its predecessor, its price is practically the same as before and, even more crucially, it doesn’t have significant new rivals to worry about. Viewing angles are one of the biggest differences between these TVs. When you watch either of them straight on they look great. But as soon as you start to move off center, this is where you really notice the difference in picture quality and contrast. Remember that the OLED’s pixels are self-lit, while the QNED’s pixels are grouped together in zones using Mini-LEDs. In these dark areas, you can see that the OLED is perfect at showing shadows and contrast, whereas the QNED struggles to show the same level of control. This might not be a huge issue for most, and when I was only using the QNED I didn’t really notice this, as it’s amazing at controlling the zones using full array local dimming. It’s only by comparing them can you really see it. While it probably wouldn’t be fair to say that LG has neglected its C series models this year, it does seem as if the attention lavished on the G3– the world’s first MLA OLED TV– has left the C3 in the shadows somewhat, with little to no hardware upgrades. Like all of LG’s televisions, the Nano91 runs the company’s own operating system, web0S 6.0. It’s one of the best smart TV platforms around thanks to its simple, intuitive interface that displays all your streaming services in a neat row, along with an equally tidy line of personal recommendations.

Upscaling

If you absolutely must have an LG OLED and 8K, then the Z2 is the TV for you. But while the Z2 is an exceptional performer, most buyers will be best served by a (significantly cheaper) G3. The operating humidity shows the acceptable level of humidity, in which the display will function flawlessly. It sets a lower and an upper humidity level for safe operation and is measured in percentage.