LG OLED65G16LA G1 65 inch 4K Smart OLED TV (2021)

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In terms of sound, AI Sound Enhancement now has height virtualisation and there’s a new Auto Volume Levelling feature that’s designed to reduce jarring volume differences as you switch between different apps and sources. This brings us to the latest version of LG’s AI Picture Pro image optimisation system. This now joins the best of the automatic picture optimisation systems around, clearly enhancing pretty much every aspect of picture quality from every video source without, crucially, generating really any unwanted side effects. There are, of course, people who won't use the AI Picture Pro mode because they don't like the idea of a TV's processor taking over the way a picture looks. And for those people the OLED G1 still supports all the calibration tools and accuracy of other recent LG generations. The much improved AI Picture Pro is very much worth trying for most users, though. It’s all very pretty… so long as you actually want to wall hang your TV. If not, you’ll have to pay extra for either a pair of desktop feet, or LG’s new Gallery Floorstand option. That's right: there's no stand in the box. As we’ve come to learn over the years, a TV’s panel technology is only one part of its wider picture quality story. So it’s no surprise to find LG partnering the G1 with a new processing system designed to get the most out of the new panel technology. Not that this Alpha 9 Generation 4 processor stops at optimising pictures to the capabilities of the evo panel, though.

LG G1 OLED Evo review (OLED65G16LA, OLED55G16LA, OLED77G16LA)

For many users and a lot of content, though, I see the much-improved AI Picture Pro system as a pretty irresistible way of adding more drama, sharpness and dynamism to the viewing experience.

To be more specific, AI Picture Pro can now recognise if an incoming image contains scenery, a cityscape or night footage, and locally ‘massage’ parts of the picture to enhance this sort of content’s impact and realism. Plus the new processor can look for skin tones and individual objects in the picture and subtly refine and emphasise them without impacting other areas of the picture. All with a view to creating an image that better reflects the way your eyes see the real world. Its ability to maintain stable colour and luminance in the vertical viewing angle tests was excellent, too, which makes sense when the G1 is designed to hang on your wall and display works of art when you're not watching anything. LG has introduced a new Natural motion processing option for 2021 that does a good job of substantially reducing judder (one of the things consumers most complain about when it comes to OLED TV technology) without leaving the image looking so fluid that it starts to make movies look like soap operas. The Natural mode does, though, throw up some unwanted digital side effects that I personally find almost as distracting as a bit of judder.

LG G1 OLED Evo (OLED55G1) review: Picture perfect | Trusted

Cinematic Movement seems best suited for films, Natural for broadcast TV, and Smooth Movement for sports. There’s no one-size fits all, so the G1’s motion processing is solid rather than impressive, and for my two cents, still behind the likes of Panasonic and Sony (although I’ve not seen their latest TVs, yet). We tested the HDR brightness in the 'Cinema' HDR Picture Mode with OLED Pixel Brightness, Contrast, and Peak Brightness all at their max settings, with Color Temperature at '50' and all other image processing disabled. By setting Auto Dynamic Contrast to 'High' and enabling Dynamic Tone Mapping, you can get a slightly brighter image, as seen in this EOTF. Colours hardly ever look forced or over the top despite the slight brightness increase and marginally purer presentation, and sharpness is slightly improved without making the image look brittle or harsh. With HD sources, in particular, the new Alpha 9 Gen 4 upscaling really earns its corn by delivering a markedly crisper finish than seen with previous LG OLED generations without exaggerating noise. With broadcasts, AI Sound Pro can grate on the ears, and I’d absolutely recommend going through the acoustic tuning process to optimise this mode. Without it, watching Best Home Cook on BBC 2 delivered dialogue that was frequently sibilant and harsh, as if someone were whistling every few words.

We leave the set’s AI Picture Pro and AI Sound Pro settings (which can be enabled during initial set-up) on when viewing all non-Dolby Vision content. These features have been improved by the new AI Processor Gen4. This makes LG's own AI Sound Pro setting a much better option for most content. This does amp up to take on loud moments, as well as somehow make the sound fill the room more.