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I've had an LG OLED (65" C9) for roughly 2 years, and its the best TV I've owned, hands down. It is amazing for movies and TV, because of its inky blacks. (unl

I've had an LG OLED (65" C9) for roughly 2 years, and its the best TV I've owned, hands down. It is amazing for movies and TV, because of its inky blacks. (unliked LED/LCD, the OLED pixels are actually turned off individually) which are just as good as a Plasma I owned 10 years ago. It also supports 4K/120Hz for gaming, and looks amazing with my XBox Series X. The primary complaint I've seen for this TV is that its not bright enough compared to LED models, but I've not found it too dim, even in a room that gets lots of morning sun. Another OLED concern is burn-in. After 2 years of 90% Netflix/YT and 10% gaming (mostly Forza Motorsports 7), I have not seen any signs of burn in. Apparently the built-in image shifter/orbiter works well. EDIT: In terms of smart TV misfeatures-- the voice search requires a scary opt in that I've never done. Aside from that, I'm able to disable most tracking, and I've not seen any targeted ads. The biggest issue I have with the TV is that the LG the "magic remote" is incredibly annoying as it pops a cursor onto the screen randomly when moved.

tyleo 5y ago
I worked on the Forza series for several years and I’m proud of that work. I’m glad to hear you are enjoying it and that it looks good on your TV. If you haven’t tried them already, I’d highly recommend the Forza Horizon games. A new one just released this month.
- drewg123 5y ago
  That's awesome. Forza was the primary reason for both my Xbox purchases 360 ages ago, series X recently. No offense, but I'm not a fan of the horizon games. I far prefer the motorsport series. The horizon games are too "arcade" for my tastes.. I prefer to grind away and shave hundredths of a second off my time in a motorsport rivals challenge with everything set to manual / simulation. I'm really looking forward Forza 8
kongolongo 5y ago
I ended up buying this model as well, but if I were to do it again I'd heavily consider the Sony equivalent just because of the AndroidTV support. WebOS isn't necessarily bad, but lot of native apps on LG don't seem to get the same level of support as AndroidTV and they're necessary to get the best quality from some streaming services (HDR, Atmos, etc)
- drewg123 5y ago
  Which ones don't support HDR and Atomos? All the major streaming apps I've tried do. And if they don't, and the android TV support is better, then you can just get an Nvidia Shield or FireTV Bear in mind that AndroidTV recently got a "firetv like" treatment where they push ads to your home screen. A lot of Nvidia Shield owners are seriously upset, I assume the same hold true to Sony TVs.
b20000 5y ago
how do you make sure all smart TV features are disabled? can you simply not connected it to the internet?
- wvenable 5y ago
  You can not accept all the terms and conditions prompts. This disables some features but also disables tracking. I didn't agree because the terms are awful. It's unfortunate that features (like voice) are tied to this but honestly it's not a deal breaker.
- drewg123 5y ago
  You can, but I use the built in smart tv apps because they are the best at preventing burn in, which i'm paranoid about. I'm away from home, and I set it up nearly 2 years ago, but I recall there are settings to disable tracking/targeting, etc. And I recall the opt in for voice search was so scary that I've never enabled it.
- grlass 5y ago
  there is a blocklist for LG Smart-TV features available [1], intended for use with the PiHole software [2], which is a popular and easy-to-use network level firewall. [1] https://gist.github.com/wassname/78eeaaad299dc4cddd04e372f20a9aa7 https://gist.github.com/wassname/78eeaaad299dc4cddd04e372f20... [2] https://pi-hole.net/ https://pi-hole.net/
ipv6ipv4 5y ago
I’ve used the exact same TV without ever connecting it to the net or using any of its smart features. It works perfectly well as a dumb TV. The picture is consistently fantastic.
- drewg123 5y ago
  What do you use as your STB for YT, Netflix, etc? I use the built-in apps mostly because I'm still a bit paranoid about burn in. If I pause Netflix/Plex/AppleTV+ on the TV, it will aggressively pop up an ugly screen saver quickly. When I pause Stube-Next on a FireTV stick, even with the firetv's settings set to the shortest screen saver timeout, I'm a bit paranoid because it takes minutes for the screensaver to kick in. So I'll often switch away from the HDMI input into an on-TV app when I'm watching YT from the firetv just for peace of mind when answering the door or fixing a snack..
  - ipv6ipv4 5y ago
    I use an Apple TV. I think the Apple TV screensaver prevents burn in fine. The LG has never popped a screensaver on me. I’m not worried about a few minutes here or there and if I’m not around the TV I shut the whole thing off.
cube2222 5y ago
Agreed. I'd specifically recommend their Gallery Design TV's. Everything the parent mentioned + they're of a uniform thickness everywhere, and are specifically designed to be hung on a wall without any gaps. Makes them take up much less space. I've had the GX for over a year, and am nothing but happy with it. The screen is absolutely fabulous. Though I completely ignore the smarts and use an Apple TV + Xbox Series X for all content.
dandigangi 5y ago
Same feelings towards my C1 I just got. Loving LG the last few years.
cercatrova 5y ago
LG C1 OLED, the new version of the C9 and CX, is significantly brighter apparently.
- thesh4d0w 5y ago
  LG G1 is the even newer version of the C1.
  - cercatrova 5y ago
    Indeed, but the price difference is pretty huge for seemingly barely noticeable improvement in brightness, useful for HDR but it can be twice as expensive.
nrb 5y ago
+1 on the LG OLEDs, very very satisfied with my CX
CuriousSkeptic 5y ago
I guess newer models are better, but for completeness. I have a the B6 model, so roughly 5 years old now. It has severe burn-in at this point. Everything in the middle of the screen has a green tint due to the lack of red pixels. Our brains are surprisingly adaptable though so I am actually way less annoyed about it than I I should be. The thing that really annoys me though is that they have a feature, supposedly to avoid burn-in, where the screen dims automatically if it thinks the image is static. For some reason it seems to think any scene, or game passage, where things are dark are static and thus automatically darkens it even further making it basically impossible to see what is happening. Especially for an OLED this becomes rather problematic due to its capacity to resolve really really dark shares. Way beyond the capacity of any gamma standard (save perhaps Dolby Vision) followed by content creators. Thus a fair bit of really precise calibration may be required to find that sweet spot between that stunning sweet absolute black OLED are famous for, and being able to actually see shades of things with their intended gamma.
f0e4c2f7 5y ago
I'm not sure if it would apply to your model but aparently there are open source firmware projects for some LG tvs now. I learned about it in this thread. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29338658 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29338658

tyleo 5y ago

I worked on the Forza series for several years and I’m proud of that work. I’m glad to hear you are enjoying it and that it looks good on your TV. If you haven’t tried them already, I’d highly recommend the Forza Horizon games. A new one just released this month.

drewg123 5y ago
That's awesome. Forza was the primary reason for both my Xbox purchases 360 ages ago, series X recently. No offense, but I'm not a fan of the horizon games. I far prefer the motorsport series. The horizon games are too "arcade" for my tastes.. I prefer to grind away and shave hundredths of a second off my time in a motorsport rivals challenge with everything set to manual / simulation. I'm really looking forward Forza 8

kongolongo 5y ago

I ended up buying this model as well, but if I were to do it again I'd heavily consider the Sony equivalent just because of the AndroidTV support. WebOS isn't necessarily bad, but lot of native apps on LG don't seem to get the same level of support as AndroidTV and they're necessary to get the best quality from some streaming services (HDR, Atmos, etc)

drewg123 5y ago
Which ones don't support HDR and Atomos? All the major streaming apps I've tried do. And if they don't, and the android TV support is better, then you can just get an Nvidia Shield or FireTV Bear in mind that AndroidTV recently got a "firetv like" treatment where they push ads to your home screen. A lot of Nvidia Shield owners are seriously upset, I assume the same hold true to Sony TVs.

b20000 5y ago

how do you make sure all smart TV features are disabled? can you simply not connected it to the internet?

wvenable 5y ago
You can not accept all the terms and conditions prompts. This disables some features but also disables tracking. I didn't agree because the terms are awful. It's unfortunate that features (like voice) are tied to this but honestly it's not a deal breaker.
drewg123 5y ago
You can, but I use the built in smart tv apps because they are the best at preventing burn in, which i'm paranoid about. I'm away from home, and I set it up nearly 2 years ago, but I recall there are settings to disable tracking/targeting, etc. And I recall the opt in for voice search was so scary that I've never enabled it.
grlass 5y ago
there is a blocklist for LG Smart-TV features available [1], intended for use with the PiHole software [2], which is a popular and easy-to-use network level firewall. [1] https://gist.github.com/wassname/78eeaaad299dc4cddd04e372f20a9aa7 https://gist.github.com/wassname/78eeaaad299dc4cddd04e372f20... [2] https://pi-hole.net/ https://pi-hole.net/

ipv6ipv4 5y ago

I’ve used the exact same TV without ever connecting it to the net or using any of its smart features. It works perfectly well as a dumb TV. The picture is consistently fantastic.

drewg123 5y ago
What do you use as your STB for YT, Netflix, etc? I use the built-in apps mostly because I'm still a bit paranoid about burn in. If I pause Netflix/Plex/AppleTV+ on the TV, it will aggressively pop up an ugly screen saver quickly. When I pause Stube-Next on a FireTV stick, even with the firetv's settings set to the shortest screen saver timeout, I'm a bit paranoid because it takes minutes for the screensaver to kick in. So I'll often switch away from the HDMI input into an on-TV app when I'm watching YT from the firetv just for peace of mind when answering the door or fixing a snack..
- ipv6ipv4 5y ago
  I use an Apple TV. I think the Apple TV screensaver prevents burn in fine. The LG has never popped a screensaver on me. I’m not worried about a few minutes here or there and if I’m not around the TV I shut the whole thing off.

cube2222 5y ago

Agreed. I'd specifically recommend their Gallery Design TV's. Everything the parent mentioned + they're of a uniform thickness everywhere, and are specifically designed to be hung on a wall without any gaps. Makes them take up much less space. I've had the GX for over a year, and am nothing but happy with it. The screen is absolutely fabulous. Though I completely ignore the smarts and use an Apple TV + Xbox Series X for all content.

dandigangi 5y ago

Same feelings towards my C1 I just got. Loving LG the last few years.

cercatrova 5y ago

LG C1 OLED, the new version of the C9 and CX, is significantly brighter apparently.

thesh4d0w 5y ago
LG G1 is the even newer version of the C1.
- cercatrova 5y ago
  Indeed, but the price difference is pretty huge for seemingly barely noticeable improvement in brightness, useful for HDR but it can be twice as expensive.

nrb 5y ago

+1 on the LG OLEDs, very very satisfied with my CX

CuriousSkeptic 5y ago

I guess newer models are better, but for completeness. I have a the B6 model, so roughly 5 years old now. It has severe burn-in at this point. Everything in the middle of the screen has a green tint due to the lack of red pixels. Our brains are surprisingly adaptable though so I am actually way less annoyed about it than I I should be. The thing that really annoys me though is that they have a feature, supposedly to avoid burn-in, where the screen dims automatically if it thinks the image is static. For some reason it seems to think any scene, or game passage, where things are dark are static and thus automatically darkens it even further making it basically impossible to see what is happening. Especially for an OLED this becomes rather problematic due to its capacity to resolve really really dark shares. Way beyond the capacity of any gamma standard (save perhaps Dolby Vision) followed by content creators. Thus a fair bit of really precise calibration may be required to find that sweet spot between that stunning sweet absolute black OLED are famous for, and being able to actually see shades of things with their intended gamma.

f0e4c2f7 5y ago

I'm not sure if it would apply to your model but aparently there are open source firmware projects for some LG tvs now. I learned about it in this thread. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29338658 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29338658