As thin as a pencil with an “infinite contrast ratio”, this curved display will take your breath away.
By Diane Wallace
I remember the TV that was in my house as I was growing up. Everyone had them – a giant piece of wood furniture with cabinet doors over the front, it loomed large in the corner of the living room and multi-tasked as the framed photos table, extra tabletop for us kids to leave empty water glasses on and cornerstone of many family evenings. For a time, that television was bigger than me.
Fast forward to today – TVs are slim, lightweight and futuristic-looking. Thank you, modern technology and design! They’re also delivering amazing pictures, as many functions and apps as any smartphone, and remote control navigation that we couldn’t even dream of when I was a kid. And the newest technology that fills all of these descriptors – slim, lightweight, futuristic style with tech to match – comes in the form of the OLED TV, and one model in particular from LG.
LG’s 55-inch, 1080P Smart 3D Curved OLED, 55EC9300 model, is one eye-catching TV. Forbes asks if it’s “the Ultimate HD TV”* and CNET calls it the “Best. Picture. Ever”**, making it tough to ignore on paper, or, on the web if that’s where you’re researching. But take a look at that softly curved and impossibly thin screen – it practically floats on its stand. It isn’t just notable for its technology – although we’ll get to that – it’s a gorgeous screen that’s light years ahead of my childhood living room TV.
First of all, what exactly is OLED? The acronym stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode, and unlike an LCD screen, OLED emits its own light. Or doesn’t, as you’ll see. OLEDs are made of an organic (carbon-based) layer with two electrodes on either side of it that are conductive. These self-lighting pixels are able to switch on and off individually, for what LG calls the first “infinite contrast ratio”.
What does that mean to viewers? Because the pixels can be active or not, those inactive diodes are not emitting any light. So they’re black. True black. As compared to an LCD that uses a backlight and then filters it so that you can see what’s happening on the screen, that filtered light is going to appear as various shades of gray. Which translates to seeing the Millennium Falcon either fly through a virtual mud puddle or, with the OLED TV, through space so black that, with the lights off, you’ll have a tough time telling where the edge of the screen really is.
This serious contrast range is combined with LG’s exclusive 4 Color Pixel Technology. That adds a white sub-pixel to the usual red, blue and green ones, to create an even more dynamic and realistic color palette. Watching images with the truest blacks, details in the shadows and the richest color made me realize just how much I’ve been missing out on with other TVs.
Now let’s look at that curved screen. The curve is less drastic than other curved TV models – it’s just enough to help reduce glare, which we appreciate. But OLED benefits here, too, because its light-emitting diodes don’t shift color when viewed from an angle. Another win over LED screens, you can go nearly 90-degrees off center and still see a great picture. And, while there is a slightly wider space in the back to accommodate all of its connectivity – 4 HDMI ports, 3 USB 2.0 ports, AV inputs and outputs, LAN, mini jack and more – the screen itself is only the width of a pencil at its thinnest point (0.17-inches). It can get this thin, again, thanks to OLED technology, which doesn’t require backlighting or some of the other layers that need to be manufactured into other screen formats.
Part of the 55EC9300’s futuristic appeal is its Magic Remote. I love some of my other devices but find their interfaces and remotes to be cumbersome at best. The Magic Remote is thoughtfully designed for use in one hand and has everything situated in easy reach of my thumb. It also doesn’t make me pick through each individual letter of the alphabet to search for a title – the retro, video game high score screen-thing gets old fast – this remote lets you wave your hand, scroll a wheel or even use voice command to get where you want. And the navigation makes sense, with what looks like color-coded cards for each app that stretch across the bottom of the screen that don’t make you leave what you’re already watching to use them – nice touch.
Of course the LG 55EC9300 has some other features you’d expect from a higher-end HDTV like 3DTV, a remote that can control all of your AV devices, lots of smart functions including Recommendations based on what you enjoy watching and image sharing over the built-in Wi-Fi. This model is also Energy Star qualified as well as Greenguard Gold certified, which means it meets standards for low chemical emissions during use. And one of the best parts – LG is making OLED technology far more accessible than ever, with a lower starting price than models released even just a couple of years ago. This may be the best time ever for TV technology, and the very best time to pick up a new LG OLED TV.
Here are some other helpful reviews:
**CNET: http://www.cnet.com/products/lg-55ec9300/
