4K TV Reviews

Discovery+ will launch on January 4th as the newest aggregated subscription streaming service. Drawing on 17 of Discovery's channels, the service will offer the largest inventory of unscripted and non-fiction programming.

PRICE $900

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Wide Range of Features
Affordable Price
Impressive Picture Quality
Comprehensive Connectivity
High Refresh Rate for Gaming
Minus
Limited Off-Center Viewing Angles
Calibration and Ergonomic Challenges
Intrusive Pop-up Ads on Smart Platform

THE VERDICT
I wouldn't choose the U8K for a video mastering suite. But for the consumer looking for a TV that punches far above its price, the Hisense generated more OMG moments from me on the best source material than I can recall from any TV I've previously reviewed. The only thing keeping it from earning an even higher performance rating is its limited off-center viewing—an issue with most LCD-based televisions.

PRICE $1,599

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Friendly ergonomics
Slick remote control
Attractive price
Minus
Poor HDR peak luminance
Weak black level and contrast

THE VERDICT
Hisense’s premier 65-inch TV offers a respectable visual experience, solid ergonomics, and surprisingly good sound, but it has a few nagging video shortcomings.

Chinese TV maker Hisense has chosen the designation ULED for their 2017 Ultra HDTVs. Like most other modern sets, however (apart from OLED TVs), these are still LCD sets; the LEDs merely provide the necessary backlighting. While Hisense’s larger TVs (the 75H9D Plus and the flagship 70- and 75-inch H10D models) offer full-array local dimming (FALD), the 65-inch 65H9D Plus reviewed here is LED edge-lit. While for some consumers its $1,599 MSRP makes it look a little expensive, its discounted street price with major online retailers (as of late October) puts it well under $1,500 and makes it price-friendly—especially when compared with the flagship TVs I’ve reviewed recently.

PRICE $6,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Blacks are truly black
Fine detail
Near-perfect off-axis viewing
Minus
Pricey
Annoying calibration menus

THE VERDICT
LG’s recent price adjustments have made the company’s OLED sets more approachable, though hardly cheap in the biggest-screen Ultra HD models. But in today’s market, you’re unlikely to find a UHDTV that offers better performance than this one.

While OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology offers most of the benefits of the now sadly departed plasma sets (and in some ways, more benefits), it’s been difficult to manufacture at commercially viable prices. So far, only LG is actively marketing OLED in the U.S. (though we hope others will follow). A recent drop in LG’s prices for OLED sets has rendered them more affordable, though still far from generating “Attention, Shoppers” announcements at K-Mart.

PRICE $3,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Full P3 color
Inky blacks
High brightness
Minus
Cluttered WebOS
eARC usability inconsistent

THE VERDICT
With its upgraded evo technology and new heat sink, the G2 Gallery Edition punches through the brightness limitations associated with OLED displays while retaining the vivid color, stunning blacks, and off-center viewing that have long been the prime appeals of OLED.

LG's new G2 OLED evo Gallery Edition is the replacement for last year's G1 and the flagship offering in LG's 2022 OLED lineup—excluding the $100,000 OLED R(ollable) model, which sits in a class all by itself. Like the G1, the G2 is designed to hug the wall and features a Gallery mode that, if selected, can display a revolving range of still images and artwork when it's not being used as a television. The set ships with only a slim wall-mount bracket but LG offers a conventional tabletop stand for $100 and, if you want a full-on Louvre vibe, an easel-like Gallery Stand for an extra $350.

PRICE $1,700

AT A GLANCE
Plus
HDR10 plus Dolby Vision HDR
Great color
Wide viewing window
Minus
Middling black levels
Backlight artifacts

THE VERDICT
LG’s midpriced 65UH8500 delivers good image quality with a super-wide viewing window, and it’s one of the few sets around that plays both predominant types of HDR content.

A year ago, I tested the LG 65UF9500, an LCD Ultra HDTV that retailed for $2,999, and I criticized it for offering no future-readiness for soon-to-emerge high dynamic range (HDR) content. Since then, Ultra HD Blu-ray has come to market, bringing HDR along with it, and there’s a growing library of HDR movies available for streaming. To LG’s credit, their line of so-called Super UHD LCD TVs for this holiday season, including the midline 65-inch 65UH8500 tested here ($1,700), recognizes both predominant types of HDR—namely, HDR10 (used currently on Ultra HD Blu-rays) and Dolby Vision (still only available via web streams). LG is one of only two TV makers to support both formats on a single chassis (in both their LCD and OLED models), the other being Vizio, which updated their Dolby Vision sets for HDR10 in mid-2016. So how does this wellfeatured, attractively priced set perform? Let’s have a look.

PRICE $3,299

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Stunning brightness
Excellent color
Outstanding blacks
Minus
Cluttered WebOS
Little else

THE VERDICT
Today’s best HDTVs are sure to more than satisfy even the most critical buyer. That goes double for 2023 LG’s G3. Despite a few ergonomic quirks (a personal call, to be sure), it makes a strong case for itself as it jostles for the top of the hill as the best 4K HDTV on the market.

This is the third edition of LG's Gallery Edition OLED, replacing last year's 65-inch G2.