• last month
Transcript
00:00Hey guys, I'm TomTheTechChap and it's been 9 months since I made my first unboxing and
00:05review video on this guy, the 77-inch LG G1.
00:10And since then, I've played hundreds of hours of games, probably watched thousands
00:13more TV shows and movies.
00:15You can even see on my remote control, if I put it right up to the camera, some of these
00:19buttons have started to fade.
00:20And I think we're at the point now where I've said to my wife, oh look at those blacks
00:24and that contrast during a dark scene of a movie, that now whenever she plays her OG
00:29Nintendo Switch or we go to a movie theater, she says, it's good, but it's not OLED.
00:34A big thank you to LG for sending this review sample over and also offering to sponsor this
00:38video.
00:39But as you guys know, with all my content, all opinions are my own.
00:43But do you know what the best thing about this TV is right now?
00:46It's not the fact that it has the OLED Evo panel and AI Gen 4 processor 4K.
00:51It's not even the flush wall mount, even though I've kind of ruined that by adding a Philips
00:55U gradient strip behind it.
00:57The best bit about this TV is that it is now about 20%, maybe 20, 25% cheaper than
01:02it was when it came out back in April.
01:05It was a whopping 4,800 quid.
01:07Now you can find it for a little under four grand.
01:10The 65 inch was 3,000, now it's 2,200.
01:14And so the thing is, we've seen all the shiny new TVs unveiled at CES 2022, including the
01:20successor to this TV with the new G2 series with new processors and potentially even higher
01:25brightness.
01:26But that won't come out until probably April.
01:28And as with any new piece of tech, you'll be paying top dollar at first.
01:32So sometimes last year's model may end up being a better buy.
01:37So it's cheaper now.
01:38We've also had a whole bunch of software updates.
01:40For example, the game optimizer menu has had a full design overhaul since I made my first
01:44videos.
01:45They've also added a few new streaming apps, including GeForce Now for game streaming,
01:49which was added in late November.
01:51I have to say, though, I do have one criticism about this TV.
01:55In fact, any current LG TV, and that is WebOS 6.
01:59This home screen menu, which, as you can see, takes a few seconds to populate.
02:04It is a good idea.
02:05Show all the recent and popular shows across different apps up front so you don't have
02:08to then go into each one to browse.
02:10It's just a bit too slow.
02:12I would love an option whereby we just get a smaller, lower third menu like older WebOS
02:17versions.
02:18It would be faster.
02:19It would let you keep watching what's on in the background while you navigate.
02:22If LG's watching, then for me, I would love a full screen option and a minimized option
02:27for this home screen.
02:28What do you guys think?
02:30Also, while this isn't something that's affected my G1, quite a few people have been reporting
02:34issues of the C1 and the G1s made in September and October not supporting HTCP 2.3 correctly.
02:40Now, my friend Vincent at HTTV Test made a great video about this, and LG has rolled
02:46out updates over the last few weeks to fix it.
02:48It is a software fix.
02:49So it is good to see that we're getting continued support from LG.
02:53But while there's always room for improvement, and I have just noticed that Sylvie the cat
02:57is looking at the birds on the TV, I don't think there's a better TV on the market.
03:02Yes, you can pay a lot more money for something like the 8K Z1 series from LG, but realistically,
03:07it's maybe the C1 and the G1 that you're going to be considering.
03:10And actually, I recently renovated my studio, which was my garage.
03:14And in there, while I have been using a review sample of the SkyGlass TV, I've definitely
03:18been spoiled by OLED, and I wanted to buy one for the new studio.
03:22So I was looking at the Sony A90J, the Samsung QN95A, both absolutely fantastic TVs.
03:28And on the Samsung, even though you have brightness advantages with that QLED panel, there's
03:32no Dolby Vision support.
03:33I know it has HDR10+, but for me, there's just so much Dolby Vision content that it's
03:38a bit of a deal breaker.
03:40So after a lot of back and forth, I actually ended up going with the LG C1.
03:44It shares almost all the same features as the G1, but it's a fair bit cheaper.
03:48I felt the C1 was the right fit for the studio.
03:51However, if you're happy to pay a bit more, the G1's OLED Evo technology does noticeably
03:56boost the brightness, which is one of the areas OLEDs can fall behind their QLED competition.
04:01Essentially, it's the processor combined with the Evo panel, which actually uses different
04:06materials that lets it run more efficiently, so then it can hit higher brightness levels
04:10without ramping up power consumption or increasing the risk of burning.
04:13And in my tests, it's between 10 and 20% brighter across the board, not just peak brightness.
04:19The other big advantage of the G1, the gallery design, is of course that flush, no gap wall
04:25mount.
04:26And it does exactly what it says on the tin.
04:27It also might mean that you can get away with a bigger size, because if this was on my TV
04:32stand like a foot or two closer, then yes, I know it would be bigger for me, so maybe
04:36then you don't need the bigger size.
04:38But because my living room, our houses here in the UK aren't that big, being able to wall
04:42mount this TV, and even though I've got the gradient strip, have it right up against
04:45the wall, just means I can get away with a bigger size TV without the missus telling
04:49me off.
04:50I'm just kidding.
04:51She loves this TV.
04:52If anything, she wants a bigger one.
04:53The G1 also comes with built-in far-field microphones for hands-free voice control.
04:58I haven't really found myself using it that much, if I'm honest, outside of maybe adjusting
05:02the volume or turning the TV off when I can't find the remote.
05:06I think if I could pinch one feature from a rival, it would be Samsung's One Connect
05:11box, because even though we do have the four HDMI 2.1 ports here, which is great, routing
05:16them around the back and then somehow hiding them as they come down, unless you're willing
05:19to drill more holes in your wall and route them through the back that way, I really do
05:23like Samsung's solution of having all the inputs on a separate box, so you then just
05:26have one clear cable going to the TV.
05:29Although if you do have any other better options for hiding a bunch of cables here, other than
05:33my painted piece of plastic-y wood thing, let me know in the comments.
05:37Speaking of ports, as I say, we've got four HDMIs and they're all the latest 2.1 spec,
05:42and this helps make it more future-proof, and it's exactly what you want for hooking
05:46up your PS5 or your Series X.
05:48And one of these is also an eARC HDMI, which I've connected to my Sonos ARC.
05:52LG do offer their own range of soundbars, and actually there's some pretty tempting
05:56deals to go with it, but I would recommend some kind of external soundbar or speaker
06:00system.
06:01The inbuilt speakers are okay, but for a TV that looks this good, you want it to sound
06:05pretty good as well.
06:07One question I do get asked a lot, actually, is what picture mode do I use?
06:11And 95% of the time, I use the ISF Expert Bright mode, occasionally switch it to the
06:16dark if I'm watching it at night and it's getting a bit too bright, and that's about
06:20it.
06:21Everything else is handled automatically.
06:22When you're playing games, the Auto Low Latency mode, try saying that three times after a
06:26few drinks, the ALM will switch you to Game Optimizer, which obviously has the fastest
06:31response times, lowest input lag, turns off all the back processing, and that's what you
06:35want.
06:36Also, if you're playing HDR content, it'll switch to an HDR or Dolby Vision preset as
06:40well, so you don't have to worry about anything.
06:42And also the Filmmaker mode, which a lot of people do love, and it's supposed to show
06:46the movie as the director intended.
06:48Personally, I find it just a bit too dark and also a bit sort of sepia tone, so I don't
06:52tend to use it.
06:54Let's go back to games, because in a separate video, I did call this, and I still maintain
06:58it's the best gaming TV you can buy.
07:00It checks every box, OLED, HDMI 2.1, 120fps, G-Sync, VRR, ALM, low response times and input
07:08lag.
07:09They've also updated this handy Game Optimizer menu, which shows you what your FPS is, and
07:13also if it's using G-Sync or FreeSync.
07:15You can even switch between game picture modes, like FPS, which raises the shadows to help
07:19you see enemies.
07:20It's worth mentioning that, of course, the LG C1 has all those gaming features as well,
07:25and it's a lot more affordable, but the advantage of the G1 is it's a bit brighter, which means
07:30games can look a bit more vibrant.
07:32Okay, just a couple of quick tips, and in general, system and then additional settings,
07:37you can turn off home promotion that actually hides sponsored advertisements, I did that
07:41straight away.
07:42You do also have the option to use the TV as a kind of IoT hub for your smart home tech,
07:47although I don't have a smart fridge or washing machine, just a bunch of Philips Hue lights,
07:51and to be honest, I do find the interface a bit slow sometimes, so it's not something
07:54I've really felt the need to use.
07:56So this thing is jam-packed with features, Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Alexa and the Google
08:01Assistant.
08:02You don't have to use any of these, but they're nice to have.
08:05So far so good, but what about burn-in?
08:07There's an entire menu dedicated to OLED care, with pixel cleaning, screen move, adjusting
08:12the brightness of static loops, screen off timers, even energy saving modes all reduce
08:17the risk.
08:18Now, I can only speak from my experience, but I've not had any problem with burn-in
08:21ever, and that's even having used a 48-inch C1 OLED as a desktop monitor.
08:26So realistically, as long as you don't abuse it, turn off all those safety features and
08:30just have a static image on there 24 hours a day running, you're not going to have any
08:34issues.
08:35So it almost feels like we've reached peak TV.
08:38The only ways this could maybe be improved is maybe if it was even brighter, perhaps
08:42over 1000 nits, if the menus were a little bit faster and more responsive, and perhaps
08:46if 8K prices continue to fall so then it becomes a bit more realistic to get an 8K OLED TV
08:53outside of the crazy expensive Z1 series.
08:56We do, of course, have 8K nano cells, which are great, but I still prefer OLED.
09:00So maybe that's something we could see in the future as well.
09:02Still, while I would say the C1 offers the best value, I think the G1 is a great option
09:07for the best image quality, brightness, and design for an OLED TV.
09:11And it is significantly cheaper than when it first launched.
09:14So now is a great time to buy one.
09:16If you enjoyed the video, a like and subscribe would be lovely.
09:19And if you've got any questions at all, let me know in the comments.
09:22Thanks for watching.
09:23And I'll see you next time, right here on the Tech Chat.