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amazon LG Gallery Series GX 4K HDR OLED TV reviews
The 2020 LG Gallery Series GX OLED. Its signature design elements are a gap-free, shadowless wall mounting system and an extremely slim profile. That is an obvious answer to Samsung’s gapless wall-mounting method (available for select Samsung Q-Series TVs since 2017). LG has created its work of art that combines the inherent ultra-thinness of OLED panels with sharp engineering, somehow keeps all the electronics in a shallow chassis.
This stunning design comes at a price, albeit a lower premium than I expected. LG’s OLED TV prices are lower across the board. However, the 65-inch GX costs $3,500, while the 65-inch CX step-down model — which offers the same great picture quality — costs $2,800. It’s not affordable, but is the Gallery Series worth the $700 premium?
Out of the box
Fun story: I wasn’t expecting a GX (pronounced G 10) OLED TV for this review. I was expecting the CX model, and when I made a carefully curated, social delivery of this TV, I didn’t look closely at the box.
To shoot an unboxing video during a global pandemic, I asked my video producer, Dan Baker, to unbox the TV himself while recording the B-roll for our video. Words from Dan, no legs. I think we are missing some parts.
A brief call with LG revealed that I had purposefully lined up with the OLED OLED and the TV without legs but sold with a wall mount without a gap – an accessory for which Samsung charges an extra $150. My failure to get the leg was unfortunate for the office closure due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Bottom line? This TV is made to be wall-mounted. It makes no sense to put it on a stand or entertain, perhaps save for the enjoyment of its ultra-thin profile. If you’re not going to wall-mount, I will direct you to the CX series.
Made to hang
I’m a fan of the LG wall mount for the GX OLED. The smart one-piece design is compact, robust, and easy to install. Thanks to the articulating arm, the TV can be pulled away from the wall. That’s not so much for adjusting the horizontal viewing angle (not necessary with ultra-wide viewing OLED TVs), but for easy access to the TV’s inputs.
I was pleasantly surprised at the weight of this GX OLED, which comes in at 65.7 pounds. It’s unmanageable, and one can still mount the TV using the drywall anchors provided, but I would recommend drilling into the studs if possible.
Image quality
I’ve been impressed with the mini-LED and micro-LED TV technologies other manufacturers are starting to use, but at the end of the day, my heart still belongs to OLED, and the GX is one of those examples. The most beautiful I’ve seen yet.
Despite brave efforts to overcome the inherent problems of LCD TVs and the LED backlights on which they rely, nothing beats spontaneous displays for black levels, screen uniformity, and contrast. For now, OLED is the best it has to offer. LG’s 2020 OLED looks better than ever, even if the improvements are insignificant compared to last year’s models.
What about the GX series? I don’t see it as the best choice for everyone, based on cost. However, the TV’s aesthetic is undeniable, and LG is right to charge a little extra for it. On the other hand, this TV is a huge win for LG and its customers.
The new version of WebOS looks and feels much more professional. There are fewer color splashes and more transparent backgrounds, and simple menus are easier to read.
The home screen shows multiple apps at once, making accessing Disney+, Apple TV+, or ESPN easy as Netflix or Hulu. You’ve always been able to order apps any way you want, but now you can see more apps at once.
The home screen also takes up less of the screen, near the bottom third, instead of half.
In webOS, there are a few cool features, although one is sadly useless for the time being – again due to the coronavirus. Sports Alerts allows users to select their favorite teams and receive on-screen alarms for game time, game score updates, and highlights at a glance.
Another new feature, called Who Who. Where. What?” tries to make live TV more interactive by answering voice queries about who the actors are, the location of a scene, and what some on-screen productions might be.
Speaking of voice interactions, LG’s voice assistant is smarter and more capable, recognizes natural language better, and provides easier-to-understand responses. Interactions feel more like talking to a person than a robot, and when the LG assistant’s capabilities go off, the Google Assistant takes over. For instance, LG’s assistant can help you find content or change the channel, while the Google Assistant steps in to give you weather and info or help you order a pizza.
The GX also offers far-field voice control if you want to use it. There’s a microphone and mic button on LG’s magic motion remote, as is the case with all LG OLEDs. However, the GX series now has a built-in mic on the TV, and the wake-up text “Hi LG” will activate the assistant.
where can you get a LG Gallery Series GX 4K HDR OLED TV online
LG OLED65GXPUA Alexa BuiltIn GX 65-inch Gallery Design 4K Smart OLED TV (2020 Model): Buy it now
LG OLED55GXPUA 55″ GX 4K OLED TV w/AI ThinQ (2020) with Stand and Soundbar Bundle: Buy it now
LG OLED77GXP 77″ 4K Ultra High Definition OLED Smart Gallery TV with a LG AN-GXDV77 OLED GX 77″ Furniture & Shelf Top TV Stand Mount (2020): Buy it now
LG OLED65GXPUA Alexa BuiltIn GX 65Inch Gallery Design 4K Smart OLED TV 2020 with LG OLED GX Series Stand and Backcover (AN-GXDV65.AUS): Buy it now
Enhanced processing
At the heart of LG’s 2020 OLED TV (save the entry-level BX model) is the Alpha 9 Gen 3 processor. With it, a few valuable improvements. My favorite is the new AI picture mode that optimizes picture performance by analyzing the ambient light in the room and making adjustments to picture settings on the fly.
That may sound familiar, but the feature goes beyond the basic “eco-modes” by adjusting the TV’s photoelectric transmission function (EOTF) to maintain bright details and highlights. Turn on HDR for the best picture, no matter how bright or dark the room is. I find this feature to work well, and I encourage owners to enable it when initially setting up the TV.
The other improvements are a bit technical but do result in improved image quality. I’ve found the Alpha 9 Gen 3’s denoise filter to better minimize color gamut in wide color areas, especially with low bitrate content, where banding is often an issue. The result is a smoother photo with fewer distractions.
LG’s dynamic tone mapping has also been improved. That means for viewers a better HDR experience, where bright highlight detail is maintained, the brightest subjects of interest show off the most physically prominent highlights and light areas. Low light retains details without blacks.
LG has also added a feature to max out the brightness of SDR content, allowing it to look a little more vibrant – like HDR – without blurring the entire image in a way that appears garish.
Speaking of picture modes, users will see Film Mode installed on LG’s OLEDs this year, including the GX. This visual mode disables all hate post-processing reviewers, removes the soap opera effect, keeps colors accurate, and maintains the original aspect ratio and frame rate.
Honestly, the movie mode looks a lot like ISF Calibrated Dark to me. As I see more content, I’ll be sure to update my comment here. I still recommend ISF Calibrated Bright or ISF Calibrated Dark as a starting point for external image settings.
Gaming performance
Packed with full-spec HDMI 2.1 ports and every gamer-friendly feature, LG’s 2020 OLED makes an attractive enclosure for gamers looking for a large-format monitor to play. To date, LG’s OLED TVs are the only models that support both Freesync and G-Sync, along with variable refresh rates (VRR). They also support auto low latency mode (ALLM), with latency as low as 13 milliseconds.
LG’s OLED is also the first to add an HGiG mode, greatly improving the HDR gaming experience. HGiG stands for HDR Gaming Interest Group, which provides tutorials for TVs, consoles, and game developers.
In a nutshell, HGiG enables TVs to behave predictably, such that the game rendering engines handle all HDR tone mapping and allow the TV to crop the highlights at any level what brightness of the TV. That should help eliminate some of the poor image quality we’ve seen with some recent HDR games.
While burn-in is still a concern for some applications, LG’s OLED means a lot for gamers this year. Simply put, this TV kicks the butt of your gaming monitor.