LG OLED55B8PLA Evaluate

Whereas not fairly nearly as good as LG’s dearer OLED TVs for 2018, the OLED55B8PLA nonetheless retains greater than sufficient OLED image high quality DNA to appear to be a critical cut price.

Professionals

• Nice worth for an OLED TV
• Sometimes good OLED image high quality
• Lovely design

Cons

• Image high quality falls wanting step-up LG 2018 OLED fashions
• Not the brightest with HDR sources
• Wants care with arrange

Key Specs

• Evaluate Value: £1499
• 55-inch OLED TV
• Native 4K decision
• HDR10, HLG, Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR help
• webOS good system
• In-built Dolby Atmos decoding and go by means of

What’s the LG OLED55B8PLA?

The OLED55B8PLA is the most cost effective OLED TV LG has ever made. This could be all many AV followers want to listen to earlier than speeding off to the retailers to purchase one.

Earlier than you do, although, you must be aware that not like different entry-level LG OLED fashions of latest years, the OLED55B8PLA doesn’t ship the identical image as its dearer siblings. To maintain its worth down, it makes use of a much less highly effective video processor that does impression the image high quality.

Offered you retain that in thoughts, the OLED55B8PLA remains to be adequate to make its £1,500 worth appear to be a cut price.

Associated: OLED vs LED LCD – What’s the very best show know-how?

LG OLED55B8PLA – Design and construct high quality

The LG OLED55B8PLA is ridiculously enticing for a £1500 TV. As ever with OLED TVs, it’s phenomenally skinny – at the very least at its outer edges.

I really like the way in which its body sits flush with the display, making a fantastically monolithic impact. The display’s metallic mounting can also be attractive, and makes the set way more sturdy than such a slim TV has any proper to be.

The OLED55B8 is obtainable with two totally different stand variations. The ‘PLA’ model I examined locations the display on an angled-down steel ‘sheet’. An OLED55B8SLC model makes use of a extra open and ethereal ‘boomerang’ type help. Each look enticing, though I considerably most popular the extra critical look of the PLA strategy.

The LG OLED55B8 comes with certainly one of LG’s ‘Magic’ distant controls. These have a wheel that will help you spin shortly up and down the on-screen menus. Nonetheless, when you’re feeling conventional, the extra commonplace navigation buttons are additionally offered.

LG OLED55B8PLA – Options

The LG OLED55B8PLA is a 4K OLED TV you should buy for simply £1500. This makes it doubtlessly dreamy for AV followers attracted by OLED’s image high quality however usually deterred by its worth.

Why are OLED screens so common with AV followers? As a result of every OLED pixel makes its personal gentle – not like LCD TVs, which have to make use of exterior gentle methods. Because of this OLED TVs can ship deeper black ranges and extra native distinction than LCD TVs.

OLED TVs are good for managing the inky black ranges and excessive distinction discovered in lots of movies. Particularly if these movies are being offered utilizing excessive dynamic vary (HDR) know-how.

However, as famous earlier, the B8 doesn’t function the identical image specification as the opposite fashions in LG’s OLED vary. Its Alpha 7 processor falls wanting the Alpha 9 processor utilized in LG’s C8 sequence and above. I’ll clarify how the processors differ within the Efficiency part.

The OLED55B8’s good options are powered by LG’s webOS system, which remains to be slick, enticing and straightforward to observe. Nonetheless, the scrolling bar of selectable ‘folders’ alongside the underside of the display is turning into a bit of unwieldy because the variety of TV content material sources grows ever larger.

Apps supported by webOS embody all the important thing video streaming platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Rakuten, YouTube, Now TV and the catch-up apps for the UK’s foremost terrestrial broadcasters. What’s extra, the TV catch-up apps can be found inside a Freeview Play umbrella app. This makes it a lot simpler to seek out and browse reveals throughout all of the catch-up platforms.

Associated: What’s Freeview Play? Related TV platform defined

The OLED55B8PLA helps playback of three HDR codecs. First, inevitably, there’s the trade commonplace HDR10 system. Then, there’s HLG, set to return into its personal with upcoming HDR broadcasting platforms. Lastly, Dolby Imaginative and prescient gives a premium HDR efficiency from Dolby Imaginative and prescient sources by supporting further scene by scene picture knowledge.

The LG OLED55B8PLA’s image presets present loads of flexibility to swimsuit totally different room environments. There’s additionally a wonderful Dynamic Tone mapping function for non-Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR sources. This makes use of processing to ape Dolby Imaginative and prescient’s scene by scene knowledge to spice up distinction and color.

The Recreation preset reduces the period of time the OLED55B8 takes to render footage to below 25ms. This can be a good consequence that makes the TV a doubtlessly very efficient video gaming monitor.

The LG OLED55B8’s relationship with Dolby doesn’t finish with its Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR help. It additionally carries a built-in Dolby Atmos audio decoder. This works each with exterior, HDMI-connected equipment, akin to an Apple TV 4K or 4K blu-ray participant, in addition to inner Dolby Atmos apps, akin to Netflix.

Whether or not the TV’s built-in 2.2-channel sound system can do justice to a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, although, is one other matter. You need to use the OLED55B8PLA’s audio return channel (ARC) HDMI to go the Atmos audio by means of to exterior sound options.

The LG OLED55B8PLA’s connections embody the same old 4 HDMIs, three USBs, and built-in Wi-Fi/Bluetooth help.

Associated: What’s HDR? Excessive dynamic vary TVs and telephones defined

LG OLED55B8PLA – Arrange

The OLED55B8PLA’s image presets are a bit tough. You get essentially the most ‘correct’ colors and tones when you use the Cinema/Cinema Dwelling settings. These preserve noise to a minimal, too.

For me, nevertheless, they’re simply too darkish to do HDR justice. Personally I’d suggest the Normal mode as an alternative. Although I’d recommend nudging down the brightness setting one notch to cut back the potential for noise in darkish image areas.

Flip off all noise discount for native 4K viewing to cease the image turning into tender. For movement, I’d suggest the Customized setting, with the blur and judder parts set to a few.

Additionally borderline important for me is the Dynamic Tone Mapping function. Sure, activating this may increasingly not provide the most correct, ‘because the director meant’ picture. However the further dynamism and brightness it introduces with HDR content material is substantial.

With out Dynamic Tone Mapping in play, I’d argue the OLED55B8PLA struggles to ship a really HDR expertise with non-Dolby Imaginative and prescient content material.

Lastly, a phrase on the sound. Should you’re watching a movie and might flip the quantity excessive, use the Dolby Atmos setting. Should you can’t run the TV loud, although, Atmos is greatest turned off.

Associated: Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR: Every thing you’ll want to know

LG OLED55B8PLA – Efficiency

The LG OLED55B8PLA’s footage are not so good as these of the model’s C8 sequence. They’re, nevertheless, nonetheless severely sensible for a £1,500 TV.

Let’s cowl the excellent news first. Beginning with the truth that as you’ll hope with any OLED TV, its distinction is immense. Superbly deep, wealthy, pure black colors share display area with clear, pure whites and gorgeously daring colors.

Even higher, an image’s brightest spotlight can sit only a pixel away from its deepest black with no compromise between the 2. Scenes containing a daring combine of sunshine and darkish content material thus look spectacularly intense and sensible.

Whereas some LCD TVs can get a lot brighter than the OLED55B8PLA, no LCD TV can match the OLED’s purity and punch when displaying small vibrant objects in opposition to very darkish backdrops. It’s pretty, too, to seek out the OLED55B8PLA freed from the sunshine ‘clouding’ round stand-out vibrant objects that you just get on virtually all LCD TVs.

Normal dynamic vary footage look beautiful, too, and the TV’s gorgeous distinction and color stay intact from broad viewing angles. This broad viewing angle help is one thing else no LCD TV – bar, maybe, Sony’s new ZF9 fashions – can rival.

In brief, the OLED55B8PLA clearly reveals off all the important thing advantages of OLED know-how, regardless of its groundbreakingly low worth. However when you can rustle up an additional £500, there are compelling causes to think about the LG OLED55C8 as an alternative.
The OLED55B8 (with its Alpha 7 chipset) falls wanting the OLED55C8 (with its Alpha 9 chipset) in three key methods.

Before everything, the B8 isn’t as vibrant. This appears odd, as you wouldn’t essentially affiliate brightness with processing. However whereas the C8 measures round 800 nits on a ten% white HDR window, the B8 tops out at round 680 nits. That’s a not unsubstantial distinction, and does make HDR footage look much less explosive and, nicely, HDR.

It additionally means there’s a contact much less element and firming info within the brightest components of HDR footage, and barely much less depth in contrast-rich scenes. It may additionally result in darkish areas of pictures generally trying barely wanting element and overdominant.

The B8’s lowered processing energy additionally implies that it’s not nearly as good at upscaling HD sources to 4K. The outcomes look a bit of softer, and refined color blends are rather less astutely managed.

As I famous above, movement isn’t dealt with in addition to it’s on the C8 sequence both. There are distracting digital uncomfortable side effects and stutters when you use the Clean or Clear settings respectively. A Movement Professional possibility makes use of black body insertion to make movement look extra filmic, but in addition makes the image too darkish.

The B8’s colors, in the meantime, aren’t fairly as constantly balanced and natural-looking as they’re on the C8s. And eventually, the B8’s footage are extra liable to noise, particularly in darkish areas.

Let me reiterate, although, that whereas the C8 is definitely the higher performer, the OLED55B8PLA stays an ideal performer for its cash.

Surprisingly, the OLED55B8PLA manages to companion its stellar footage with some more-than-decent audio. Regardless of the trimness of a lot of the TV’s bodywork, its audio system ship a clear, punchy, detailed sound with out succumbing to distortions or dropouts.

Excessive trebles are dealt with with out sharpness, and are balanced out with some punchy (if not particularly deep) bass. The mid-range is open and balanced, and performs host to wealthy, well-rounded dialogue.

Most remarkably of all, Dolby Atmos tracks are dispersed over a startlingly giant space with out turning into incoherent. There’s even a marginal sense of sound behind you, and a few real peak to the sound stage.

The one catch in all that is that the Atmos decoding is barely actually efficient at loud volumes. At medium or low volumes, turning Atmos off can provide a extra balanced, convincing consequence.

Associated: Finest Soundbar 2018

Ought to I purchase the LG OLED55B8PLA?

As comfortably the most cost effective OLED TV but, the OLED55B8PLA is probably going a no brainer for a lot of AV followers. Sure, you are able to do higher with LG’s OLED55C8 for £500 extra – however £500 is some huge cash to most individuals. Sufficient, I think, to tip the stability for a lot of TV consumers between selecting a reasonably high-end LCD TV and selecting this OLED set.

Additionally, whereas LG’s step-up OLEDs are higher, the OLED55B8PLA nonetheless delivers the important thing advantages of OLED know-how. In actual fact, it’s roughly on a par with final yr’s glorious C7 OLED fashions.

The LG OLED55B8PLA’s largest catch is that it’s not fairly as vibrant as I’d like. If you wish to expertise extra of HDR’s vibrant facet, you can think about a top quality LCD TV, such because the £1,299 Sony 55XF9005, or the £1,999 Samsung 55Q9FN.

Associated: Finest TVs 2018

Verdict

Should you can afford it, LG’s OLED55C8 is a considerably higher image performer. However the LG OLED55B8PLA nonetheless retains greater than sufficient quintessential OLED high quality to appear to be a critical cut price.

How we take a look at televisions

We take a look at each TV we overview totally over an prolonged time period. We use trade commonplace exams to check options correctly. We’ll at all times let you know what we discover. We by no means, ever, settle for cash to overview a product.

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Used as the primary TV for the overview interval

Examined for greater than every week

Examined utilizing trade calibrated instruments, discs and with actual world use

Examined with broadcast content material (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs

Trusted Rating

Rating intimately

• Options 9

• Worth 9

• Good TV 9

• Picture High quality 9

• Design 9

• Sound High quality 8

Options

Connectivity

Bodily Specs