LG - LG 65C9

LG

LG 65C9 television: the Oled improves further

Aprox. 1969€

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For its Oled 2019 televisions, LG uses the excellent base of 2018 while bringing some interesting refinements, such as a more efficient processor and HDMI 2.1. Everything to make LG's 2019 Oled a benchmark again this year.

Positive points

Image quality.

Excellent colorimetry in HDR Cinema mode.

Faithful HDR processing.

Infinite contrast.

Viewing angles.

Always efficient α9 processor.

Responsiveness of Oled technology.

Excellent delay on display.

HDMI 2.1 compatibility (VRR, ALLM, eARC).

Consumption down compared to last year.

Bad points

Non-backlit remote control.

Brightness peak in HDR mode.

Our review

Presentation

The LG OLED65C9 (or 65C9) has a 10-inch 65-inch OLED panel (≈165 cm) displaying an Ultra HD resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 px. The structure of the subpixels has changed slightly compared to that of the Oled TVs released since summer 2018. However, the manufacturer still announces the same figures: a maximum brightness around 750 cd / m², 99% coverage of DCI-P3 color space, infinite contrast and zero afterglow. The second generation α9 (Alpha 9) processor is a slight evolution from last year's α9.

The LG Oled 55C9 is sold for around 2,500 €. It is available in 65 (≈165 cm / 65C9) and 77 inch (≈196 cm / 77C9) versions at the respective prices of € 3,500 and € 8,000. The 77-inch model becomes the most affordable on the market on this size (excluding promotions). Last year, the LG 77C8 was sold € 10,000 when it was released. Like last year, the 55E9, 65E9, 65W9 and 77W9 models share the same electronics and differ only in audio rendering and design. The LG B9 is expected to hit the market sometime this summer. It will have the same Oled panel, but a slightly less powerful processing processor (α7 Gen 2).

All the brightness and colorimetric measurements mentioned in this article were carried out with a SpectraCal C6-HDR probe and the CalMAN Ultimate software.


Presentation

Image quality

The structure of the sub-pixels is slightly different. The white subpixel inherits a new shape while the red subpixel is slightly larger than its predecessor. LG Display - manufacturer of all Oled TV panels - continue to refine its technology by adjusting the size of the sub-pixels to improve performance and lifespan. The operation remains identical: each pixel is made up of four sub-pixels (one green, one red, one blue and one white). The white and red sub-pixels are larger in order to improve the maximum brightness of the screen, while maintaining a color temperature close to 6,500 K. As always with Oled technology, the viewing angles are excellent. We have measured a loss of brightness of only 20% at 45 ° and there is no variation on black - which is absolute.

As is often the case with LG's Oled TVs, the Cinema mode offers simply perfect colors. We measured an average Delta E at 1.7, far below the threshold of 3 below which the human eye no longer perceives a difference between the colors displayed on the screen and the expected colors. No color sees its Delta E exceed 3 except for two levels of gray.

The mean of the gamma is measured at 2.45, a value very close to the reference value (2.45). We can notice a slight variation, almost invisible, on the very dark grays. The variation on the light gray is a little more visible for a discerning eye, but overall, the rendering is excellent. Like the 2018 models, this television now has an automatic gamma mode (much simpler for the general public) which automatically switches from gamma 2.2, ideal for HD / Full HD content, to gamma 2.4 which is the standard for Ultra HD Blu-ray.

What to say about the color temperature ... Not much since it is close to perfection. The curve is stable over the whole spectrum and the average is established at 6,560 K, almost on the reference value in video (6,500 K).

As always, the contrast obtained by an Oled panel is considered to be infinite. Indeed, even with a white calibrated at 149 cd / m², black is measured at 0 cd / m² (our probe cannot measure a black less than 0.0049 cd / m²). This contrast is still as impressive and allows you to enjoy all the nuances, even in complete darkness. Note that LG has made a lot of effort to keep the details in the darkest areas, and this is rather profitable.

The α9 (Alpha 9) Gen 2 processor still performs processing in four passes: two TNR (Temporal Noise Reduction) and two edge detection passes, but it adds a banding reduction mode (Smooth Gradation, translated into "degrades"). fluids "in the French interface). The scaling engine - identical to that of last year - is still as efficient. It displays Full HD content on the Ultra HD panel while respecting the original source without creating an artifact. Since the arrival of the α9 processor, the motion compensation engine is finally at the same level as that of Panasonic and Philips, and the α9 Gen 2 is therefore in the same vein. The TruMotion can still be controlled by hand by managing the saccade (De-Judder) for 24 / 25/30 Hz content and the blurred zones (De-Blur) for 50/60 Hz content. It also offers a system of insertion of black images to deceive retinal persistence (Motion OLED) which logically reduces the brightness of the screen.


Image quality

HDR

The LG OLED65C9 is compatible with HDR10, HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) and Dolby Vision signals, but it does not support HDR10 +, a competing format for Dolby Vision.

With a maximum HDR signal of 10,000 cd / m², the Display Tone Mapping applied by LG is simply excellent. LG has been refining its copy since last year to avoid clipping and the curve is thus smoothed from 70% luminance to preserve details in very bright areas. The weak point of Oled technology remains the maximum brightness, which we measured at only 720 cd / m² on the 65C9. We measured the 55C8 at nearly 800 cd / m² when it was released last year, but the new Oled panel gives pride of place to the red sub-pixel, which translates into a slight drop in brightness in favor of a better lifespan.

We also measure the color accuracy in HDR mode. We have chosen Cinema HDR mode which offers the best color rendering. The average Delta E is measured at only 2.4 and only a few colors exceed a Delta by 3. The maximum Delta E is measured at 5.3, which remains excellent for HDR content.

Like its predecessors and all Oled TVs on the market, the LG 65C9 has 70% coverage of Rec.2020 and 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. It is the latter which is used in the world of cinema and the LG television is thus capable of reproducing all the colors of the films in Blu-ray Ultra HD.


HDR

Video games

If until now Samsung has dominated Oled televisions in terms of delay in display, it is now ancient history. The LG 65C9 displays a display delay of 12.7 ms. This model is therefore better than Oled LG and Panasonic televisions of 2018 which displayed a delay in the display of 21 ms, and it is even better than Samsung Qled televisions whose input lag did not exceed 15 ms. The delay in the display is thus less than one frame per second relative to the source. For comparison, PC screens go down to 10 ms, but on a TV this remains one of the best measured values. The LG TV also retains the advantage of Oled technology, with zero afterglow which results in very little blurring behind moving objects. It is also possible to use the black image insertion system in game mode (Advanced options> TruMotion> OLED Motion).

We are now evaluating the color fidelity in Game mode, because the atmosphere designed by the creators of the game must be respected by the television, just like that of a film. By setting the white balance to Expert 2 temperature, it displays an average delta E of 2, below the threshold of 3. More interestingly, the TV supports the Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) of HDMI 2.1. This function automatically deactivates all image processing and therefore reduces the delay in display to a minimum when a compatible console is connected. The console indicates that it supports ALLM and the display delay is then 13 ms. The user can then choose his preferred color mode (standard, vivid, Home Cinema or Cinema) and keep this delay on display. To date, only Xbox One S and Xbox One X support ALLM.

If until now only Samsung TVs were compatible with FreeSync, this is no longer the case with HDMI 2.1 compatibility which brings to LG 65C9 VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), the equivalent of FreeSync, which works perfectly with Xbox One S / X between 40 and 60 fps (frames per second). This system automatically sets the refresh rate of the TV screen on the number of frames per second sent by the console to avoid tearing of the image (tearing) and micro-slowdown (stuttering). The TV supports a frequency range between 40 and 120 fps. If the 120 fps cannot be reached with a console, a PC will be able to use the television with a native Ultra HD definition at 120 Hz ... the day when the graphics cards will embed an HDMI 2.1 output, which is not the case of the latest high-end cards (GeForce RTX 2080 and AMD Radeon VII).

We were able to get our hands on a LG Oled TV from 2019, the LG 65C9. The opportunity to see that LG has greatly improved the delay in display ...


Video games

Clouding

As with all Oled TVs on the market, each pixel is managed individually and there is therefore no clouding. Banding effects (horizontal or vertical bands) are also absent on this model. The homogeneity of the brightness on the screen is excellent, since we have measured the average difference in uniformity of white across the entire screen from 65 inches to 9%. This excellent result is again explained by the use of Oled technology.

A little word all the same about the marking problems that some users face. Extensive tests have shown that the marking of modern Oled tiles is limited during everyday use. On the other hand, continuous information channels displaying banners with saturated colors (red, blue or green) can clearly be a problem, especially when the brightness is pushed to the maximum. This risk exists and cannot be totally overlooked. Remember that you must switch off the television using the remote control and that it is not recommended to disconnect it completely from the power. The television performs maintenance operations on the screen when it is in standby in order to preserve uniformity and precisely to avoid marking problems.


Audio

The LG 65C9 has two speakers and two subwoofers with a total power of 40 W. If the audio system has not changed since last year, it still delivers very good sound for a TV. The shape of the new foot seems to have an impact on the treble reproduction since there is a slight dip between 3,500 and 9,000 Hz. Overall, the sound remains a little above average, with bass very present. The good news is the eARC compatibility provided by HDMI 2.1. The television can thus send almost all formats to a Home Cinema amplifier or a sound bar.


Consumption

We measured the consumption of the LG OLED65C9 at only 99 W on our test chart. Relative consumption thus drops to 85 W / m². It therefore seems that the new sub-pixel structure has an impact on TV consumption since the 65-inch LG 65C9 consumes just a little more than last year's LG 55C8 with its 55-inch panel ... Each year, LG reduces the consumption of its Oled models. It was 116 W / m² on the LG 55C7V of 2017, 108 W / m² on the 55C8 of 2018 and it now drops to 85 W / m². It's still a little more than the best LCDs on the market, like the Sony 65XG8505 (56 W / m²), the Samsung QE55Q6FN (61 W / m²) or even the TCL 55DP660 (66 W / m²), but LG works in the right way. Standby consumption is always less than 1 W.


Conclusion

In line with the C8, the LG 65C9 is approaching perfection. It delivers an image perfectly calibrated in SDR and HDR, infinite contrast and offers very wide viewing angles. This year, LG improves the delay in display by simply offering the best on the market and offers the first HDMI 2.1 compatible model bringing its share of additional functionality (VRR, ALLM, eARC). It is certainly one of the best televisions on the market. The only complaint we could make about it is its reduced brightness peak in HDR, but this is the case on all Oled models.


Specifications