I FINALLY Got a New 4K OLED TV! - LG GX 65' (In-Depth Review)

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWhat’s up guys, I’m ThioJoe, and todayI’ve got something cool for you, it’sa review of one of LG’s new OLED TVs thisyear, the GX or rather pronounced “G-10”series.Specifically, this is the 65 inch model withthe model number “OLED65GXPUA”.Now full disclosure, LG did provide me withthis TV to review, so I didn’t pay for itmyself, but it’s not like they’re payingme money to do the review, but that will haveno bearing on my opinion.Though I will point out the TV I’m comingfrom was also an LG OLED that I bought yearsago, so I’m already pretty familiar withLG TVs and kind of prefer them anyway.But anyway let’s jump into it.The first thing to know is LG has severalOLED model lineups.This year for example there’s the BX seriesas the most affordable, then then the stepup is the CX which has the most recent Alpha-9processor for AI upscaling, and the GX serieswe’ll be seeing in this video, is apparentlyessentially the same as the CX except forthe form factor.Then there are even more expensive modelssuch as the Wallpaper and Signature series.So about that form factor.The G in GX stands for ‘gallery’, andthat’s because unlike the CX, the GX doesnot come with a stand, only a wall mount.It’s designed specifically to be mountedon a wall such that it sits flat up againstit with essentially zero gap, and it reallydoes as you can see which is awesome.I will be getting a proper cable runner toconceal the wires so just ignore what I havenow.You can actually buy a stand for the GX separately,but at that point you really may as well getthe CX and save the cost difference.Now obviously wall mounting a TV will requireadditional work, and definitely will requireat least two people.The TV is big and heavy, over 60 pounds, sodon’t try to do it yourself.I had a friend help me set it up, and whilewe were able to do it, I would definitelyrecommend just hiring a professional to installit, especially if you don’t have wood studsand you’d be relying on drywall anchors,I don’t know how that would work.I do have wood studs though, one of whichwas fortunately placed right where I wantedto mount the TV, so I feel very confidentin the strength of the mount from having acouple of the huge included screws going intostuds.And it does seem like the wall anchors includedwith the box are just for concrete, so ifyou are going to be using drywall anchorsyou’d have to buy them separately.So again you probably want to just hire aprofessional to handle all that for you.And of course here’s the obligatory shotof me unpeeling the plastic off the frontwhen it was all set up.Let’s get into the fun stuff though, thefeatures.So this TV is indeed 4K, and being OLED, thepicture obviously looks amazing.With OLED the contrast quality you get isreally unmatched just because of the self-litnature of OLED, where if part of the imageis supposed to be black, the pixel just turnsoff, so there is no light bleed from any backlightof any kind.And the viewing angles are also awesome, Inoticed basically no color shift even whenviewing at extreme angles.One important feature is the new Alpha-9 Gen3 processor, which gives it AI upscaling capabilities.Apparently LG basically used machine learningto create a database of what certain texturesare supposed to look like in 4K, and thenthe processor can use that learned informationto accurately upscale specific textures.And from my understanding, this AI upscalingis always on, it’s not a setting.Because any time you have a display that ishigher resolution than the video source, itrequires some form of upscaling, so this chipjust processes it in a way that looks better.But even though there is no setting, I WASable to test the difference using my AppleTV, which I set to always output at 4K resolution,so when watching something in 1080p, the AppleTV instead does the upscaling to 4K withoutany of the fancy AI processing, and basically‘tricks’ the TV into thinking it’s already4K, so it doesn’t do any processing on it.Then to compare, I streamed the same 1080pcontent using one of the streaming apps builtinto the TV so it WOULD upscale it using AI.And I got to say, it really does make a difference.1080p content upscaled with the AI looks absolutelytack sharp, and really does look like true4K, I was pretty surprised.I’m not sure if I’ll be able to properlyget it to show in the video, because whenyou’re up close it’s very subtle, youmight be able to see some of these designsin this video are a bit more defined, butin real life at regular viewing distance it’sdefinitely noticeable.Now when it comes to upscaling 720p content,I couldn’t really tell the difference, maybeit was just too subtle, but at least with1080p it definitely works.There are a few actual AI settings in themenu though.There is a separate setting called “AI PicturePro” which is different from the AI upscaling,and is supposed to improve faces and textcharacters and stuff like that in an image,though I found it hard to notice a differencewith that, so I just leave it on.There is also AI Brightness which adjuststhe brightness of the image based on ambientlight, and Auto Genre Selection, which adjuststhe image based on the type of content itthinks is being shown.For sound, there is an “AI Sound Pro”option but we’ll come back to that.There are plenty of other display featuresto talk about, such as the fact that the TVis not just 4K, but also 120Hz native refreshrate, and yes it does have all HDMI 2.1 ports,which do support up to 4K at 120 Hz, so definitelyfuture proofed there.And one of the HDMI ports is eARC for outputtingaudio via HDMI, which is actually how I connectit to my receiver.Another cool feature is “Dolby Vision IQ”,which is able to dynamically adjust the brightnessof supported Dolby Vision content using anambient light sensor built into the TV.So this is different from that AI brightnessmode mentioned before, which I believe justkind-of works all the time, or at least insome picture modes.The Dolby Vision IQ feature is specificallyfor movies and TV made with Dolby Vision,which apparently include metadata on how brightan image should be, and uses compares thatto the light sensor data, then brightens itmore accurately, not necessarily using AI.And from what I’ve read, the Cinema Homepicture mode is what actually uses Dolby VisionIQ.The TV also supports the new “filmmakermode” as a picture profile, which effectivelydisables all post processing of an image,so the movie will look as close to the originalas possible, as opposed to something likethe “vivid” picture mode or other pictureprofile that might boost saturation, sharpness,or use motion smoothing and alter the truelook of the film.Speaking of smoothing, yes there are settingsfor that too, and be warned they are enabledby default, called “TruMotion”.Though you do have several options here, includinga custom ‘user’ mode.I’m not a fan of motion smoothing, but Idid find the ‘cinema clear” mode to bevery subtle and not even noticeable.And I know, using motion smoothing is likesacrilege because it can make stuff look reallyweird, but in some cases, because OLED panelshave such low persistence, meaning the pixelsswitch so fast, at lower framerates like 24fps, it can actually sometimes make videolook choppy where it wouldn’t on ‘inferior’displays.So I might just keep it on Cinema Clear goingforward so long as I don’t notice it’seven on.For gaming, yes this TV has that covered too.The GX supports both G-Sync and Freesync,though Freesync apparently will be availablelater with an update, along with variablerefresh rate, and there’s a specific picturemode called “Game” which is optimizedfor low latency, I guess by reducing imageprocessing, because TVs are typically notoriousfor input lag normally.And yes, the game mode does make a HUGE nightand day difference in input lag, to the pointwhere I would not be able to play on anythingbut game mode.The TV also supports so-called “Auto LowLatency Mode” which will further reduceinput lag, if your game console or computersupports it.As far as I know, PS4 does not, but the XboxOne S and X do, as long as you enable it inthe console settings you can see here.Then when you go to play, it will pop up sayinglow latency mode is enabled so you know.And apparently the latency goes down to 1millisecond which is impressive.So to be clear, your console doesn’t needto support low latency mode to use the TV’sgame mode, that’s just extra.And the low latency mode did seem to havea further subtle improvement, but it was alittle bit harder to tell.Alright as for the sound quality, I thinkthe internal speakers do sound pretty good.I don’t personally use them because I havea surround sound system which I think soundseven better, but you won’t be disappointedif you use the internal speakers.Like you saw before, there is a setting called“AI Sound Pro” which supposedly improvesthe audio, but that is disabled here becauseI am using external speakers.But when I did try it using the internal speaker,it did sound better and clearer with the AISound Pro, but I’m not sure if it’s justbecause it made it a bit louder.There’s also a feature called “AI AcousticTuning” that uses the microphone in theremote to calibrate the speaker based on theroom, and then you can choose from a few modes.As for other audio features, it does supportDolby Atmos built in, and also the abilityto use external wireless Bluetooth speakersas surround sound speakers, which is cool.Alright now let’s talk about WebOS, whichis the name of the operating system for theTV, or the user interface basically.I really do like the UI in LG TVs, and thisone is pretty similar to my old TV from 2015,just a bit different.You control everything using the so-called“magic remote” it comes with, and I’dsay the main button you’ll be using is thebutton with the house which brings up thelist of apps.And also if you press in that middle scrollwheel, it brings up a cursor you can use toclick on everything, and you actually justtilt the control around to point at whateveryou want.It just uses accelerometers to detect position,and the remote connects through wireless notinfrared by default, so the remote doesn’thave to be in line of site for it to work,so don’t think you need to like hold outyour arm and point it at the TV to use it.And I found they really improved the pointerresponsiveness since my old TV, this one seemsto be much more instant and responsive.Anyway you’ll see a list of apps like Netflix,Hulu, YouTube, and you can scroll to the endto go into edit mode to move them around.Also if you go to the “LG Content Store”you can search for additional apps like Plexfor example, that might not be installed bydefault, and you can uninstall apps you don’twant.The thing that’s nice about these apps isthey all work with the magic remote too, soit’s way easier to search for stuff usingthe TV apps because you can use the cursorto type and select things on the screen.One really cool app that comes installed isthe ‘Art Gallery’ app which will rotatethrough different paintings and images, andshow it with a picture frame, and since theTV is so completely flat against the wall,it almost really does look like a picturehanging on the wall, it’s pretty cool.Also on that app bar, not sure what it’sactually called, on the left side you’llsee more shortcuts.For example there’s a search feature whereyou can search for something, I believe acrossall the apps that you have installed.There’s also a Home Dashboard which willshow you all sorts of stuff connected to theTV in one way or another.Such as all the different HDMI inputs, ormedia servers on your network, though youcan just use the input button on the remotetoo.It also has Apple Airplay, or you can addsupport smarthome devices and control themthrough this dashboard.The ‘TV’ shortcut will take you to liveTV, if you have either Antenna or Cable hookeddirectly into the TV.But there are also what are called ‘LG Channels’which are basically like internet TV channels,some from well known stations like ABC orNBC news, stuff like that.And they just show up in the channel listas IP channels, and seem to behave the sameas other traditional channels.Now, one thing I need to point out is thatby default, when you open up the app listfrom the remote, there will be a stupid obnoxiousad all the way on the left hand side thatshows up every time you open the menu.And it seriously was bugging me until I foundthe little setting inconspicuously called“Home Promotion” you CAN disable whichgets rid of it.Seriously if there is one thing I hate, it’sadvertisements built into your freaking television,but at least you can disable it.Oh and there’s another setting in the menuscalled “Do not sell my personal information”.Uh yes please.Anyway we can talk more about the settings,which can be accessed by pressing the gearbutton on the remote.First it will bring up a quick settings menuthat you can edit, with a limited number ofsettings you can add to this.Though I wish you were allowed to add anysettings you wanted.Then you can access the full settings menufrom here.I’m obviously not going to get into allthe settings, but you can see the basics,like you can choose between different pictureprofiles, and customize them too.And you can change them quite a bit howeveryou want, everything from the color gammato white balance, or changing that TruMotionsetting or noise reduction, all sorts of stuff.One thing I noticed is when your input deviceis using Dolby Vision or HDR, like I am withmy Apple TV, you actually get a differentset of picture modes that weren’t availablebefore.I assume this is because the picture modesettings wouldn’t do the same thing whenapplied to an HDR video.And you’ll know you’re in HDR mode becauseat the top left there will be a pop up thatsays either HDR or Dolby Vision when thattype of video signal is being sent to theTV.Also worth noting, is when you change thepicture mode for one input device, like HDMI1, it will remember each device separatelyas having different picture settings, whichis nice.Also as a fun fact, I found out there is asuper secret diagnostics menu which can beaccessed by going to the channels menu, thenwith the “channel tuning” option highlighted,you press 1-1-1-1-1.Then it shows you all sorts of info aboutthe TV such as firmware and hardware versions,info about the WiFi and HDMI connection, andif you are currently on an HDMI input, youcan select “HDMI Mode” to see even morecrazy info, most of which I have no idea whatit means, but is still cool.And this is also how I checked to make surethe Apple TV was putting out a 4K signal eventhough I was watching 1080p content when Iwas comparing that AI upscaling, because itshows you the resolution, framerate, bit depth,variable refresh rate info, all sorts of stuff.Finally in the settings, for anyone worriedabout OLED burn in there is a menu calledOLED Screensaver which has several featuresto help with that.By default the TV will use a screensaver anywayif the content on the TV is static for 2 minutes,but these features help further.So there’s what’s called “screen shift”which will slightly shift the image everyonce in a while so pixels are less likelyto just show the same exact color the wholetime.And it’s not noticeable at all, I thinkit just moves it a few pixels, I’ve neveractually noticed it happen.There’s also Logo Luminance adjustment whichdetects static logos on the screen and apparentlydims them, like for a cable news show, thoughI don’t really watch live TV so I wasn’table to get an example of it in action.And finally the TV uses what’s called “pixelrefresh” which apparently happens everytime you turn off the TV after watching formany hours, where it somehow refreshes thepixels to prevent ghosting.The TV just looks like it’s off so you won’teven notice it, but it apparently makes abig difference.All that being said though, you probably don’thave to worry about ghosting or image retention.Even in the 4+ years I had my old OLED, Inever had burn in, and only one time I hadimage retention was when I left my Nvidiashield on a menu for like 8 hours and thescreen saver didn’t kick in, and then therewas slight ghosting for about a day beforeit went away.And from what I understand, it’s actuallyreally hard to get permanent burn in on anOLED, so nothing like the old plasmas.The final feature I can talk about briefly,is the voice control.The TV seems to come with two voice assistants,namely LG’s built in assistant, and GoogleAssistant.You give the TV a command by holding downthe middle microphone button then talkinginto it, and based on the command, eitherthe LG assistant or Google Assistant willrespond.For example, you can ask it to “search forstar trek on Netflix” and the LG assistantwill show you results for that search, specificallyfor Netflix.You can also ask it to open a specific appwhich it will do.For other searches that aren’t TV related,like “what’s the weather tomorrow”,the result will be given by Google Assistant.I don’t know how often I’ll actually usethis considering I have a ton of Google Homedevices around already, but it’s still nice.So that pretty much covers what I think arethe most relevant features.Overall I think this TV is awesome.I mean I was already a fan of LG TVs consideringI’ve owned one for years, so take that asyou will.I was mostly impressed by the upscaling, Ireally do think it does a great job at improvingon 1080p content.It’s not like a miraculous difference oranything, especially when sitting at a distance,but I do think it could make some high qualityHD content pass as 4K.This is also my first wall mounted TV, andI think it looks cool, it makes the room seema bit more open despite the TV being 10 incheslarger than my previous one that had a stand.Though obviously being wall mounted it isa bit tougher to get the wires connected backthere.Again you could always go with the CX modelwhich is apparently pretty much the same,just with a stand.Also when you get a TV like this, you arepretty much future proofed for a while.It has 4K and 120 Hz so you’re definitelyset for the next gen gaming consoles, andit supports the gaming features like low latency,variable refresh rate, eARC, all that.Also one feature the GX has that the CX apparentlydoes not is ATSC 3.0, aka “NextGen TV”,which is an upcoming upgrade to over-the-airantenna based TV that will be able to do 4Kamong other things.Though that won’t really be rolled out fora while in most places.So yea I think that covers everything, thanksagain to LG for sending me this to reviewand keep.Let me know in the comments if you have anyquestions, I’ll try to respond when I can.If you guys want to watch another review,you can check out my review of the iPhone11 Pro that came out last year, I’ll putthat link right here.So thanks so much for watching guys, and I’llsee you in the next one.\n"