Indubitably LG has one of many best OLED TV ranges available on the market, and with OLED being the present pinnacle of client TVs, arguably LG is the one to beat. 

So relatively than relaxation on its laurels after the success of the 2017 vary, the South Korean firm has put an unlimited quantity of labor into the processors that go into its OLED vary, giving them enhancements throughout the board. 

The E8 OLED (typically seen because the OLED E8) is LG’s replace to the 2017 E7 OLED, and even comprises the identical OLED panel as its predecessor. The E8 does lose the  soundbar-as-standard that you simply obtained with the E7, however apart from that all the modifications occur under-the-hood with LG’s a9 processor.

Whereas it might appear a little bit disappointing to have a processor be the one main differentiator, we will attest to the distinction that the chip makes – at a  demonstration on the LG workplace in Madrid we had been proven each this 12 months’s E8 and final 12 months’s E7 OLED side-by-side and the distinction between the 2 was vital to say the least. 

Like final 12 months’s fashions, the LG E8 OLED TV is offered in each a 55-inch and 65-inch variant, nevertheless in the meanwhile LG is being frustratingly tight lipped about worth – although, you’ll be able to anticipate it to be considerably lower than the flagship W8 OLED. 

On this hands-on evaluation we’ll be speaking you thru our ideas concerning the E8 thus far, and discussing whether or not we predict the enhancements remodeled final 12 months’s mannequin make it a worthwhile funding. 

Design

The E8 does a unbelievable job of getting out of its personal method on the subject of design. The gorgeous OLED show is housed by the thinnest of black bezels, with the complete unit being held by a pane of clear glass.

What this implies is that it seems to be just like the TV is sort of floating, with a visual disconnect between the unit and the stand, permitting the image on the set to be solely unbiased of its environment. 

It’s a deeply aesthetically pleasing design selection, and for these not tempted by the ‘image body’ seems to be of the flagship W8, it presents a design that’s extra in-line with typical tv with out wanting boring. 

The unit is achingly slim, with a neat panelled part across the again that homes numerous the inputs, so even in case you do look behind the set (which isn’t the enterprise finish of a tv) you continue to get a modern, pleasant-to-look-at gadget. 

If you happen to’re a follower of LG, you’ll acknowledge the distant management as the identical Magic Distant from earlier years. And there’s an apparent factor of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t repair it’ concerning the distant; it’s snug, simple to make use of, and has a button for voice management which has actually come into its personal this 12 months – however extra on that later. 

Efficiency

LG has clearly listened to the opinions of the 2017 fashions, as there have been noticeable enhancements in all of the areas that we took situation final 12 months. 

One of many largest issues that we had was with movement artifacts, the little halo of blur you get round shifting objects on display. From wanting on the similar supply materials enjoying on an previous set and the brand new E8 with the a9 chip, the enhancements had been dramatic. 

There are nonetheless artefacts right here and there (particularly when movement is extra intense), however there are considerably fewer than we noticed final 12 months. Not glad with the usual two-step noise discount, LG has carried out a four-step noise discount which supplies a picture that’s as crystal clear as it’s nice to take a look at.

What’s extra, this spectacular little chip has colour replica that’s seven occasions extra correct than the earlier chip. This interprets to fantastically easy transitions between comparable colours, which means a blue sky doesn’t undergo from any gradation from one shade to the subsequent. 

A difficulty that we had with all these enhancements had been that relatively than be included as commonplace within the set-up of the TV, they’re all included in menu choices named so obscurely that it’s unreasonable to anticipate anybody to know what they really modified.

Living proof: Residence Cinema Mode within the HDR settings is definitely a setting that will increase brightness and reduces saturation so as to nonetheless expertise an HDR picture in a nicely lit room. We’d by no means have guessed that from the title, and it’s comparable throughout the entire menu. 

Which means that even with all of the superb developments like AI picture contouring, a person may find yourself with a picture that doesn’t fulfil the TV’s potential simply due to poor menu labelling, which seems like a disgrace. 

One other situation we had was with a setting that feels untimely;  Excessive Body Price (HFR) is a function of the a9 chip that permits the E8 to deal with photographs at 120 frames per second. This can be a actually thrilling function till you understand that the E8 doesn’t have ports for HDMI 2.1 that help 120fps, and there presently aren’t any streaming providers that stream at this fee both.

This principally means you need to use a USB keep on with get your 120fps content material onto the display, or wait till the 2019 mannequin to lastly capitalize on this function. 

One large leap ahead that LG’s taken with the E8 is voice management. One among our favourite issues concerning the E7 was its Internet OS able to voice management, however the voice management itself was extremely restricted, principally limiting you to easy instructions like turning the set on and of, and adjusting the amount. 

On the E8 nevertheless, you’ll be able to change to a channel of your selection, ask for a present by title, search by actor, modify image and sound modes, and in case you do a single faucet of the mic button, you get a listing of suggestion for voice instructions. 

Early verdict

The E8 is in some ways an enchancment on final 12 months’s mannequin, with LG clearly paying attention to the criticisms that the OLED vary garnered and bettering on them, and we had been undoubtedly impressed with what we noticed.

The one drawback is that it feels apparent the a9 chip is a chip that’s alleged to final at the very least till subsequent 12 months’s fashions, and given the peek at HFR which is genuinely going to be revolutionary for issues that embody shifting at pace (assume sports activities and motion motion pictures), we will’t assist however really feel we’d be higher off ready till the 2019 fashions come out when all these options are totally realized. 

Is the E8 a powerful OLED? Undoubtedly. Is it an enchancment on the E7? Unquestionably. Is the E9 going to blow it out of the water? Most likely. 

We’ll want some extra time with the set to type by our emotions, however for now that is a powerful TV that is paving the best way for the subsequent technology.