Review: LG OLED 55” 3D Curved (55EA9700) – Thin and Beautiful

If you haven’t seen an OLED TV yet, then you don’t know what you are missing. OLED TVs are the next generation of technology that is here today and is a big step up in picture quality. The LG 55” OLED 55EA9700 is a fully loaded set that is beautiful in so many ways.

I had a chance to check out the LG 55EA9700 and was extremely impressed with the the clarity and depth of the picture, the simplicity of all its many features, and how physically attractive this set is. Here are the details.

Design

This TV is truly beautiful to look at, from the ultra-thin profile to the curved design and the innovative transparent curved “Crystal Stand.” The profile of this TV is very unique; not just the curves but also the extremely thin panel that makes you wonder how this thing works. It is only 4.2 mm thick (see last picture below) at its most slender point, which is thinner than most Smartphones. Even the back of the TV is attractive with a smooth sculpted casing that is made of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP). This is a high-tech material that has superb durability and strength and is mainly used in aircraft and super cars.

I have always wondered how effective curved screens are because of the potentially reduced viewing angle. Viewing a curved screen from the side has the possibility of not only being a bit awkward but could also cause the picture to washout more quickly. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by the LG OLED because the curved screen did not detract at all from the image when I viewed it from the side. In fact, the viewing angle of this TV is extremely wide, more so than most flat panels. It was impressive how vivid the colour and depth of detail was with no noticeable washout of the picture at all.

The stand that comes with the OLED TV is unlike what you will find with any other TV. It is a clear translucent stand that looks as if it is an extension of the TV since it is also curved and flows naturally over the entire length of the TV. Even though the 55EA9700 is curved, it can also be wall mounted with a special mounting kit that you can purchase separately. It will look great on any wall but the stand is so attractive that you will be likely just use that.

Picture Quality

Although the LG 55EA9700 is not 4K resolution the picture quality is so crisp and clear that it looks as good as a 4K screen. There are several reasons for this. It comes down to the fact that OLED technology is so much more effective than LED technology. OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) does not require any backlight because each individual pixel is controlled individually. This creates extremely deep blacks and a phenomenal amount of contrast, which makes the clarity of the picture really pop out of the screen.

In addition, LG incorporates a 4-colour pixel technology that provides much deeper and more realistic colours. I watched a variety of programming and the vividness of colour was truly impressive. Another feature of OLED is extremely fast responsiveness, and as I already mentioned a very wide viewing angle so no matter where you are relative to the screen the picture is brilliant.

I think the biggest reason to get this set is the phenomenal picture quality, with its excellent colour reproduction, phenomenal contrast and resolution clarity. If you haven’t seen this OLED it is definitely worth having a look.

Smart Platform

LGs’ smart platform is one of the best developed out there, and the LG 55EA9700 comes with their Magic Remote, which is a very slick way to control it. It works by simply pointing it at the screen to move a very visible curser around the screen. It is infrared based so you can even do it with someone standing in front of you. It makes screen typing much easier than toggling letters on the screen, which most TVs do. I found the Magic Remote amazingly quick and easy to use. It even has voice recognition, plus you can control it with hand gestures, although I found that to be a bit gimmicky. You will find the Magic Remote works so well you won’t want to use anything else. It also comes with a traditional remote so you can use either.

The LG OLED Smart TV offers a lot of content, including all the usual suspects like Netflix, YouTube, etc. In addition, it has a full web browser so you can easily find additional content by surfing the web. If that isn’t enough, and you want to play content off of your Smartphone or tablet, then you can stream that wirelessly to your TV using LG’s Smartshare capability.   It also has MHL and Miracast functionality for connecting devices, plus it has USB ports to plug content or devices directly into the TV. This Smart TV gives you the ultimate flexibility in finding a wide variety of content for viewing.

Although the interface wasn’t LG’s WebOS platform, I found the screen menus very intuitive and easy to navigate and find exactly what I wanted. The menus are well designed, with windows-like nested file folders to select from, or apps shown with their logos and titles on the screen as small icons.

You can wirelessly connect it to your WiFi home network or hardwire it using an Ethernet port to gain access to the Internet and enable all the Smart features.

3D

3D in OLED is fantastic because of the image clarity, the realistic and vivid colour definition, and the incredible contrast of the picture. The 3D technology is passive 3D so the glasses are very comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. It comes with 4 pairs of 3D glasses but none are the special glasses that allow you to play dual-play games in full screen, which you can purchase separately. If you are a gamer they are definitely worth it as they allow each player to see only his side their individual scenes without seeing their opponents screne.

LG has incorporated a Cinema 3D technology that makes it one of the most immersive 3D experiences yet. In addition, this TV converts 2D content to 3D so you can watch all your favourite shows and movies in 3D if you want to. It even converts 3D content to 2D, but I am not sure why you would want to do that.

Additional Features

The LG 55EA9700 is a fully loaded TV. In addition to the Smart platform with Magic Remote, 3D capabilities and other features mentioned above; it also comes with a built-in camera, NFC (near field communication) capabilities, 7 different picture modes, 6 different sound modes, and plenty of connections. It has 4 HDMI, 3USB 3.0, and a digital audio out (optical) connection. It also has a headphone jack if you want don’t want to disturb the rest of the house but still watch with booming sound.

After viewing LG’s OLED TV I can see why in their review of the LG 55EC9300 OLED TV CNET described it as having the “Best Picture EVER” – better than any television they had ever reviewed!  Look for my discussion of that model in an upcoming article.

It not only looks great but it can save you money and help you go greener since OLED is a very energy-efficient technology that consumes less energy. It is also easy to move around as this 55” TV only weighs 15 Kg or 33 lbs.

Seeing is believing so check it out for yourself at Best Buy!