LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV Review

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If you havent seen OLED, you need to. By far the best picture I have ever seen on a television.Watching movies over is a blast as I can see details that I couldnt before. There is nothing bad I can say about LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV, it is replacing an award winning, high end Panisonic Plasma and there is no comparison. It has the brightness of an LCD and darker blacks than the best plasma. I truely think OLED is the future of TV and even with 4k, you will have the same issued with current LCD tvs. Also, there is very little 4k content, with current dvd players being 1080, and bandwith issues with 4k. Until those issues get fixed, I would stay away from 4k and get this OLED.Cant wait for the larger pictures to hit the market 

The physical design of LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV is a thing to behold. I’ve seen it at stores and at CES in Las Vegas but it was always displayed next to a wall or another TV. I put it on a table that (for the moment anyway) is in the middle of the room. Everyone who has visited is amazed at both the curved design and how very thin the screen is. I had a washing machine repairman at the house last week and he stopped mid-room and asked “Sir, can I look at your TV?” Of course I said yes. I eat that sort of feedback up like candy. The back is very clean and has the “classic” carbon fiber pattern to it. The very narrow bezel means that it takes only 4 inches more horizontal space than the 46” LCD it replaced. 

The set can’t be wall mounted and the clear “ribbon” stand can’t be removed. I wasn’t planning on getting much sound from the see-through speakers in the stand but I was pleasantly surprised. Half volume was plenty loud for normal viewing. For a set of this level, I’d suggest a full home theater surround sound set up, of course. You wouldn’t want to do a sound bar on this set – it wouldn’t look good next to the clear stand. 

The Picture of LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV. What can I say? This is the best picture of any TV I’ve ever owned. Black is the absence of light and that provides infinite contrast. The set is pre-calibrated at the factory. The THX mode is perfect in every respect – at least as much as the calibration equipment that I have can determine. You can’t adjust THX mode. ISF Expert modes 1 and 2 are also calibrated but you can adjust those if you feel the need. 

I’m not going to post settings as I didn’t need to make any changes. One thing. Some programming will look much better on an OLED than on a LCD set – most Blu-ray movies, TV shows that have a lot of dark backgrounds and moody lighting. But shows that are very bright – sports, talk shows, and scripted shows that are filmed with limited contrast—won’t look that much different. I see no changes in picture quality regardless of viewing angle. You can stand facing the end of the set and the parts you can still see (mostly the opposite curved part) still looks great. 

The curved design really isn’t noticeable when sitting in front of the set. I forgot about that aspect of the design almost immediately. 

The remote control I’m less happy with. It’s a virtual mouse device. You wave it in front of the TV to move a cursor around. Unfortunately the remote goes into sleep mode very quickly and I have to shake it to wake it up. You can control other devices but that’s done through an onscreen menu. So stopping a movie playing on Blu-ray means clicking the menu button, shaking the remote awake, move the cursor to the stop button on screen, and clicking. I’m sticking with my universal remote. The LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV remote is RF but the TV still listens for IR signals too. However, there’s no way to learn commands with a universal remote beyond the default codes built in.

LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV Review Pros and Cons:

PROS:
  • Amazing contrast performance
  • Sensational design
  • Spectacular colour
  • Exceptional Blacks
  • Superior brightness
  • Highly accurate color out of box
  • Eye-catching curves, razor-thin profile
  • Loaded with features
CONS:
  • Curve creates viewing angle issues
  • It's not 4K
  • Can’t be wall-mounted
  • Disappointing motion resolution
  • Minor brightness uniformity issues
  • Lazy pixels may appear disconcerting


LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV Features

  • Stunning design at only 4.3mm thick at its thinnest point. Stunning picture quality with Infinite Contrast that ranges from the most blazing white to the darkest black. And, 4 Color Pixel that displays images so vivid you'll forget you are watching TV.
  • LG's advanced 4 Color Pixel technology adds an unfiltered, white sub-pixel to the traditional red, green and blue. The result? A brighter picture with a wider range of colors and superior color accuracy for more true to life and vibrant images.
  • LG OLED TVs have an almost infinite contrast ratio. With self-lighting pixel technology, it can range from blazing white to the darkest black. Higher is better, and "Infinite" has been impossible? until now.
  • Ignoring the screen for a bit, the 55EA9800 has all the features of an LG Smart TV. We still think the interface for the Smart TV functions needs a big update in terms of design, but all the elements are there, including a good range of apps.
  • The 55EA9600 uses the LG Magic Remote but also has a regular remote for people who don't enjoy the wizardry of the on-screen pointer. The Magic Remote actually seemed more responsive with the 55EA9800 than it has felt on other TVs, although that could be just our perception of the experience.  
  • There's also a USB camera that can be attached to the top of the TV and plugged in via a special USB port on the rear, letting you use the video and gesture functions, as well as voice control.
  • While there are no buttons on the TV, there's a touch panel under the LG logo, where you can access basic functions like channel, volume, input and even on/off.  
  • In all, we saw very few differences from other current generation Smart TV offerings from LG. A quick note on the sound from the built-in speakers: it's better than you'd expect but still not exactly great. Thin panels don't leave a lot of room for big sounding speakers, so while we applaud what LG have done, we think a TV like this deserves a good surround-sound system to go with it.
  • TV without stand (Width x Height x Depth): Not Applicable, TV with stand (Width x Height x Depth): 48.3 x 31.4 x 7.6 Inches

LG 55EA9800 Cinema 3D 1080p Curved OLED Smart TV Specs Details

  • Brand Name: LG
  • Model Number: 55EA9800
  • Display Technology: OLED
  • Display Size: 55 inches
  • Image Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Image Contrast Ratio: "Infinite Contrast"
  • Resolution: 1080p

It would seem LG still has a couple of bugs to iron out, but we kind of expect that from first-generation technology. Even so, this TV looks fantastic, and it shows that OLED appears to be in a great position to deliver the picture quality of today’s best plasmas in an ultra-thin frame similar to LED televisions. Yes, it’s expensive. We knew it would be. But this TV is a sign of things to come. It’s a little glimpse into the future and is presently a tough TV to produce. That means early adopters will pay handsomely, but they’ll also be rewarded with something unique and ground-breaking. As for the curve: We’re just happy the gimmick (ahem…design) didn’t get in the way of the picture quality. We’ll be wall-mounting OLEDS like cheesy prints from Target soon enough. In the meantime, why not have something to get excited about?
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