LG confirms its G3 TV has next-gen OLED tech, teases Samsung-beating brightness
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The following LG G3 OLED uses a Micro Lens Array panel to boost brightness, the company has confirmed to TechRadar. It’s rare that LG Electronics ever confirms what kind of OLED panel it’s using, and was extremely coy about what was in the G3, but the company explained that some sizes (explained below) of the G3 so-called ‘3e – gen OLED’ panels from LG Display – the latter being the part of LG that actually makes OLED screens (the panels are used in almost all of the best OLED TVs), and works separately from LG Electronics, which makes the TVs.
LG has been showing off the G3 at recent events, and the main news is that the TV looks to match or even surpass the Samsung S95C’s (perhaps short-lived) best brightness in the world, which we measured during our early hands’ test time -on Samsung S95C review.
The 55-, 65- and 77-inch versions of the G3 appear to use a Micro Lens Array panel (although not the 83-incher) – these are the only sizes of 4K displays that LG Display produces with the technology inside. LG recently shared these impressive real-world metrics with us for the G3:
| Test type | Brightness |
|---|---|
| HDR Vivid mode, 3% window | 2,040 nits |
| Calibrated mode, HDR Cinema, 3% window | 1,470 nits |
| Calibrated mode, HDR Cinema, 100% window | 230 nits |
First, a caveat: the numbers above are made by LG, not TechRadar. However, we expect the 10% and 100% numbers to be close to the numbers we get when we test the set, because that’s the kind of test we’re doing.
That HDR Vivid reading of over 2,040 nits is pretty unrealistic for real-world viewing scenarios (who spends that much on a TV and then watches in a weird mode?), but the 1,470 nits for a 10% window in HDR Cinema (meaning a white block takes up 10% of the screen, in a mode suitable for film buffs) matches exactly what we measured in the same kind of tests with the Samsung S95C – we got 1,374 nits there.
These numbers and the presence of an MLA panel mean the G3 should be able to compete with the Philips OLED+ 908 and the Panasonic MZ2000 – both of which use Micro Lens Array technology.
Micro machines
If you’ve never heard of Micro Lens Array, it’s a new technology that will radically improve the brightness of OLED TVs. MLA uses billions (yes, with ab) tiny convex lenses placed over the pixels of an OLED panel to boost brightness by up to 150% over traditional OLED displays.
The LG G3 OLED uses Brightness Booster Max technology in combination with ‘META’: a software brightness-enhancing algorithm. This is definitely next-generation stuff, never seen on TV until now, and the LG G3 will be the first to hit the market this year. (Unfortunately, the LG C3 doesn’t get this tech.)
However, the presence of Micro Lens Array isn’t the G3’s only notable new feature. Processing enhancements include AI Super Upscaling to reduce noise when content is upscaled; an improved Tone Mapping Pro feature that now analyzes the image in 20,000 different zones to improve contrast handling; and an HDR Expression Enhancer that adjusts contrast differently depending on whether the part being processed is in the background or foreground of an image.
The G3 OLED’s screen gets a further boost with the addition of Super Anti Reflective coating, which LG says reduces reflections by around 25% compared to last year LG C2 OLED. This is probably the same tech that impressed us so much in the Philips OLED+908, as it’s part of the OLED panel – you might see it referred to as ‘Vanta Black’ elsewhere.
There are also improvements in the field of audio. The G3’s sound calibration is now optimized for the specific content you’re watching, with its speakers featuring 9.1.2 virtual sound thanks to AI Sound Pro, then adjusted depending on whether it’s an action movie, low-key drama and so on. There’s also an Auto Balance Control feature that balances high and low sounds to better match the TV’s speakers.
As with other new LG TVs in 2023, the G3 OLED will partially support Disney Plus’ IMAX Enhanced Audio format, as well as support for DTS/DTS:X, although it will only pass it on to one of the best soundbars – the cannot handle these formats by itself.