LG 2023 OLED TV range: G3 with MLA up to 2000 nits, new processor and webOS

During a press event, LG presented his in detail new OLED TV range for 2023with templates 8K (Z3 series) but most of all 4K Ultra HD (G3, C3 and B3 series) with diagonals starting from 42 inches, up to 88 inches. The 97-inch 4K Ultra HD G2 series presented last September will still remain on the price list and will therefore not see any changes.

Lots of news regarding panels, electronics and also the webOS 23 smart TV interface, which had already been partially unveiled at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. But let’s go in order by discovering the new OLED 2023 range and the technical characteristics.

As usual for LG, the “Gallery” G3 series continues to condense all the latest evolutions of panels and electronics, to guarantee the viewer the best viewing performance. In particular, models with a diagonal from 55, 65, and 77 inches integrate the most updated this year “META” WOLED panels by LG Display equipped with MLA (Micro Lens Array) which allow you to improve efficiency, increase the viewing angle and above all increase the luminance peak. LG Electronics (the division that produces and then sells TVs) summarizes the novelty with the acronym “OLED Evo Brightness Booster Max”a mix of new generation panel performance, electronic management and related algorithms e heat dissipation plate.

Although it is also expected the 83-inch cutthe latter is considered as an “OLED Evo Brightness Booster” model e therefore it does not require the use of an MLA type panel. The entire series is also equipped with a new anti-reflection coating of the panelsthan usual “One Wall” design to be hung on the wall (this series does not include a pedestal, which will therefore eventually have to be purchased separately) and the extension of the legal guarantee from 2 to 5 years included in the price.

According to LG, the new G3s with MLA panels will be able to achieve a peak HDR luminance of just over 2000 nits (in window at 3% and in “Dynamic” mode), while in corrected mode with white point D65 (6500°K) of the preset “Filmaker Mode” or “ISF Dark Room” the peak should drop to about 1400 nits and at about 230 nits full screen.

As anticipated, the innovations do not only involve the panels, but also the electronics, with the new G3 series which is equipped with the 6th generation Alpha 9 processor which oversees the management of light boosting algorithms (brightness boost) optimized for your panels, as well as a number of screen improvements “Artificial Intelligence” processing and HDR management. In particular, Korean engineers have focused their attention on upscaling algorithms (in terms of detail) e sharpness (to reduce video noise and artifacts), to further improve the reproduction of the most compressed images from streaming and television broadcast content.

To the management of HDR content instead the algorithms are dedicated “HDR Expression Enhancer” able to analyze the individual “figures” that make up the image and apply the related tone-mapping optimization to increase the perceived three-dimensionality, while the “Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro” this year it is able to make HDR10 static metadata dynamic by examining up to 20,000 portions of the image scene by scene (in 2022, the algorithm analyzed up to 5,000).

To make the “AI” mode less arbitrary in its choices, this year the“AI Picture Wizard” which allows for customize the type of images we want to get (more or less incisive, luminous, saturated, “fluid”, etc…) and which will therefore become the reference on which to then apply the algorithms. Once the configuration is complete, the new “AI Picture” preset will join the basic presets of the TV and can be recalled from the remote control. As always, opting for the preset “Filmmaker Mode” all these image processing will be disabled.

The new Alpha 9 Gen 6 will also be able to take care of theaudio processing to improve the intelligibility of the dialogues, recognize the type of content and better balance the dynamic excursions thanks to the algorithms “AI Clear Sound”, “Adaptive Sound Control” And Auto Balance Controlas well as upmix up to 9.1.2 virtual channels of sound tracks. Finally, thanks to the functionality “Wow Orchestra” it will be possible to synchronize the TV audio in synergy with a compatible LG soundbar to expand the number of available channels and thus increase the impact and sound involvement (especially when watching multi-channel movies and TV series).

From this year the support for DTS tracks (also in DTS-HD and DTS:X format), but exclusively in ARC / eARC pass-through which will then be bistreamed to a compatible soundbar, receiver or audio-video pre-processor. This makes 2023 OLED TVs also IMAX Enhanced compatible (in regards to the audio stream), although the TVs do not have the certification. The Dolby tracks and in particular Dolby Atmos instead they come, as always, decoded natively by TVs and can also be passed in bitstream pass-through.

The G3 series remains as always fully compatible with formats HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision (also IQ with Precision Detail) and maintains the very extended gaming support with refresh rate up to 120Hz, VRR also in AMD FreeSync Pro and Nvidia G-Sync formats, ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), Dolby Vision up to 120Hz with the 4 x 48Gbps HDMI Version 2.1 ports and from this year also compatible with the protocol QMS-VRR (Quick Media Switching VRR) which allows you to manage content with different cadences (24 Hz, 25 Hz, 30 Hz, 50 Hz, etc.) without the need to wait for handshacking and relative black screen. At the moment, only the Apple TV 4K 2022 is already compatible with the new protocol.

Finally, news also on the front webOSwith the new version 23 that was simplified and lightened to facilitate navigation speed and use. While version 22 provided various pages to scroll down, with webOS 23 the Home is now decidedly more compact with the various “Cards” that can be customized and also grouped into categories such as “Game”, “Music”, “Sport” and “Office”. Each user will be able to create a profile with relative Avatar and have their own personalized “Home Screen”. On the Smart Home device management front, the operating system is also Matter compatible and integrated into the proprietary LG ThinQ ecosystem.

The has also been improved multiview functionality (to split the screen in two and play two different contents) with the possibility of managing them simultaneously even two HDMI sources and the menu “Quick Settings” to quickly access the main TV settings is now fully customizable. Finally, the feature that allows you to pair Bluetooth headphones by adjusting the listening level at different volumes from the TV speakers (which can also be muted, of course) is very useful.

As in previous years, the new C3 series incorporates all the main features and above all functionality of the major series, renouncing only the maximum brightness performance and also the new anti-reflection coating of the “Gallery”. However, the new C3 series will also be available in smaller sizes and declined in models from 42, 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83 inches.

As you may have already guessed, the series therefore does not provide for the use of the new WOLED panels with MLA, but will therefore continue to integrate the “OLED.EX” panels. The C3 series it does not include a dissipation plate of heat and for all these reasons LG defines the series as TV “OLED Evo Brightness Booster”. The performances in terms of luminance (and also color volume) are therefore higher than those of the “conventional” OLED models (see B3 series), but do not reach those of the G3 series.

As for the previous C2 series, also for the new C3 series, the 42 and 48 inch cuts will be slightly less bright and without “Brightness Booster” as the higher pixel density of these diagonals does not allow to increase the amount of light emitted.

For the rest we find the same Alpha 9 Gen6 processor of the G3 series with all related features / compatibility and also from the point of view of connectivity (always 4 x 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports with QMS-VRR), gaming and smart TV support webOS 23 does not change anything.

The B3 series will go, this year, to cover the band “entry-level” of LG’s OLED TV range. Therefore, the A3 series with a 60Hz panel will not arrive in Italy. Compared to its older brothers, the B3 series integrates the Alpha 7 Gen6 processorwhich offers less advanced image processing performance and features than the Alpha 9 SoC. This series will be available in denominations from 55, 65 and 77 inches always with 120Hz native panelbut with lower brightness performance than the C3 series.

The same HDR support (therefore including Dolby Vision) and webOS 23 Smart TV with related features of the higher series are also guaranteed, but as far as gaming is concerned, of the 4 HDMI ports, only 2 are 48 Gbps version 2.1.

As for the Z3 series at native resolution 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels) the available denominations always remain those from 77 and 88 inchesbut the big news concerns the adoption of new WOLED panels with MLA micro-lenses. Compared to 4K resolution MLA panels, however, the peak luminance performance will be lowerwith LG declaring maximum values ​​of 1350 nits in HDR in “Dynamic” mode.

Also different processor, signed Alpha 9 8K Gen6, designed precisely to better manage and process content up to 8K native resolution (especially as regards upscaling, considering the shortage of 8K native content). For the rest, the equipment and functions are similar to those of the G3 and C3 series.

Finally, we asked LG if, in the light of the latest European energy regulations, they had had to introduce measures on the factory presets of the TVs to limit consumption (in particular for the 8K Z3 series) and they replied that the new range has no requested interventions in this sense, with the out of the box of the new televisions which should therefore be similar to the past.

The distribution in Italy of the new range will start from early March with the C3 series. The other series will follow later. List prices have not yet been disclosed.