With the LG QNED91 4K TV, the well-known home entertainment brand makes a compelling case that OLED is not the be-all and end-all of display technology. If you can get past the bloated OS and finicky remote, this is a mighty fine TV for watching movies and TV series, or for playing the latest games.
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LG QNED91 4K TV first impressions
First off, having not had a 75-inch TV in my house before, this panel is big. Comically big, even, considering I’ve been so used to my 55-inch TV from years ago. Its size warrants a two-person operation unless you’re particularly strong and have ridiculously long arms.
Be warned though, its single-footprint stand is wobbly. Even after double and triple-checking that the stand was in fact installed correctly, the slightest touch was enough to wobble the entire TV. Compounded by the limited space such a big TV left for the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 on the cabinet, connecting the consoles and changing discs felt like an Entrapment-like manoeuvre, contorting one’s body to avoid touching and wobbling the TV.
Aside from the early nerves of an anxiety-inducing TV stand, the rest of the setup went swimmingly. You have two options when setting up the LG QNED91: either directly through the TV, or via the ThinQ smart home app. I opted for the app which, for some reason, required enabling location services at stages throughout the process. At least the app was nicer to use than the oddly designed Magic Remote. More on that later.
Otherwise, the only slow part of the initial setup was combing through the various data and analytics permissions LG requests. By opting into some of the data collection processes, LG says it provides personalised content suggestions through its WebOS platform. Regardless of what you choose, the OS is crammed wall-to-wall with content suggestions and pre-installed apps.
Most importantly, the LG QNED91 looked great at first glance. Even on one of the free-to-air HD channels, the Star Trek movie airing made a good first impression of the TV’s colour and brightness. As one would reasonably expect, displaying native 4K content later on was even better.
LG QNED91 specifications
| Size reviewed | 75-inch |
| Screen technology | LED/LCD with mini LED lighting |
| Processor | a7 Gen 4 AI Processor 4K |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160 |
| HDR format | Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG |
| Refresh rate | Tru Motion 200 with backlight scanning |
| Connections | 2 HDMI 2.1 ports (4K @ 120Hz), 2 HDMI 2.0 ports (120Hz @ 2160p), 2 USB-A ports, 1 RF Antenna input, 1 LAN port, 1 Digital Optical Audio output, Wi-Fi (802.11ac) |
| RRP | $4,995 |
| More details | LG website |
LG QNED91 performance
Emerging untarnished
As I’m more of a video game aficionado than a film buff, most of my time with the LG QNED91 was spent gaming. One of the immediate benefits I appreciated was that two of the four HDMI ports supported 4K resolution at 120Hz. This meant I could connect both an Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 and enjoy the smooth animation and sharp detail enabled by modern hardware. Games like Elden Ring and Marvel’s Midnight Suns looked spectacular, with vivid colours coming through strongly.
Although not quite as precise as OLED technology, the LG QNED91’s local dimming technology performed reasonably well at keeping dark images dark while ensuring bright areas were well-lit. This was particularly apparent in Elden Ring, a game filled with dim dungeons and awe-inspiring vistas in equal measure.
Even with the afternoon sun entering the living room, I had a much easier time parsing on-screen action than with my usual dimmer TV. Unfortunately, the spec sheet I received didn’t mention the TV’s exact brightness as measured in nits, but it was bright enough to compensate for mixed lighting situations in addition to producing a good HDR picture.
There was still a little bit of blooming – the halo-like effect when light and dark images intersect – but this was most noticeable when navigating the TV’s user interface, when it matters the least. Another thing to be aware of is that depending on where your lights are in the house, they’ll likely show up on the TV’s slightly reflective screen. I’ll also add that this effect is amplified in photos as opposed to the naked eye.
Another benefit for gamers is LG’s “Game Optimiser”, a quick menu with easy access to various settings. Here, you can check frame rate settings, enable Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and swap between presets. My partner and I got plenty of use out of the multiple night mode settings, helpfully dimming the TV’s brightness for late gaming sessions.
As the director intended
Access to just about every streaming service to Australia is a big plus for the LG QNED91. Even though you’ll want physical media for the best quality, the convenience of streaming is difficult to ignore. Browsing the likes of Netflix and Disney+, various shows and movies were done justice by the big screen.
Part of this can be attributed to the wonders of Filmmaker Mode, a setting introduced by major TV manufacturers in recent years to ensure you’re watching movies as they were meant to be seen. Displaying content in its source frame rate is arguably one of the most important aspects of Filmmaker Mode – no odd-looking motion and “soap opera effect” here.
So, make sure you use Filmmaker Mode or your TV’s equivalent when watching movies. You wouldn’t want to make old mate Martin Scorsese sad, would you?
Alongside video games and movies, I love watching sport. While watching some of the NFL on the TV’s native Kayo app, I appreciated the display’s wide viewing angle, with the action remaining easy to watch from almost entirely side-on.
Usability
As I alluded to in my first impressions of the LG QNED91, WebOS in its current form is absolutely chock-a-block. Whether it’s promoting content you don’t care about after turning the TV on or pre-installing a bunch of apps you’re not interested in, there’s a lot to visually process. After some tweaks, I trimmed some of the excess apps off, but the overload makes for a frustrating TV software experience.
There’s a slight delay when swapping between inputs and selecting menus, too, which isn’t ideal. The upside of LG’s WebOS platform is that you have so many choices for native apps and content-viewing options. However, the downside is that the overall user experience is so bloated by virtue of having so much thrown at you all the time.
To make matters more annoying, the Magic Remote is an unpleasant device to use. For starters, it begins with its motion pointer input enabled by default. This means you can literally point and click at the screen, but it doesn’t mesh well with using the buttons. This brings me to my next frustration: the main enter button. Unlike the rest of the remote’s low-profile buttons, the enter button sits below everything else in a concave indent, making it difficult to comfortably press. It also doubles as a pseudo-scroll wheel, which is admittedly easier to use than pressing it in – an odd design choice to make the main input trickier to access than a superfluous one.
Thankfully, the ThinQ app is relatively easy to use, relegating the Magic Remote to the bench. And it makes typing in searches much easier, too. These are relatively minor gripes in the grand scheme of things but worth mentioning as part of the overall experience.
Would I buy the LG QNED91 TV?
As the courier picked up the TV, I was left with a gaping 75-inch void in my life – or my living room, to be precise. My time with the LG QNED91 convinced me that it’s now time to upgrade to a larger TV with mini backlight technology. Whether it be QNED, Samsung’s QLED or Hisense’s Mini-LED technology remains to be seen. With my living room letting in a lot of natural light, the greater brightness and versatility of these TVs appeal to me.
I’m waiting to see how the 2023 TV range pans out before making a decision, but LG’s QNED range is high on my wishlist.
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