Get insider access
Preferred store
Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
To try to better understand how long a TV should last, we're running 100 TVs through an accelerated longevity test for the next two years. We've just posted our 1-year video update with our latest findings on temporary image retention, burn-in, and more!

LG EG9100 OLED TV Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Review updated Mar 01, 2017 at 06:31 am
LG EG9100 OLED Picture
7.9
Mixed Usage
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.2
Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.0
TV Shows
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
8.1
Sports
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.7
Video Games
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.0
HDR Movies
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
7.7
HDR Gaming
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench
6.8
PC Monitor
Value for price beaten by
: Not at the latest test bench

The LG OLED EG9100 TV has really excellent picture quality and has even improved compared to the last generation OLED EC9300. However, it still shares the same big flaws, poor uniformity with dark colors, and the screen's brightness varying, depending on the scene.

Our Verdict

7.9 Mixed Usage

Great for mixed usage. Excellent picture quality for watching movies or TV and handles motion very well. Unfortunately it can't get very bright.

Pros
  • Great viewing angle
  • Perfect blacks
  • Perfect motion (but flicker free)
Cons
  • Varying luminosity depending on the scene (ABL)
  • Purple reflections in a very bright room
  • Poor uniformity in the dark shadows
  • Prone to temporary image retention after displaying static images
8.2 Movies

Movie performance is very good. Dark appear rich with perfect blacks and contrast. Excellent picture quality.

8.0 TV Shows

Great for watching TV. Picture quality remains great when watched from anywhere in the room. Deals well with reflections but unfortunately can't get very bright to stand out in a bright room.

8.1 Sports

Great sports performance. Almost perfect response for great motion handling. Great picture quality. Unfortunately the screen dims when viewing large bright scenes such as hockey.

7.7 Video Games

Great for video gamers. For fast paced games there is almost no motion blur. Input lag is average but should not be an issue for most people.

6.0 HDR Movies

Average HDR performance. Supports a wide color gamut but can't get very bright. Picture quality is great.

6.8 PC Monitor

Good PC monitor. Limited to 120Hz but has very good picture quality and average input lag. Almost no motion blur. Supports chroma 4:4:4 for sharp text.

  • 7.9 Mixed Usage
  • 8.2 Movies
  • 8.0 TV Shows
  • 8.1 Sports
  • 7.7 Video Games
  • 6.0 HDR Movies
  • 7.7 HDR Gaming
  • 6.8 PC Monitor
  1. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Review published.
  2. Updated Nov 04, 2015: Our testers have started testing this product.
  3. Updated Oct 25, 2015: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Test Results

Design
9.0
Design
Style
Curved Yes

While the top part of the LG 55EG9100 OLED is very thin, the bottom section is of average thickness. The borders are really thin. The back of the TV is cream white. The stand is stable and relatively small compared to the current trend of wide stands, so you won't have any problem fitting it on most tables.

Design
Stand

Dimension of the 55" TV stand: 26" x 8"

Design
Borders
Borders 0.35" (0.9 cm)
Design
Thickness
Max Thickness 2.80" (7.1 cm)
Picture Quality
10
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
Inf : 1

The blacks are really black. Even if you have one light on, you can see the difference in the black levels compared with an LED TV.

10
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
N/A

For consistency between our reviews, we filmed our local dimming test pattern on this TV, even though it technically doesn't have local dimming.

5.9
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Peak 2% Window
336 cd/m²
SDR Peak 10% Window
331 cd/m²
SDR Peak 25% Window
330 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
172 cd/m²
SDR Peak 100% Window
81 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
336 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
331 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
330 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
172 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
81 cd/m²

As with other OLED TVs, the LG 55EG9100's luminosity changes depending on what is displayed on the screen. This is called ABL (Automatic Brightness Limiter) and it cannot be disabled. When a small white square is displayed, and with 'OLED Light' to the max, it is able to attain a brightness of 336.4 cd/m2. However, it cannot maintain that luminosity on a fully bright screen - it drops to 80.63 cd/m2. More on this here. For HDR, what this means is the luminosity of the highlights will change drastically depending on the scene.

8.9
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
1.201%
50% DSE
0.113%

The colors are more uniform than on an LED TV, but they're still not perfect. 50% gray and brighter is quite good, but things get uglier the lower the brightness gets. The TV also suffers from temporary image retention. More on this here.

8.0
Picture Quality
Viewing Angle
LCD Type
N/A
Color Shift
35°
Brightness
68°
Black Level
75°

The viewing angle is really great. Unlike the LG 55EC9300, it doesn't get a yellow tint at a wide angle.

Update 01/06/2017: We have changed the methodology of testing. Since this is an old TV which we don't have anymore, we extrapolated the results from 2016 TVs.

10
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
0.38%

The uniformity of pure black is perfect. However, with dark colors that are even a bit lighter than pure black, the good uniformity goes away (more on this here).

8.9
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
White Balance dE
2.36
Color dE
1.5682
Gamma
2.34
9.8
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
White Balance dE
0.23
Color dE
0.6124
Gamma
2.19
8.0
Picture Quality
480p Input

DVDs looks good once upscaled.

8.0
Picture Quality
720p Input

Cable TV and other 720p content will be upscaled without any issues.

10
Picture Quality
1080p Input

Native 1080p content like Blu-rays looks good on this TV. The smaller size of the pixels creates a screen door effect, which gives everything a 'rough' look, but this is not related to the resolution of the content played.

0
Picture Quality
4k Input
7.5
Picture Quality
Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
Yes
DCI P3 xy
85.3%
DCI P3 uv
91.67%
Rec 2020 xy
61.43%
Rec 2020 uv
64.02%
9.0
Picture Quality
Reflections
Reflection
0.4%
Screen Finish
Glossy

It does a great job at cutting reflections, but the screen finish is glossy and it has a purple tint. The curve creates a lens effect that zooms in on the reflections, so you will want to avoid having a lamp or window directly in the reflection path.
The maximum luminosity varies depending on the scene. Usually, this isn't an issue, but when displaying white on 50% of the screen, the maximum luminosity is not as high as on an LED TV.

9.0
Picture Quality
3D
3D
Yes
3D Type
Passive

There is absolutely no crosstalk when viewing this TV from in front. However, only 1 out of 2 lines is presented to each eye, which is more evident on a 1080p OLED TV, because the pixels are smaller than they are on traditional LED TVs.

Picture Quality
Pixels
Type OLED
Motion
10
Motion
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate 120 Hz
Response Time
0.1 ms
Overshoot
0 ms

The response time is perfect, and unlike the EC9300 that we tested, it doesn't have any overshoot. It doesn't flicker though, as you can see in our "backlight" measurement. Some people don't like the look of flicker-free motion. You can read more info about the motion blur on OLED TVs in the 'Additional Review Notes' of the review of the EC9300.

4.0
Motion
Image Flicker
PWM Dimming Frequency
0 Hz
BFI
No
BFI Frequency
0 Hz
BFI In Game Mode
No
7.1
Motion
24p Playback
Judder-free 24p
Yes
Judder-free 24p via 60p
No
Judder-free 24p via 60i
No

It is able to display 24p movies without judder, but only over 24 hz signals. 'TruMotion' is the motion interpolation feature.

10
Motion
Motion Interpolation
Motion Interpolation (30 fps)
Yes
Motion Interpolation (60 fps)
Yes
Inputs
6.6
Inputs
Input Lag
1080p @ 60Hz
43.5 ms
1080p With Interpolation
110.9 ms
1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode
110.8 ms

Labeling the input with the PC icon brings the input lag down to 43.5 ms on the LG 55EG9100. Game mode has a slightly higher input lag of 52.4 ms.
Update 07/25/2016 We've received a report that the input lag is now 29.6 ms after the firmware update 04.01.00. We don't have that TV anymore to confirm this unfortunately.

2.0
Inputs
Supported Resolutions
Resolution 1080p
1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
Yes
1080p @ 120Hz
No
4k @ 30Hz @ 4:4:4
No
4k @ 60Hz
No
4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4
No

To get chroma 4:4:4 in 1080p, you will need to label the HDMI with the PC icon, which is good because it is also the way you get the lowest input lag.

Inputs
Side Inputs
Inputs
Rear Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
HDMI 3
USB 3
Digital Optical Audio Out 1
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0
Analog Audio Out RCA 0
Component In 1 (incl. adapter)
Composite In 1 (incl. adapter)
Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1
Ethernet 1
DisplayPort 0
IR In 0
SD/SDHC 0
Inputs
Inputs Specifications
HDR10
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC Dolby Digital
Yes
Dolby Vision
No
5.1 Passthrough ARC DTS
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical Dolby Digital
Yes
5.1 Passthrough Optical DTS
Yes
HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth No
ARC Yes (HDMI 3)
USB 3 No
HDCP 2.2 No
CEC Yes
MHL No
Variable Analog Audio Out No
Sound Quality
6.8
Sound Quality
Frequency Response
Std. Dev. @ 70
5 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ 80
4.48 dB SPL
Std. Dev. @ Max
4.85 dB SPL
Max
88.6 dB SPL
Low-end Cutoff
113 Hz

Decent frequency response all-around, but poor bass extension and low maximum volume.

7.4
Sound Quality
Total Harmonic Distortion
Distortion @ 70
0.021
Distortion @ 80
0.01
Distortion @ Max
0.027

Very good distortion results, but the TV doesn't get loud.

Smart Features
9.0
Smart Features
Interface
Smart OS WebOS

It features LG's WebOS smart platform, which is great. The remote can even be used as a mouse pointer. You can see our review of WebOS here.

0
Smart Features
Ads
Ad-free
No
Opt-out
No
Smart Features
Remote
Remote Smart
Smart Features
Misc
Power Consumption 77 W
Power Consumption (Max) 116 W
Firmware 04.00.30