The LG B3 OLED is a mid-range OLED TV, replacing 2022's LG B2 OLED, and sits between the LG A3 OLED and the LG C3 OLED in LG's 2023 lineup. It uses LG's α7 AI Processor Gen6 for its image and audio processing and supports Dolby Vision HDR as well as Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos, and DTS audio formats. It has four HDMI ports, two of which carry HDMI 2.1 bandwidth capable of up to 4k @ 120Hz, including Dolby Vision gaming at up to 120Hz. The TV is compatible with every variable refresh rate (VRR) technology for nearly tear-free gaming, has LG's Game Optimizer gaming interface, and has Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) support. It comes with version 23 of LG's webOS smart platform and works with the Amazon Alexa, Apple Homekit, and Google Assistant smart ecosystems, as well as Apple Airplay2 for wireless streaming. It's available in a few sizes, from 55 to 77 inches.
Our Verdict
The LG B3 is an excellent TV overall. It's remarkable for watching movies in dark rooms thanks to its near-infinite contrast ratio with perfect blacks, with most colors looking bright and vibrant. If you watch shows or sports in bright rooms, it's impressive as it has incredible reflection handling to fight glare from a few light sources, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare in brighter rooms. It's incredible for gaming with HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports, variable refresh rate (VRR) support to reduce screen tearing, very low input lag, and a near-instantaneous response time for smooth motion. It's also fantastic to use as a PC monitor, but OLEDs risk permanent burn-in when exposed to the same static elements over time.
- Dark scenes look amazing with deep, inky blacks.
- Image stays consistent when viewed from the sides.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Most colors look vibrant.
- Some scenes don't get bright enough to fight glare.
The LG B3 is great for watching TV shows in well-lit environments. Its reflection handling is incredible, although it's not bright enough to fight a ton of glare. It also has a wide viewing angle that makes the image look consistent from the sides, so you can watch shows with the entire family sitting around the TV. The built-in webOS smart platform has a ton of apps available to download, and its image processing is very good overall, so shows look great no matter their source.
- Very good image processing.
- Image stays consistent when viewed from the sides.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Some scenes don't get bright enough to fight glare.
The LG B3 is amazing for watching sports. Fast-moving sports look smooth with minimal motion blur, and it has great gray uniformity that makes playing surfaces look uniform. It has a wide viewing angle, making it an ideal choice for wide seating areas as people sitting to the sides see a consistent image. It has incredible reflection handling if you have a few lights around, but it doesn't get bright enough in SDR to fight a ton of glare, so it's not the best choice for very bright rooms.
- Very good image processing.
- Exceptional motion handling.
- Image stays consistent when viewed from the sides.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Some scenes don't get bright enough to fight glare.
The LG B3 is incredible for gaming. It has many gaming features, like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports and variable refresh rate (VRR) support, that make it fully compatible with recent consoles and PC graphic cards. It also offers a quick and responsive gaming experience thanks to its low input lag and near-instantaneous response time. Unfortunately, its SDR brightness is just okay, and it struggles to look bright and vibrant in very bright rooms, even with its incredible reflection handling. However, it's remarkable for dark room gaming as it has a near-infinite contrast ratio that produces deep blacks, with no blooming around bright objects.
- Dark scenes look amazing with deep, inky blacks.
- HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- Exceptional motion handling.
- Extremely low input lag.
- Great gaming features.
- Some scenes don't get bright enough to fight glare.
- One of the HDMI 2.1 ports is also the eARC port.
The LG B3 is excellent for watching HDR movies. It looks incredible in dark rooms as it displays deep and inky blacks without any blooming. It displays a wide color gamut in HDR, but its tone mapping is off, so colors don't look very accurate. It also has okay HDR peak brightness, enough to make some highlights stand out, but it doesn't get bright enough to deliver a truly satisfying HDR experience with bright and vivid colors. Its image processing is very good overall, so low-bitrate content from streaming services is mostly free of noticeable digital artifacts, like macro-blocking.
- Dark scenes look amazing with deep, inky blacks.
- Removes 24p judder from any source.
- Very good image processing.
- Most colors look vibrant.
- Noticeable stutter in low frame rate content.
- Color accuracy is off in HDR.
- Not bright enough to make some highlights pop in HDR.
The LG B3 is fantastic for HDR gaming. It delivers incredible gaming performance thanks to its variable refresh rate (VRR) support, HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports, quick response time, and low input lag. It's also fantastic for dark room gaming as its blacks are deep and inky, and it displays bright objects without any blooming. Its HDR experience is excellent thanks to its dark room performance, with most colors looking bright and vibrant, but some bright highlights don't truly pop.
- Dark scenes look amazing with deep, inky blacks.
- HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- Exceptional motion handling.
- Most colors look vibrant.
- Extremely low input lag.
- Great gaming features.
- Color accuracy is off in HDR.
- One of the HDMI 2.1 ports is also the eARC port.
- Not bright enough to make some highlights pop in HDR.
The LG B3 is fantastic to use as a PC monitor. Thanks to the low input lag and incredible response time, your mouse movements and keyboard inputs feel extremely responsive, with no noticeable motion blur. It also has a wide viewing angle that makes the image remain consistent if you sit too close, and the reflection handling is incredible if you want to use it in a room with a few lights around, although it's not bright enough in SDR for very bright rooms. Sadly, OLEDs risk permanent burn-in when exposed to the same static elements over time, like from a PC's user interface.
- Displays proper chroma 4:4:4.
- Exceptional motion handling.
- Image stays consistent when viewed from the sides.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Extremely low input lag.
- Risk of permanent burn-in.
Changelog
- Updated May 07, 2024: Mentioned the newly-reviewed LG B4 OLED in the HDR Brightness section of this review.
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Updated Dec 06, 2023:
We've retested the TV's HDR brightness with firmware 03.20.50, but the TV's HDR brightness is the same as before the firmware update. Our results in the HDR Brightness and HDR Brightness in Game Mode tests haven't changed.
- Updated Nov 24, 2023: We bought and tested the Sony A75L OLED and added a few comparisons below in the Upscaling: Sharpness Processing and Compared To Other TVs sections of the review.
- Updated Nov 21, 2023: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65-inch LG B3 (OLED65B3PUA), and the results are also valid for the 55 and 75-inch models. Note that the last three letters in the model number (PUA in this case) vary between retailers and individual regions, but there's no difference in performance. Models ending with AUA, like the LG 65OLEDB3AUA, are Costco/Sam's Club variants but are otherwise identical, although they are advertised as having Wi-Fi 6E, while LG's website advertises the PUA models as having Wi-Fi 5.
| Size | US Model | Costco Variant |
|---|---|---|
| 55" | LG OLED55B3PUA | OLED55B3AUA |
| 65" | LG OLED65B3PUA | OLED65B3AUA |
| 77" | LG OLED77B3PUA | OLED77B3AUA |
Our unit was manufactured in October 2023, and you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The LG B3 is an excellent OLED TV. It delivers deep blacks, and it has advanced features for gamers. The B3 is a slight step down from the LG C3 OLED in terms of peak brightness, so if you watch a lot of HDR content, you might want to spend just a bit more for the C3. The Sony A80L/A80CL OLED and the Sony A75L OLED are both very similar to the B3, and while the Sony TVs have better image processing, the LG is much cheaper and is the better choice for most people. Ultimately, the LG B3 is a great entry point into the OLED market and is one of the best bang-for-the-buck OLEDs on the market.
See our recommendations for the best OLED TVs, the best LG TVs, and the best TVs for movies.
The LG B4 OLED is better than the LG B3 OLED. The B4 has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on all four ports, whereas the B3 only as it on two, so the B4 is more versatile if you have multiple high-bandwidth devices. The B4 also gets brighter overall, so highlights stand out more in HDR content, and it can overcome more glare in a bright room while watching SDR content. On top of that, the B4 has better HDR gradient handling for less banding.
The LG C3 OLED and the LG B3 OLED are similar TVs with nearly identical feature sets, but the C3 is better overall. The C3 gets much brighter in HDR and SDR, has better image processing due to its better 4k processor, and has four full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports. Inversely, the B3 has two HDMI 2.1 bandwidth ports, one of which also doubles as the eARC port, so you'll need to buy an HDMI 2.1 switch if you have multiple HDMI 2.1 devices.
The LG C4 OLED is better than the LG B3 OLED. While they're very similar with nearly identical features, the C4 has the edge in almost every facet. It is visibly brighter in HDR and SDR, so all content pops noticeably more on the C4 than on the B3. Furthermore, the C4 is the better TV for those who own multiple HDMI 2.1 devices, as it has four full HDMI 2.1 ports with up to 4k @ 144Hz support, while the B3 is limited to two 4k @ 120Hz HDMI 2.1 ports. The B3's HDMI 2.1 ports are back-facing, meaning they're almost impossible to use when the TV is mounted flush against a wall. Finally, one of these ports is also the TV's eARC port, so you lose one of your high bandwidth ports if you have a soundbar connected to the TV.
The LG B3 OLED is a bit better than the LG C1 OLED. They're very similar and about equally bright in HDR and SDR. However, the B3 has a few upgrades over the older C1, such as better image processing and advanced DTS audio passthrough, making it the more versatile of the two products. The C1 has four full 4k @ 120Hz HDMI ports, while the B3 is limited to two 4k @ 120Hz ports, so if you have a ton of HDMI 2.1 devices, the C1 is more accommodating. Otherwise, the B3 is a slight upgrade over its older cousin.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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