The LG SM9000 is a good 4k IPS TV with an excellent design. This TV has great gaming features, with excellent low input lag, a good response time, and support for HDMI Forum's variable refresh rate (VRR) technology. It has wide viewing angles, so the image remains accurate when viewing from the side, making it ideal for wide seating arrangements. Unfortunately, like most IPS TVs, it doesn't look as good in a dark room, as it can't display deep, uniform blacks. Even though this TV doesn't get very bright, it's still a good choice for fairly bright rooms because it has impressive reflection handling.
Our Verdict
The LG SM9000 is a good TV for most uses. It looks good in a medium-lit room and has good wide viewing angles for watching sports or for use as a PC monitor. Unfortunately, like most IPS TVs, it doesn't look as good in a dark room, so it's not ideal for watching movies.
- Excellent low input lag.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Low contrast ratio.
- Poor black uniformity.
The LG SM9000 is an okay TV for watching movies. It can play 24p movies judder-free, which is great, and it has a great motion interpolation feature. Unfortunately, it doesn't look very good in a dark room, though, as, like most IPS TVs, it can't display deep, uniform blacks in a dark room, and the local dimming feature doesn't help much.
- Removes 24p judder.
- Low contrast ratio.
- Poor black uniformity.
The LG SM9000 is a very good TV for watching TV shows during the day. It has wide viewing angles and impressive reflection handling, so there shouldn't be any issues using it in a bright room. There's also a huge selection of streaming apps on LG's WebOS platform, which is great for cable-cutters.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Doesn't get very bright.
Good TV for watching sports. The LG SM9000 has wide viewing angles, great for watching the big game with a group of friends, and it has impressive reflection handling. It also has a good response time, so fast-moving objects look clear, with little blur trail. This TV has an okay peak brightness, but might not be bright enough for all rooms.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Visible dirty screen effect.
The LG SM9000 is great for video games. It has an excellent low input lag and a good response time, although some people may notice duplication in motion. It supports HDMI Forum's VRR technology and it has a black frame insertion feature to improve the appearance of motion. Sadly, it's not ideal for dark-room gaming because of its low contrast ratio.
- Excellent low input lag.
- HDMI Forum VRR support.
- Good response time.
- Low contrast ratio.
- Poor black uniformity.
Just okay TV for watching movies in HDR. Unfortunately, like most IPS TVs, it has disappointing contrast and poor black uniformity, so it doesn't look as good in a dark room. Although the LG SM9000 has a local dimming feature, it's ineffective at improving dark-room performance. On the other hand, this TV can display a great wide color gamut for HDR content.
- Great wide color gamut.
- Low contrast ratio.
- Poor black uniformity.
The LG SM9000 is good for HDR gaming, mainly due to its great gaming performance. It has a good response time, excellent low input lag, and VRR support to reduce screen tearing. It displays a great wide color gamut for HDR content, but it doesn't get bright enough to truly bring out highlights the way they're supposed to.
- Excellent low input lag.
- HDMI Forum VRR support.
- Good response time.
- Low contrast ratio.
- Poor black uniformity.
The LG SM9000 is an impressive TV for use as a PC monitor. It supports most of the common input formats and can display chroma 4:4:4 properly. It has a good response time, so fast-moving objects have little blur, and it has low input lag for a responsive desktop experience. This TV also has wide viewing angles, so the image remains accurate, even when you're sitting up close.
- Excellent low input lag.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Supports chroma 4:4:4.
- Visible dirty screen effect.
- Doesn't get very bright.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 17, 2020: Corrected an error in Input Lag.
- Updated Jul 29, 2020: Updated review for accuracy.
- Updated Jul 27, 2020: Retested the VRR range.
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55" SM9000 (55SM9000PUA). It's also available in 65" (65SM9000), 75" (75SM9070), and 86" (86SM9070) sizes, and in Europe only, in a 49" (49SM9000PUA) size. For the most part, we expect them to perform the same.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their LG 55SM9000 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.
| Size | US Model | EU Model |
| 49" | N/A | 49SM9000PLA |
| 55" | 55SM9000PUA | 55SM9000PLA |
| 65" | 65SM9000PUA | 65SM9000PLA |
| 75" | 75SM9070PUA | 75SM9000PLA |
| 86" | 86SM9070PUA | 86SM9000PLA |
The unit we reviewed was manufactured in May 2019.
Popular TV Comparisons
The LG SM9000 offers good performance for most uses and is best suited for a well-lit room. See our recommendations for the best TVs and the best smart TVs.
The Sony X900F is a slightly better TV than the LG SM9000. The Sony feels a bit better-built, has much richer blacks, better local dimming, can get much brighter, looks much better pre-calibration, and has better motion handling. On the other hand, the LG has a much better smart interface and much wider viewing angles thanks to its IPS panel.
The Samsung RU8000 is marginally better than the LG SM9000. While the LG uses an IPS panel, which gives it much better viewing angles, it also causes the screen to have much worse blacks that appear much more gray than with the Samsung. That said, the LG has a wider color gamut, better reflection handling, and higher peak brightness. On the other hand, the Samsung has a faster response time and its colors are also a bit more accurate out-of-the-box, though both are only decent in this regard.
The Samsung Q60R and the LG SM9000 use different panel technologies, which come with their own advantages and disadvantages. The Q60R looks better in a dark room, provided that you sit straight in front. The Q60R comes with some gaming features like FreeSync support that will please serious gamers. The LG SM9000 is a better choice if you regularly watch TV from the side, as the image remains accurate for wider angles. Also, the SM9000 can handle reflections a little better.
The Samsung Q70R and the LG SM9000 use different panel technologies, each with its advantages and disadvantages. The Q70R uses a VA panel and has a much better dark room performance. The Q70R can also get much brighter and is equipped with gaming features like FreeSync support. The SM9000, on the other hand, uses an IPS panel. It has much better viewing angles and better reflection handling, making it well-suited to rooms with bright lighting.
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
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
