LG UN7000 TV Review

The LG UN7000 is an entry-level 4k TV in LG's 2020 lineup. It's the replacement to 2019's LG UM7000 and it sits just below the LG UN7300. Its main competitors are other budget-friendly TVs such as the LG UN6950, Samsung TU7000, and the Vizio V Series 2020.

The LG UN7000 looks similar to the LG UN6950. However, the stand and the back have a slightly different design. It has thick bezels, a plain design, and no cable management. There's nothing that stands out about it, but at the same time, there's nothing wrong with its design. It's very simple, which is expected from a budget TV.

The stand is almost as wide as the TV, so you may need a large table, depending on which size you get. It supports the TV well and there's hardly any wobble.

Footprint of the 55" model: 44.6" x 9.2"

The back of the TV is basic and the plastic on it has a slightly textured finish to it. It comes with a strap to tie cables together, but sadly, there's no cable management.

The LG UN7000 has thick borders that may be distracting.

This TV is somewhat thick. Because the bottom part below the inputs is thicker than the rest, the TV may stick out a bit if wall-mounted.

Decent build quality. The plastic on the back feels cheap and flexes very easily. This shouldn't be a problem if you just leave the TV in one spot, but it may be an issue if you often have to carry it around to change locations. Luckily, the stand doesn't wobble much.

The LG UN7000 has a mediocre contrast ratio, which is expected from an IPS panel. Blacks appear closer to gray when viewed in the dark. Take note that the contrast ratio may vary between units.

Note: The 43, 49, 55, 65, and 75 inch models of this TV have an IPS panel, which results in lower contrast. However, the 50, 60, and 70 inch models are expected to have a VA panel, so they should have a much better contrast ratio, much like the LG UN6950.

The LG UN7000 doesn't have a local dimming feature. The video above is provided for reference only.

Disappointing peak brightness. The LG UN7000 doesn't get bright enough to combat glare. It stays consistent with different content, but it quickly loses its brightness as images stay on the screen for longer, as seen in the difference between the peak and sustained window results.

We measured the SDR peak brightness after calibration in the 'Expert (Dark Room)' Picture Mode with Backlight at max, and all other image processing disabled.

If you want the brightest image possible, set the Picture Mode to 'Vivid'. We were able to get 549 cd/m² in the 10% peak window test. Note that the 'Vivid' mode disables most picture settings.

Mediocre HDR peak brightness. This TV gets brighter in HDR than in SDR, but it's still not enough to truly bring out highlights. Luckily, it doesn't lose its brightness across varied content.

We measured the HDR peak brightness in the 'HDR Cinema' Picture Mode with Contrast and Backlight at their max. If you want an even brighter image, use these same settings in the 'HDR Vivid' Picture Mode. We got 525 cd/m² in the 10% peak window test.

Okay gray uniformity. There's visible vignetting along the edges and corners, and there's dirty screen effect in the center, which may be distracting during sports. In near-dark scenes, the uniformity is much better.

Note: Gray uniformity may vary between units.

As is expected with an IPS panel, the UN7000 has wide viewing angles. This is ideal for fairly wide seating arrangements.

Note: The 43, 49, 55, 65, and 75 inch models of this TV have an IPS panel, which results in wide viewing angles. However, the 50, 60, and 70 inch models are expected to have a VA panel, so they should have narrower viewing angles, like the LG UN6950.

Bad black uniformity. There's noticeable clouding and backlight bleed in the corners. This can be distracting in dark scenes.

Note: Black uniformity may vary between units.

Great reflection handling, but it's not as good as the LG UN7300. It performs well in moderately-lit rooms, but the reflections may get too distracting if there's direct sunlight on it.

The LG UN7000 has okay out-of-the-box color accuracy. Most colors, especially the reds and blues, are inaccurate, and the white balance is off, which affects the way shades of gray are displayed. Gamma doesn't follow the target curve well, so most scenes are darker than they should be. Luckily, the color temperature is extremely close to the 6500K target.

Note: Color accuracy may vary between units.

After calibration, the color accuracy is fantastic. Gamma follows the curve perfectly and the white balance is almost perfect. Sadly, the color temperature is a bit cold, so some colors are still inaccurate as they have a blue-ish tint to them.

You can see our recommended settings here.

480p content such as DVDs is upscaled without any issues.

The LG UN7000 upscales 720p content, like from cable boxes, without any artifacts.

1080p content, like from Blu-ray players, is upscaled well and there aren't any artifacts.

The LG UN7000 uses an RGBW sub-pixel structure, which is less accurate, and it doesn't display a perfect 4k image. There are artifacts in the tiles of the roof and the fold of the sails in the picture above. Small text is also blurry. This is much like the LG UM6900.

This is a 4k TV that can't display an 8k signal.

The LG UN7000 has an RGBW sub-pixel structure. It results in a less-accurate image, especially if you want to use it as a PC. Learn more about it here.

The LG UN7000 has an okay color gamut, but it's not considered a wide color gamut for HDR content. It has good coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space, but disappointing coverage of the wider Rec. 2020.

The EOTF follows the target curve fairly well until it rolls off at its peak brightness, but most scenes are slightly too bright. The image is brighter in 'Game' mode, as seen in this EOTF.

If you find HDR too dim, use the 'Cinema HDR' Picture Mode with Dynamic Contrast set to 'High', Contrast and Backlight at their max, and enable Dynamic Tone Mapping. This results in a slightly brighter image, as seen in this EOTF.

Poor color volume. This TV fails to display dark, saturated colors well because of the low contrast ratio and lack of color gamut.

Note: The 43, 49, 55, 65, and 75 inch models have an IPS panel like the one we tested. However, the 50, 60, and 70 inch models have a VA panel. We expect the VA panel models to have a better contrast ratio and should result in a slightly better color volume, similar to the LG UN6950.

The LG UN7000 has okay gradient handling. There's visible banding in the darker shades, especially with dark grays. The Smooth Gradiation setting doesn't improve the gradients at all.

There's some very minor image retention immediately after displaying our high-contrast static image, but it disappears quickly. This shouldn't be too much of an issue for most people.

Note: Image retention may vary between units.

Although some IPS panels can suffer from temporary image retention like this one, this doesn't appear to be permanent as the IPS panel in our long-term test appears immune.

The LG UN7000 has a decent response time. There's some overshoot in the darker transitions, which may result in motion artifacts in dark scenes. Due to the backlight's 120Hz flicker, there's noticeable duplication in motion.

This TV uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight. It flickers at 120Hz at all backlight settings.

The LG UN7000 doesn't have a Black Frame Insertion feature.

This TV can interpolate content up to 60fps, known as the 'Soap Opera Effect'. The motion interpolation feature works well and smooths motion out, but there are visible artifacts in busy scenes. Also, there's duplication in motion due to the backlight's 120Hz flicker.

Learn more about the motion interpolation settings here.