LG UN7300 TV Review

The LG UN7300 is a replacement for 2019's UM7300, and it's one of LG's budget 4k TV for 2020, sitting between the LG UN7000 and the LG UN8500. We expect it to compete with the Samsung TU7000, the Sony X750H, and the Vizio V Series 2020.

The LG UN7300's design is decent and almost identical to the LG UM7300. It's simple but it has pretty thick bezels that protrude from the screen. The stand is slightly lower-set than its predecessor and the back of the TV is plain except for a fine texture.

The feet are set as almost as wide as the TV itself, so it requires a large table. It supports the TV well and there's only a little bit of wobble.

Footprint of the 55" model: 44.2" x 9.1"

The back of the TV is plain except for a fine texture that's etched into it. There's a plastic cable tie included in the box, but otherwise, there's not much in terms of cable management.

The bezels are thick and protrude from the screen.

The TV is of medium thickness. It shouldn't stick out much when wall-mounted unless you use the back-facing inputs.

The build quality is decent. It's mostly plastic and there's some flex on the back panel; however, it feels sturdy overall and it doesn't wobble much.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

Like most IPS panel TVs, the contrast ratio is mediocre. This results in blacks that look grayish when viewed in the dark. Note that the contrast ratio can vary between units.

There appear to be two versions of the UN7300 with the same model code. The one we tested has an IPS panel and is identified as a "Real 4k IPS" on the box. It's possible to find a VA version of it, which is identified by the text "Real 4k Display" on the box. Also, the 50" model has a VA panel. We expect the VA models to have much better contrast, but worse viewing angles.

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

Mediocre SDR peak brightness. It's better suited for a dark to moderately-lit room, as it can't get bright enough to overcome glare in a well-lit environment. The brightness is consistent across different content except for a slight dimming of the 2% window caused by the TV's CE dimming (frame dimming).

We measured the SDR peak brightness after calibration, using the 'Expert Dark' Picture Mode and with Brightness set to maximum. We disabled all other image processing.

If you don't mind losing image accuracy, you can get a brighter image by setting the Picture Mode to 'Vivid' and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer to 'Medium'. These settings allow us to achieve 347 cd/m² in the 10% window.

Sub-par HDR peak brightness. Although the brightness is consistent, it isn't nearly enough to deliver a satisfying HDR experience, so HDR content won't look much different from SDR. The 2% window is dimmer due to frame dimming. If you want a TV that gets brighter in HDR, look into the LG UN7000.

We measured the HDR peak brightness before calibration, using the 'Cinema' Picture Mode, and with Brightness and Contrast set to maximum.

If you want to make HDR content brighter and don't mind losing accuracy, set the Picture Mode to 'HDR Vivid' and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer to 'Medium'. These settings allowed us to achieve 408 cd/m² in the 10% window.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

Our LG UN7300 has decent gray uniformity; however, this can vary between individual units. There's vignetting at the corners and some dirty screen effect as well. Thankfully, uniformity is significantly better in dark scenes.

The viewing angles are okay, although it's a bit of a step down from the LG UM7300. It should be fine for a small to moderately-large room, but not for a large room or wide seating arrangements.

There appear to be two versions of the LG UN7300 with the same model code. The one we tested has an IPS panel and is identified as a "Real 4k IPS" on the box. It's possible to find a VA version of it, which is identified by the text "Real 4k Display" on the box. The 50" model also has a VA panel. We expect the VA models to have much better contrast, but worse viewing angles.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

Black uniformity is mediocre; however, this can vary between individual units. There's some clouding throughout the screen, and the backlight bleed at the bottom left corner is visible in dark scenes, even in normal content.

If you want a TV with better black uniformity, check out the Samsung TU7000.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

Excellent reflection handling. It has a semi-gloss finish that diffuses light well, very similar to the LG UM7300.

Out of the box, the color accuracy is okay. There are inaccuracies with several colors and white balance is off. The color temperature is colder than our 6500K target, which results in a blueish tint. Darker scenes are mostly displayed at the correct brightness, but brighter scenes are over-brightened. Note that color accuracy can vary between units.

After calibration, the color accuracy is outstanding. White balance and gamma are nearly perfect, and the remaining inaccuracies shouldn't be noticeable to the naked eye. Unfortunately, the color temperature is still on the colder side, and we weren't able to bring it any closer to our 6500K without affecting other calibration settings.

You can see our recommended settings here.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

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

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

Upscaling of 720p content such as cable TV looks good and there are no visible artifacts.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

1080p content such as from Blu-Rays is upscaled well.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

Native 4k content is displayed perfectly without any issues.

This TV can't display an 8k signal.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

The LG UN7300 uses an ADS (Advanced Dimension Switching) panel, which performs and behaves similarly to an IPS panel.

Although the LG UN7300 has a decent color gamut, it can't display a wide color gamut. The EOTF follows the PQ curve well; however, the roll-off starts very early. The 'Game' mode EOTF is nearly identical. If you find HDR content too dim, you can make it brighter by using the 'Vivid' Picture Mode and it results in this EOTF.

The color volume is okay. It's an upgrade from the LG UM7300, but it still has difficulty displaying bright colors. Also, it doesn't display dark colors well due to its low contrast ratio. The VA variants and the 50" model have a VA panel and likely a much higher contrast ratio, so they may perform differently.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

Decent gradient handling. There's banding in the darker shades of all colors and it's particularly visible in the grays. Enabling Smooth Gradation can help, although it had very little effect on our test pattern. Also, enabling Smooth Gradation can cause the loss of fine details in some scenes.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

There are no signs of temporary image retention; however, this can vary between units. The 0.05% deviation is caused by noise.

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

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

The LG UN7300 has a decent response time. There's some blur trail behind fast-moving objects and some overshoot that results in motion artifacts. There's visible duplication of the image due to the backlight's 120Hz flicker. If you want a TV with a quicker response time, check out the LG UN6950.

This TV uses Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) to dim the backlight. It always flickers at 120Hz. If you're bothered by the flickering and you want a TV with a flicker-free backlight, check out the Sony X750H.

This TV doesn't have an optional Black Frame Insertion feature.

Update 09/15/2020: We previously uploaded a low-resolution photo. The mistake has been fixed.

This TV can interpolate lower frame rate content up to 60fps. It works okay most of the time, but there's duplication of the image due to the backlight's flicker and there are artifacts in more intense scenes.

To enable motion interpolation, set TruMotion to 'User' and adjust the De-Judder slider to '10'.

Due to the TV's slower response time, there's only a little bit of stutter in 24fps content. If the stuttering bothers you, enabling motion interpolation can help.

The LG UN7300 can only remove judder from 24p content. To do so, enable Real Cinema.

The LG UN7300 doesn't support any variable refresh rate technologies.

The LG UN7300 has outstanding low input lag as long as it's in 'Game' mode. There's an 'Automatic Low Latency Mode' that switches you to 'Game' mode when the TV detects a game being launched from a compatible device, such as an Xbox One or a PC. To use it, enable Instant Game Response.