Televisions

There’s arguably no more cinematic experience in the AV world than watching a 4K Blu-ray movie on a massive OLED TV. A fact the 77in LG OLED77GX confirms with designer knobs on.

This sheer screen acreage immediately sets your pulse racing, and the effect is supported in the case of LG's GX range by its strikingly svelte ‘Gallery’ design. All of the OLED77GX’s electronics, speakers and connections are squeezed into a TV just 24mm deep, making it an excellent wall-hanging option. In fact, wall-hanging is what you're meant to do – a desktop stand for this behemoth is an optional extra.

While the GX series (55in, 65in and 77in) differs from the LG's mass-market CX series (48in, 55in, 65in and 77in) on design and, as we’ll see, sound, both use the same core OLED panels and same Alpha 9 Gen 3 processor. So it’s hardly a shock to find the OLED77GX producing almost exactly the same picture quality as the CX models.

LG OLED77GX picture quality
As usual with OLED TVs, it’s the OLED77GX’s black levels that make the most immediate impact. They’re typically nothing short of spectacular; truly black and remarkably consistent right across the screen in a way no LCD TV can compete with (particularly at this screen size).

OLED’s pixel-level light control helps ensure there’s plenty of shadow detail in dark scenes, too. Black crush is hardly ever noticeable, even in the darkest corners of Bane’s underground lair or the batcave in The Dark Knight Rises (4K Blu-ray). Noise is also reduced in dark scenes versus LG’s previous OLED generation.

Brightness is pretty much the same as the CX series, nearing 800cd/m2 (aka nits) in the Standard preset. That's a figure dwarfed by some LED models. Yet with black pixels sitting alongside white ones with no compromise between the two, the TV's contrast still feels intense, and makes even aggressive HDR images look more punchy than its measured brightness would imply.

In fact, the OLED77GX provides a perfect reminder that HDR is as much about darkness as brightness. This is something particularly evident when viewing a good Dolby Vision 4K Blu-ray master (the TV supports this format alongside HDR10 and HLG – but not HDR10+).

Buoyed by LG's Alpha 9 Gen 3 processing silicon and OLED's light control talents, this TV's colours have an appealing consistency, dynamism, balance and basic credibility, from the richest, deliberately over-blown hues in Inside Out (4K Blu-ray) to the palest skin tones of Bane’s underground henchmen in The Dark Knight Rises.

The OLED77GX’s processor also delivers crisper, cleaner upscaled HD pictures than its predecessors, while native 4K material makes more impact on this 77in panel. The running street battle between the police and Bane’s goons reveals some decently clean and convincing motion processing.

All four of the set's HDMI inpits handle 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rates (VRR) and both Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync Premium systems. This allows to deliver a sensational experience for users of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and/or latest high-end PC graphics cards.

There can be slight black level instability when using VRR, and there’s also a general slight black level reduction when using FreeSync. Such niggles aren't only gaming-related – very occasionally an extremely dark movie scene will exhibit a momentary black level ‘jump’.

LG OLED77GX audio quality
The OLED77GX’s outstanding pictures are joined by some less inspiring audio. Despite supporting Dolby Atmos playback (and bitstream output of Atmos over HDMI), it sounds a little muted and vague. In fact, LG’s own, cheaper CX OLED series delivers a more direct, room-filling sound.

It's not actually bad; it gets the job done, and isn’t as prone to bass distortion as the more aggressive CX models. But there’s no doubt that the GX series’ Gallery design has required some sound quality compromise.

With this in mind, LG sells the slim, wall-mountable Sound Bar GX model to partner its GX TVs. This will, though, add around £799 to your budget…

And it's the OLED77GX’s price that most gives me pause about it. At £4,300 it’s £800 more than the OLED77CX – quite a hit given the two models’ picture quality is essentially identical and the 77CX’s audio performance is if anything slightly better.

But if you really are hell bent on wall-hanging your next TV, and want the slimmest install available, then the OLED77GX is the perhaps the most all-round beautiful thing you can currently put in your living room.

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HCC Verdict

LG OLED77GX, £4,300 www.lg.com/uk

Rating: 4.5/5

We say: Provided you need its wall-hanging design so much you’re willing to pay the premium, LG's OLED77GX delivers an exquisite home cinema experience.

SPECIFICATIONS

4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160
HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG; Dolby Vision
TUNER: Yes. Freeview HD; satellite HD
CONNECTIONS: 4 x HDMI inputs; 3 x USB; optical digital audio output; Ethernet
SOUND (CLAIMED): 2 x 10W
BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): N/A CONTRAST RATIO (CLAIMED):
N/ADIMENSIONS (OFF STAND): 1,721(w) x 991(h) x 24.1(d)mm WEIGHT (OFF STAND): 39.4kg

Features: Built-in Wi-Fi; USB multimedia playback; Alpha 9 Gen 3 processing engine; Dolby Atmos; WebOS smart system; Gallery design; optional desktop stand; 4K/120 playback on all four HDMIs