2021 has been an interesting year for televisions. With LG holding the crown for best OLED, and best television in general, for the last 5 years, it was time for the competition to step up and challenge them for that top spot. Sony did just that with a very impressive lineup of OLED TVs.
Organic light-emitting diode (OLED)
First, a brief description of the OLED technology and why it has not only emerged as the staple in any high end home theater build, but has found its way into the post-production workflow of large Hollywood studios.
In televisions that utilize regular light-emitting diodes (LED), the image on screen is lit by way of back lights. LED televisions can be edge lit, direct lit, direct lit with local dimming, or have full array local dimming (FALD) where the direct lit LEDs are individually controlled. This sort of backlighting using LEDs will result in some level of blooming, as seen below.
This happens because the backlight required to illuminate small objects bleeds into the surrounding dimming zones, which are supposed to be pitch black. FALD technology that uses many dimming zones can decrease this, but it will always be present to some degree, which in turn has a negative impact on the contrast ratio and color reproduction.
OLED technology does not suffer from this drawback, because it is entirely self emissive technology, meaning that each individual pixel and produce its own light, and so it does not have to rely on any backlighting. Thus, OLED televisions have perfect blacks, an infinite contrast ratio, and superior color reproduction. The image below depicts the difference between the two technologies.
OLED TVs are not perfect, and they have their own drawbacks. The biggest one being that risk of image retention, otherwise known as “burn-in.” Burn-in is a visible mark left on the screen permanently as a result of leaving a static image on the screen for too long, such as a logo or HUD in a video game. Manufacturers have developed features to help combat this risk, but you still need to be cautious about your viewing habits.
OLEDs also cannot get as bright as LED TVs. With the rise of HDR, this can have a noticeable impact, as the brightest OLED TVs can hit about 850 nits, while there are some LED TVs that can hit a max of 1600 nits. LED TVs tend to have much higher full field brightness, too, since they do not have an automatic brightness limiter (ABL) like OLEDs televisions do. However, brightness doesn’t really tell the whole story. Since LED TVs are prone to blooming, they have to make a compromise between reducing blooming or generating a bright image. So LED TVs often do not reach their peak brightness capabilities in real world content that features both very bright and very dark elements within the same frame.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the top four televisions of 2021.
Sony A90J
LG may have carried the crown for OLED TVs since 2016, but Sony came out swinging in 2021 with an impressive OLED lineup. Sony’s flagship OLED, the A90J, comes in 55 inches, 65 inches, and 83 inches, and it supports HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision. With respect to Dolby Vision, the A90J is the first Sony OLED to support TV-led Dolby Vision, as opposed to the low latency player-led version of the format. This results in better overall image quality when viewing Dolby Vision content.
When it comes to the HDR presentation on this TV, the A90J performs better than any other OLED television. Not only is peak brightness on a 10% window, or full field brightness, greater than other OLEDs, but it also produces greater color volume. The higher the color volume, the more saturated the colors appear at higher levels of luminance. This, in combination with Sony’s more relaxed ABL and tone mapping algorithm that strikes a better balance between specular highlight detail and overall brightness, makes the A90J the best OLED television for HDR viewing. The specular highlights, such as the reflections on a car, or in a body of water, will have much more “pop” on this display than any other OLED, giving the viewer a greater sense of depth and dimensionality.
Sony, as always, delivers best in class smooth gradation — a feature that greatly minimizes posterization while still maintaining a high level of detail. Other TV brands have a similar feature, but once enabled, it introduces a smearing effect, and the compromise to the level of detail is too pronounced for our liking.
When it comes to gaming, the A90J does not currently support variable refresh rate (VRR) or auto low latency mode (ALLM), but Sony has promised that these features will be added via a firmware update. The input lag of OLED displays is lower than that of other display technologies due to the fast pixel response time of OLED, and while the A90J has a low input lag, the LG G1 and C1 do have it beat here. There is also some unfortunate posterization in 4K120 mode when using HDR.
Overall, the A90J will provide best in class HDR when watching movies or TV shows, and comes with Sony’s renowned video processing and motion handling. If you want a high end television for your home theater for watching HDR content, or are looking to use your OLED in a brighter environment, we highly recommend the A90J.
Sony A80J
The A80J is the step down model from the A90J, and it offers many of the same benefits. It’s not as bright as the A90J, but it’s still very bright for an OLED. Naturally, it inherits the less aggressive ABL, the excellent video processing, the superb color accuracy, and the tone mapping that strikes a nice balance between specular highlight detail and overall brightness. Like the A90J, the A80J supports HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision, however, it does not currently support gaming features like VRR or ALLM, though Sony has said those features will come with a firmware update.
If you are looking for a TV that has many of the same pros as the A90J at a lower cost, the A80J is a great choice. It may not get as bright, but this is a fantastic TV that will rival other high end OLEDs currently on the market.
LG G1 Evo
The G1 is another superb entry from LG Electronics. Available in sizes of 55, 65, and 77 inches, the G1 increases brightness over its predecessor — the LG GX OLED. Like the Sony sets, the G1 supports HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision. LG supports the TV-led version of Dolby Vision, as it always has.
The G1 does not get as bright as the Sony A90J on a 10% window or in terms of full field brightness, and it does have a more aggressive ABL. This will reduce the risk of burn-in, but it does result in an overall dimmer image. Additionally, given the fact that LG’s HDR tone mapping focuses on retaining as much specular highlight detail as possible, this is another source of dimness for the G1. As previously mentioned, Sony’s tone mapping algorithm strikes a better balance between retaining detail in the brightest areas and overall brightness.
Both televisions produce accurate colors in SDR, but the G1 lags behind the A90J when it comes to displaying highly saturated colors, so the HDR will be slightly less impactful.
Where the G1 has the upper hand is in the way it displays elements that are “near black.” The A90J seems to unnecessarily over brighten such elements, resulting in a washed out image, while the G1 produces a more accurate picture in a very convincing manner and with greater contrast.
When it comes to gaming, it’s hard to beat any LG OLED. Incredibly low input lag, tremendous image quality at 4K120 in HDR, and it supports VRR, ALLM, FreeSync, and G-SYNC out of the box. This TV will give you the absolute best experiencing when hooking it up to a PS5, Xbox Series X, or a PC.
Overall, LG’s flagship is one of the very best TVs on the market. Depending on your needs, this is a tremendous TV. While the Sony A90J has a slight edge in movies and TV shows, especially those presented in HDR, the G1 is the clear cut favorite when it comes to gaming.
LG C1
The step down model from LG — the C1— will be a great choice for those looking for an outstanding OLED at a lower cost. The LG C1 has the exact same feature set as the G1, except it has slightly lower peak and full field brightness, as well as a lower color volume, due to it lacking the new Evo panel found in the LG G1. Having said that, the breadth of gaming features, the support for HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision, as well as its accurate near black handling, makes this TV worthy of any high end home theater system.
LG C1 may fall slightly behind the Sony A80J when it comes to image quality when watching movies or TV shows (for the same reasons the LG G1 falls slightly behind the A90J), but its image quality at 4K120 in HDR, and out of the box support for VRR, ALLM, FreeSync, and G-SYNC makes it a no brainer if you are looking for a gaming TV.
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