LG QNED90 Review (65QNED90UPA, 75QNED90UPA, 86QNED90UPA) (2024)

Curved No

The LG QNED90 has a similar design to the LG G1 OLED, with thin bezels that are hardly noticeable, a smooth back designed to sit almost flush with the wall, and a nice metal finish. The stand is pretty basic, but it supports the TV well.

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Wall Mount VESA 400x400

The back of the TV is very plain. The inputs are side-facing on the left of the TV, and they're easy to access if the TV is wall-mounted. You can route cables through two clips on the back of the TV that lead to tracks in the stands for cable management.

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Borders 0.35" (0.9 cm)

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Max Thickness 1.22" (3.1 cm)

The cable clips on the back of the TV don't seem to be removable, and they stick out about 0.4", so the TV can't quite be mounted flush to the wall.

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The LG QNED90 has superb build quality. It feels pretty sturdy and is mostly metal. The stand is pretty basic, though, and doesn't entirely prevent the TV from wobbling. There's also a bit of flex on the back of the TV near the VESA mount and near the inputs.

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Contrast

Native Contrast

The LG QNED90 has excellent contrast as long as you leave the local dimming feature enabled. Blacks are deep and uniform, even when bright highlights are visible in the scene. The native contrast is low, though, so blacks appear gray and washed out with local dimming disabled.

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This TV has just okay blooming handling. There's significant blooming around bright highlights in dark scenes, including if you have subtitles turned on.

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Local Dimming

Backlight

Dimming Zones Count Of Tested TV

Despite the high number of dimming zones, transitions between zones are noticeable and distracting on this TV. There's a noticeable flicker as small, bright highlights move across the screen. The algorithms can't quite keep up with fast-moving content, as the leading edge is a bit darker than it should be as the zones are a bit slow to turn on.

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The local dimming performs the same in the 'Game Optimizer' Picture Mode as outside of it.

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Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)

Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)

Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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Hallway Lights (~1950 cd/m²)

Yellow Skyscraper (~700 cd/m²)

Landscape Pool (~300 cd/m²)

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

The HDR brightness in the 'Game Optimizer' mode is the same as outside of it. There are minor differences in each result, but this is just due to the margin of error of our tests, it's not at all noticeable.

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600 Nit Tracking Delta

1000 Nit Tracking Delta

4000 Nit Tracking Delta

This TV has good PQ EOTF tracking, so most content is displayed close to the content creator's intent. It's not very consistent, though, and the accuracy varies depending on what brightness level the content you're watching was mastered at. With content mastered at 600 or 1,000 nits, there's a sharp cutoff at the TV's peak brightness, resulting in a loss of fine details.

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Real Scene Peak Brightness

Peak 2% Window

Peak 10% Window

Peak 25% Window

Peak 50% Window

Peak 100% Window

Sustained 2% Window

Sustained 10% Window

Sustained 25% Window

Sustained 50% Window

Sustained 100% Window

Automatic Brightness Limiting (ABL)

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Wide Color Gamut

DCI P3 xy

DCI P3 uv

Rec 2020 xy

Rec 2020 uv

The LG QNED90 has an excellent color gamut, and it can display a wide color gamut, which is great for HDR content. It can display most of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space but falls a bit short on all colors. Coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space is decent, but there's not much content that uses it at the moment.

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1,000 cd/m² DCI P3 Coverage ITP

10,000 cd/m² Rec 2020 Coverage ITP

White Luminance

Red Luminance

Green Luminance

Blue Luminance

Cyan Luminance

Magenta Luminance

Yellow Luminance

The LG QNED90 has decent color volume. It's mainly limited by the incomplete color gamut, but like most LCDs, pure blues aren't as bright as other colors.

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White Balance dE

Color dE

Gamma

Color Temperature

Picture Mode

Color Temp Setting

Gamma Setting

Out of the box, the LG QNED90 we bought has very good accuracy, but this can vary between units. Gamma is close to our target of 2.2, but dark scenes are over-brightened a bit, and some bright scenes are a bit too dark. The white balance is good overall, but there are some minor issues in bright scenes. Colors are excellent, with no noticeable issues. Unfortunately, the color temperature is very cool, giving everything a bluish tint.

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White Balance dE

Color dE

Gamma

Color Temperature

White Balance Calibration

Color Calibration

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50% Std. Dev.

50% DSE

5% Std. Dev.

5% DSE

Unfortunately, the LG QNED90 has just alright gray uniformity. The sides of the screen are a bit darker than the center, and there's quite a bit of dirty screen effect in the center, which can be distracting when watching sports or if you're using the TV as a PC monitor. Near-black scenes are much better, but there's still quite a bit of dirty screen effect. Note that gray uniformity can vary between units due to manufacturing tolerances.

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Std. Dev.

Native Std. Dev.

Unfortunately, the LG QNED90 has sub-par black uniformity. With local dimming disabled, the screen is very cloudy, and there are signs of backlight bleed along each edge. Black uniformity is much better with local dimming disabled, but there's still quite a bit of blooming around the test cross, despite the Mini LED backlight.

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Color Washout

Color Shift

Brightness Loss

Black Level Raise

Gamma Shift

As expected for an IPS TV, the LG QNED90 has impressive viewing angles, much better than the LG NANO90 2021. It's great if you have a wide seating arrangement. Colors barely shift, even at a wide angle, but at a moderate angle, the brightness decreases and gamma shifts, causing the image to appear washed out.

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Screen Finish

Total Reflections

Indirect Reflections

Calculated Direct Reflections

The LG QNED90 has decent reflection handling. The semi-gloss finish doesn't diffuse direct reflections, so they can still be distracting if you have many bright lights or windows. Thankfully, the TV is plenty bright enough to overcome most glare.

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100% Black to 50% Gray

50% Gray to 100% White

100% Black to 50% Red

50% Red to 100% Red

100% Black to 50% Green

50% Green to 100% Green

100% Black to 50% Blue

50% Blue to 100% Blue

This TV has good gradient handling in HDR. There's noticeable banding in all shades of gray, as well as in bright shades of green and blue.

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Smoothing

Detail Preservation

The LG QNED90 has good smoothing capabilities when displaying low-quality content. Macro-blocking or pixelization from low-quality sources are smoothed out well, but some fine details are lost.

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Subpixel Layout

Type LED

Sub-Type

The LG QNED90 uses an ADS-type panel, which is similar to an IPS. The panel structure looks very similar to the one used in the Samsung QN85A QLED.

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80% Response Time

100% Response Time

The LG QNED90 has a very good response time. Transitions from a dark color to a bright one are slow, with significant overshoot in some transitions. Transitions from bright to dark are a bit faster, and except for one, there's no noticeable undershoot, which is great.

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Flicker-Free

PWM Dimming Frequency

Surprisingly, the LG QNED90 is completely flicker-free, even with local dimming enabled. It's the first LG TV we've tested, excluding OLEDs, that's completely flicker-free. This is great, as it can help reduce eye strain.

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Optional BFI

Min Flicker For 60 fps

60Hz For 60 fps

120Hz For 120 fps

Min Flicker for 60 fps in Game Mode

The LG QNED90 has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly called black frame insertion. It can only flicker at 60Hz, which is a bit disappointing. Unfortunately, some image duplication is noticeable due to poor strobe timings, as there's some crosstalk where the backlight flickers while the TV is refreshing the image. Note that our score here is based only on the refresh rates supported, not how well it works.

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Motion Interpolation (30 fps)

Motion Interpolation (60 fps)

There's an optional motion interpolation feature, which can improve the appearance of motion in low frame rate content. It seems to work well with some content; we didn't notice any haloing or artifacts when watching Our Planet on Netflix. It doesn't perform as well in busier scenes, though, and we noticed many issues with The Witcher.

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Frame Hold Time @ 24 fps

Frame Hold Time @ 60 fps

Despite the fast response time, there's some noticeable stutter in some content. It's mainly noticeable in slow panning shots.

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Judder-Free 24p

Judder-Free 24p via 60p

Judder-Free 24p via 60i

Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps

The LG QNED90 can remove judder from any source, including embedded sources like a cable box. Surprisingly, no extra settings were needed.

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Native Refresh Rate

Variable Refresh Rate

HDMI Forum VRR

FreeSync

G-SYNC Compatible

4k VRR Maximum

4k VRR Minimum

1080p VRR Maximum

1080p VRR Minimum

1440p VRR Maximum

1440p VRR Minimum

VRR + Local Dimming Yes

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1080p @ 60Hz

1080p @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode

1080p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 144Hz

1440p @ 60Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1440p @ 144Hz

4k @ 60Hz

4k @ 60Hz + 10-Bit HDR

4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 60Hz Outside Game Mode

4k @ 60Hz With Interpolation

4k @ 120Hz

4k @ 144Hz

8k @ 60Hz

The LG QNED90 has fantastic low input lag, very similar to the LG NANO90 2021 and just a tiny bit slower than the LG C1 OLED. It delivers an extremely responsive gaming experience that's just a bit slower than the best gaming monitors.

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Resolution 4k

480p @ 59.94Hz (Widescreen)

720p @ 59.94Hz

1080p @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

1080p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 144Hz

1440p @ 60Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1440p @ 144Hz

4k @ 60Hz

4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 120Hz

4k @ 120Hz @ 4:4:4

4k @ 144Hz

8k @ 30Hz or 24Hz

8k @ 60Hz

The LG QNED90 displays any common signal up to 4k @ 120Hz, but 1440p @ 60Hz requires a custom (forced) resolution. Unfortunately, it can't display proper chroma 4:4:4 with a 1080p or 1440p signal, which is disappointing, as this is important for reading fine text when using it as a PC monitor. It can display chroma 4:4:4 properly when sending a 4k signal, though, so this isn't a big deal.

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Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)

4k @ 120Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 120Hz

HDR

VRR

The LG QNED90 is fully compatible with the PS5.

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Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)

4k @ 120Hz

1440p @ 120Hz

1080p @ 120Hz

HDR

VRR

This TV can take full advantage of everything the Xbox Series S|X have to offer, including Dolby Vision gaming at up to 4k @ 120Hz.

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HDR10

HDR10+

Dolby Vision

HLG

HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth

HDMI 2.1 Class Bandwidth

CEC Yes

HDCP 2.2 Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)

ATSC Tuner

USB 3.0

Variable Analog Audio Out No

Wi-Fi Support Yes (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)

HDMI 3 is also the eARC port, leaving just one HDMI 2.1 input (HDMI 4) for HDMI 2.1 consoles.

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All of the main inputs are side-facing, so they're easier to access if you wall-mount the TV. Some inputs face down, but they're mainly ports that aren't typically changed once the TV is set up.

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HDMI 4

USB 3

Digital Optical Audio Out 1

Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 0

Analog Audio Out RCA 0

Component In 0

Composite In 0

Tuner (Cable/Ant) 1

Ethernet 1

DisplayPort 0

IR In 0

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ARC/eARC Port

eARC: Dolby Atmos Over Dolby Digital Plus

eARC: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1

eARC: LPCM 7.1 Over Dolby MAT

eARC: Dolby TrueHD 7.1

eARC: DTS:X Over DTS-HD MA

eARC: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1

eARC: LPCM Channels (Bitstream)

ARC: Dolby Digital 5.1

ARC: DTS 5.1

Optical: Dolby Digital 5.1

Optical: DTS 5.1

The LG QNED90 supports eARC, allowing you to pass high-quality, uncompressed audio to a compatible receiver over an HDMI connection. Like all LG TVs we've tested in the last few years, this TV doesn't support DTS.

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Low-Frequency Extension

Std. Dev. @ 70

Std. Dev. @ 80

Std. Dev. @ Max

Max

Dynamic Range Compression

The LG QNED90 has a decent frequency response. Like most TVs, the low-frequency extension is high, so there's almost no bass response and no thump or rumble. Above the LFE, the sound profile is fairly balanced in the mid-range but drops off in the treble range, especially at max volume, meaning that some dialogue might sound muted. It gets pretty loud, but there's some compression at max volume.

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Weighted THD @ 80

Weighted THD @ Max

IMD @ 80

IMD @ Max

The distortion performance is alright. There's a decent amount of distortion at moderate listening levels. Like most TVs, though, it gets worse at max volume. This varies between content, though, and not everyone is sensitive to it, so you might not even hear it.

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Smart OS webOS

Version 6.1

Ease of Use

Smoothness

Time Taken to Select YouTube

Time Taken to Change Backlight

Advanced Options

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Ads

Opt-out

Suggested Content in Home

Opt-out of Suggested Content

Unfortunately, like most TVs on the market, there are ads throughout the interface. We noticed them on the home page, app store, and in the Shop Time store.

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App Selection

App Smoothness

Cast Capable

USB Drive Playback

USB Drive HDR Playback

HDR in Netflix

HDR in YouTube

LG TVs use a custom LG web store built-in to WebOS, but it has a huge selection of apps, so you're sure to find the app for your favorite streaming service.

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Size

Voice Control

CEC Menu Control

Other Smart Features

Remote App LG TV Plus

LG's popular Magic Remote has been redesigned in 2021. Instead of the curved shape we've become used to in the past years, it's now flat with more quick-access buttons to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and the app store. You can still use it as a virtual pointer, making it very easy to navigate the menus. Through the built-in microphone, you can access both Google Assistant and Alexa. Through the voice commands you can search for content or ask questions, and you can even change inputs or change basic picture settings.

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The power button is along the bottom bezel. You can also use it to change inputs, channels, or volume through a series of long or short presses. There are also two mics located on either side of the power button that allow for hands-free voice control. Unlike the Hisense U8G, there's no physical switch to disable the mics.

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Power Consumption 63 W

Power Consumption (Max) 164 W

Firmware 03.15.41

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