LG 55B8 (OLEDB8SLC) OLED Review & Comments

Phil Hinton

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LG has been busy moving the OLED TV game on but unlike last year, the B8 seems to be pegged back from the rest of the family line-up with the use of a lower grade processor. But does that really impact on the level of performance?
Read the review.


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great review phil does seem like a serious bargain,the choices we have now in oleds is fantastic and coming down in price to,good times.
 
Low peak 10% measurement, being that the 8's are apparently brighter than 2017 models.....

I've often wondered if the peak brightness figure, is just dependent on panel variance, especially as a B6 measures higher, and my B7 was around 780 nits using isf dark, also Rtings OLED test is interesting as peak brightness is going up and up each time they are measured and is now +120 nits up from the first measurement.
 
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Peak brightness measurements are one part of a far wider story, and consideration, when it comes to actual performance. They should be treated as such and not held up as an important singular performance indicator, in my opinion, as there are too many variances and what is it that is actually being proven by these singular measures that in no part represent actual performance of HDR content? We will try and give a wider and more comprehensive view on actual HDR performance in our reviews, rather than just one measurement which can be very misleading, given certain interpretations.
Thanks for your comment.
 
Where did you find the B7 for £1100? I had a quick Google but the cheapest I could find was £1200 :)
 
Where did you find the B7 for £1100? I had a quick Google but the cheapest I could find was £1200 :)
It's what I found with a search yesterday. I have noticed prices move about quite a bit depending on who seems to have stock available. Keep looking I'm sure you'll find one ;)
 
It's what I found with a search yesterday. I have noticed prices move about quite a bit depending on who seems to have stock available. Keep looking I'm sure you'll find one ;)

Trying not to!

Backlight clouding on my XE85 has gone downhill, and I'm not sure why. When I first got the TV, inspected it with lights off etc, and it was perfect. A couple of months later and:

IMG_20180929_213641.jpg
 
Peak brightness measurements are one part of a far wider story, and consideration, when it comes to actual performance. They should be treated as such and not held up as an important singular performance indicator, in my opinion, as there are too many variances and what is it that is actually being proven by these singular measures that in no part represent actual performance of HDR content? We will try and give a wider and more comprehensive view on actual HDR performance in our reviews, rather than just one measurement which can be very misleading, given certain interpretations.
Thanks for your comment.

No of course, and I'd be the first to say that, especially when you look at quoted LCD figures, it means nothing, but the alliance test patterns are designed to drive a TV's HDR abilities to their max, and nit measurements are lower in actual content, so it stands to reason that if a TV is posting lowish results in these kinds of tests, does that mean it'll likely be lower in content? More than likely, like all other sets, so it does make it easier to compare, considering the same patterns are used, under similar conditions.
 
Trying not to!

Backlight clouding on my XE85 has gone downhill, and I'm not sure why. When I first got the TV, inspected it with lights off etc, and it was perfect. A couple of months later and:

That's dreadful....typical lcd though.
 
It was a tongue in cheek 'joke'
"...Ask for Richard.... and he'll take care of you with great price and service" is the phrase Vincent T uses in his Youtube videos but they are close enough to mistake them for each other...
Ah OK. I had no idea, it was suggested text they sent through for us to use for their contact details.
 
Ah OK. I had no idea, it was suggested text they sent through for us to use for their contact details.
I thought that the AVF remit was to purchase retail examples and review them long term ?
 
@Phil Hinton Can you confirm if the 21ms input lag referenced in the review is for 4K HDR 60 in Game mode?

I see lots of reviews saying 21ms all over the place for both the B8 and C8, but found Rtings reporting this differently at around 30ms. They also added a note for this in their C8 review to say they found it unusual and re-tested. Their B8 review shows the same measurement too.

I plan to switch from Samsung QLED to an OLED and just want a similarly low input lag of around 21ms. I considered the B7 but am now aware of a dim issue with HDR Game mode.

In the event that the B8 is 21ms like the Panasonic FZ802, which do you think would be your pick?

I am leaning towards the Panasonic for now, with my only concern being that it only has 2x full bandwidth HDMI inputs.
 
I thought that the AVF remit was to purchase retail examples and review them long term ?

We will purchase certain models we can use for long-term testing and comparisons. We will also use friendly retailers like Crampton and Moore to source sets, as well as taking review samples from Manufacturers. That way we can cover all the bases and answer points like the accusation that we get sent golden samples or hand-picked sets and so on.
 
Yes, I can confirm my results as per the review for lag time. To be honest, I doubt you would ever realise the difference between 21ms and 30ms if for some reason there were differences between the same sets, I certainly wouldn't personally be concerned about it.
 
We will purchase certain models we can use for long-term testing and comparisons. We will also use friendly retailers like Crampton and Moore to source sets, as well as taking review samples from Manufacturers. That way we can cover all the bases and answer points like the accusation that we get sent golden samples or hand-picked sets and so on.
I wasn't insinuating anything untoward Phil ,I just thought that was the way Avf were going with Oled sets ,however having bought my 65 C8 from C&M and having a very good set from them ,and seeing other peoples sets from the same retailer ,and others , it still remains very much a lottery as to getting a good set ,or not
 
thanks Phil - excellent review as ever

I had Sony and Samsung 4K hdr sets in my home until about 4 months ago when I bought a 55" and 65" B7V for lounge and upstairs when the prices hit a combined £3600 for the 2 sets as the run out discounting started - best move I have made as the LG OLED TV's provide an overall viewing experience for my usage that is miles better than my experience with LCD sets.

B7 B8 or C8? all are excellent and you cant make a bad choice but if you can get a B7 for £1100 with a 5 year guarantee that is a lot of great viewing for pretty silly money in my view
 
Trying not to!

Backlight clouding on my XE85 has gone downhill, and I'm not sure why. When I first got the TV, inspected it with lights off etc, and it was perfect. A couple of months later and:


I had an XE85 too and same as you no clouding to begin with but after about a year it was as bad as yours!! I couldn't deal with it and managed to get a B8 out of Crampton and Moore for £1250! It arrived yesterday and the difference is amazing, I compared the two side by side and it was like the XE85 wasn't showing a HDR image the B8 looked that much better.
 
I had an XE85 too and same as you no clouding to begin with but after about a year it was as bad as yours!! I couldn't deal with it and managed to get a B8 out of Crampton and Moore for £1250! It arrived yesterday and the difference is amazing, I compared the two side by side and it was like the XE85 wasn't showing a HDR image the B8 looked that much better.
Nice! Im so close to getting the b8 too was thinking of getting the Sony xf900 to safe but then again oled would be great.
 

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