The time has finally come for a 4K TV and the LG B6 OLED 4K is one of the best you can buy.
Why Buy 4K now?
4K or UHD televisions have been around for several years. At resolutions of 3840 x 2160, they contain nearly 8.3 million pixels so their resolution if four times that of full HD. This produces a clarity and picture details that cannot be seen on regular HD televisions. But 4K content is only now reaching the consumer. Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu all have an expanding lists of 4K content and 4K DVD players and discs have become commercially available.
Why OLED?
LCD TV have backlit panels which usually have a light-bleeding effect on a TVs picture. This makes it difficult for them to produce a true black color and true-to-life colors. OLED pixels are self-emitting. So they can emit exactly the right amount of light required. Because of this OLED TVs create the blackest blacks and very accurate colors. You can get an idea of the quality of the screen from the picture of the screen below which was taken with a smartphone.
The Specs
The B6 OLED 4K HDR Smart TV is a flat panel television that comes in 55” and 65” sizes. It has the Ultra HD Premium certification so it supports both Dolby Vision and HDR 10. The OLED screen with the addition of the Dolby Vision HDR gives this television one of the best pictures I’ve seen. This OLED TV also has support for HDR 10, so it covers the HDR gamut. The OLED projects true-to-life colors and deep blacks and the HDR adds additional color range giving the picture a realistic quality that immerses you in a very life-like television world.
The B6 also has wide viewing angles and is great at motion handling. Sports look especially good with no lag time, motion blur, or pixilation. The models in this 2016 lineup have a very welcome increase in brightness over the 2015 models. So you no longer have to worry about watching in a dark room. The B6 performs admirably in all room light. The screen is glossy, but the B6 does an excellent job of dealing with reflections.
Some temporary image retention has been reported with this television in independent testing with keeping the same image on the screen for long periods of time. After using it for a month, none was noticeable in normal viewing.
There are three other models in this LG lineup. The C6, E6, and G6. There are minor differences. The C6 has a curved screen. The G6 comes in a 77” model. The E6 has a built-in sound bar. The C6, E6, and G6 all have 3D, which the B6 lacks. All, however, are quite a bit more expensive with approximately the same picture quality of the B6. So unless you want a curved screen, 3D, better sound, or a 77” screen, you can save quite a bit of money by going with the B6.
This TV has good sound quality with 4 channel harman/kardon sound, but it is not the best I’ve ever encountered. Speakers are built into the main body of the TV. Ports include 4 HDMI (2 on the back and 2 on the side), 3 USB, RF, Composite in, Ethernet, Optical and RS323C mini-jack.Below you can see the side ports.
The TV Smarts
The B6 has LG’s WebOS 3.0. This is a big jump up from WebOS 2.0. It is more intuitive and mobile devices can connect seamlessly. The logos for apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Channel Plus run along the bottom of the screen.
The television comes with the LG Magic Remote Control. This is the only thing about the TV that is only average. Actually, LG needs some improvement here because the newest Samsung remotes are much better.
This LG TV is smart in one other thing. It does an excellent job of upscaling content. This is extremely important since most of what you will be watching for the next few years is still transmitted in resolutions that don’t come close to 4K. I was amazed to find that even old black-and-white movies looked visibly improved by this television’s upscaling.
The B6 has very thin borders with a metallic edge and back. The screen itself is less than ¼” thick. There is a bump out on the back that projects about 1 3/4”. It can be wall-mounted or used on the included stand. The black plastic stand has a small footprint. It is only 22” x 8.7”. Yet it feels quite stable.
Prices of the 55” B6 have been hovering at about $2,500. They took a drop around Christmas, but have jumped back up. LG just announced their new OLED line-up at CES. When the new TVs are available in the early spring, you can expect price reduction on the 2016 models. The 2017 models are thinner and can hang flat on the wall. They also have only one wire running from the TV to a sound bar which holds all the other ports. However, the B6 still holds its own for the best picture at a reasonable price.
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