LG OLED G4 vs LG QNED86A / QNED85A / QNED87A

The LG G4 excels in delivering an incredibly vivid HDR experience, positioning it as one of the best models in its class. Equipped with second-generation Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology, it achieves a remarkable peak brightness of 1474 nits in real-world scenes. While it may not match Mini LED-backlit LCD TVs in full-screen white scenes, the overall performance is outstanding. The fine details in HDR content shine brightly, a distinct advantage of OLED technology over non-OLED displays. With this impressive brightness and wide DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, HDR content is brought to life with unmatched engagement and immersion.

Against the backdrop of contrast and black, the brightness of the QNED86A and the overall HDR effect performs much better. This is a television that can reach around 700 nits in the best conditions, so in terms of brightness alone, there is nothing to be ashamed of. As a result, scenes with strong lights, explosions, flashes, or bright parts of the landscape look clear and can make an impression. Interestingly, even in more challenging moments with small, contrasting elements on the screen, the television handles their backlighting well, and the details are quite visible. The problem resurfaces when there are a lot of dark tones. The lack of effective local dimming causes black to virtually disappear, and instead, we get a gray glow spreading across the entire screen. This kills the sense of depth and makes the image look flat, as if it lacks a cinematic quality. In bright animations or colorful family films, this won't be an issue because colors and bright light dominate there. But in horrors or productions set in darkness, these limitations are very palpable. As a consolation, it’s worth mentioning that the QNED86A is actually a QLED television with a PFS LED filter, which gives it very good coverage of wide color gamuts. Both the DCI-P3 palette and the wider BT.2020 perform really solid here. This ensures that colors in HDR films are saturated, vibrant, and have the right depth – even if the black itself disappoints, the colors can save the viewing experience and make the image look attractive.

Before calibration, the "Filmmaker" mode on the TV had a noticeable red and green colour dominance, resulting in a warm-yellow hue across both SDR and HDR content. This warm tone, typical of modes like "Cinema" and "Filmmaker," led to a yellowish cast that was evident when switching from the "Standard" mode.

Looking at the brightness characteristics, the Gamma chart showed decent performance for mid-tones and bright whites, but it struggled with the darkest details, which tended to merge into a black blob. HDR content, as represented by the EOTF curve chart, displayed a drop in contrast due to excessive brightness, which overshadowed fine details and negatively affected the overall image quality. Additionally, the "ColourChecker" chart revealed that colours were under-saturated, contributing to a less accurate and vibrant visual experience.

This provided a good foundation to build on, but calibration was needed to bring out the full potential of the "Filmmaker" mode and address these issues.

We primarily tested the QNED86A in Filmmaker mode, which is designed to provide the most accurate picture. Unfortunately, right out of the box, there were quite a few shortcomings. The most noticeable issue was the poorly adjusted white balance – there was a lack of blue, causing the overall image to lean slightly yellow, and at times, even orange. An even bigger problem turned out to be the way the television manages brightness. Due to its technical limitations – namely, local dimming that only works along the edges of the screen – the QNED86A tends to over-brighten entire scenes. This is where the flattening effect we mentioned earlier comes from. Instead of distinct depth and contrast, we get something akin to "boosted brightness," which can strain the eye over time.

The manufacturer has been offering extensive support for the calibration process in its LG televisions for many years. Therefore, we used 2- and 20-point grayscale adjustments along with an advanced CMS (Colour Management System) to optimise the display. As shown, the calibration procedure greatly improved each parameter. The results included studio-quality colour reproduction, enhanced detail in dark areas, corrected brightness characteristics, and accurate colour saturation. This led to a near-perfect match with the reference image—the one the film director saw on the preview monitor. It’s also worth mentioning that LG G4 televisions are unique in offering even deeper image adjustments through 3D LUT matrices, a feature primarily suited for post-production or graphics studios.

What was saved in the QNED86A6A is undoubtedly the colors. After calibration, the white balance was set with great precision, resulting in deviations on the Colour Checker palette mostly not exceeding the threshold of visibility for the human eye. In other words – the colors finally looked natural, without strange yellow or orange tones that previously ruined the experience. Unfortunately, even the best calibration cannot bypass design limitations. The already mentioned very modest number of local dimming zones and their unfortunate placement made the analysis of the EOTF curve in films still show clear over-brightening of scenes. The image tended to flatten, lacking cinematic depth. Fortunately, this effect is not as noticeable in older productions or SDR content. There, calibration really does its job and allows taming the QNED in such a way that the image can be pleasing. However, the specifics of this design – especially the contrast issues – cannot be entirely overcome.

The LG G4 does not perform well with materials rich in tonal transitions, leading to a pronounced posterization effect. However, the manufacturer has included a smoothing system called "Gentle Gradation," with three levels: Low, Medium, and High. These settings are effective at smoothing bright colours, though less so for darker tones. It is recommended to use the Low setting, as the higher levels can distort the director's intentions by removing film grain.

When it comes to upscaling lower-quality material, the television's performance is quite good, delivering a sharp and clear image. However, attention should be paid to the jagged edges of fine details and the occasional halo effect around figures. This occurs due to the sharpening imposed by the LG G4, even when the lowest setting is selected (0). This is a noticeable change from the LG G3, which did not apply such strong sharpening, even at setting 0.

If someone is worried about possible "steps" when connecting colors, there is a simple way in the QNED86A. Just turn on the feature called Smooth Gradation and set it to medium level. Then the TV really smooths out all those unwanted transitions – especially in older productions – and does it in such a way that the film grain doesn't disappear, nor do strange artifacts appear. In other words, you can use it without worry.

The upscaling itself also turns out quite well. Of course, there are no miracles here – with lower quality sources, you can observe characteristic jaggedness. Fortunately, there is a sharpness slider in the menu, and if someone prefers a more "softer" image, it can be quickly adjusted to their taste.

The LG G4 offers a maximum refresh rate of 144 Hz, achievable when connected to a powerful PC. For most users, however, the TV operates at a maximum of 120 Hz, ideal for watching sports or other content with fast motion. To improve image fluidity, the television includes the "TrueMotion" motion smoothing system, which features two separate sliders: De-Blur (for the sharpness of moving images) and De-Judder (for judder reduction). These sliders allow users to adjust the level of smoothing between 0 and 10, ensuring everyone can find the ideal setting.

With a response time of 0.78 ms, the LG G4 delivers exceptionally clear images, outperforming LCD televisions, which can have much slower response times. This results in no trailing blur behind moving objects, as shown in the "UFO Test." The TV also provides precise control over motion smoothing, which is especially beneficial during fast-paced video game sequences. Thanks to OLED technology, the G4 eliminates ghosting, ensuring a crisp and clear image even during the most dynamic sports or action scenes.

The QNED86A is equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate panel, so right from the start, it's safe to say that it's suitable for both sports and gaming. And indeed, this is true – the image looks smooth, and motion blur is not very noticeable. IPS panels have always had some issues with this, and you can sometimes notice slight blurring here as well, especially in very dynamic scenes, but it's not something that ruins watching a match or a fast-paced game. For movie and sports fans, LG has added the traditional TruMotion smoother. In the menu, we have two sliders – one for movies (De-Judder), the other for sports (De-Blur). The first adds missing frames and allows you to adjust the character of motion – from raw, cinematic to more fluid, "theatrical." The second enhances sharpness during dynamic actions, so it's worth turning it up a bit if you're watching a lot of sports.

The LG G4 TV supports all the features encompassed by the HDMI 2.1 standard, making it a gaming powerhouse. During testing, every feature activated seamlessly, ensuring a smooth experience for both console gamers and PC users. Notably, the HGIG mode (HDR Gaming Interest Group) is implemented correctly, allowing games mastered to brightness levels higher than the TV’s maximum luminance to map tones accurately, preserving the game’s original visual integrity.

A notable highlight is the dedicated GameBar, which can be accessed at any time to quickly check or adjust game settings. More importantly, enabling VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) does not compromise contrast—a common issue in TVs with local dimming or Mini LED backlighting. This is thanks to the OLED panel’s self-emissive pixels, which maintain consistent contrast. However, a slight grey flicker may appear when VRR is enabled, though this is standard across OLEDs.

In summary, the LG G4, like most OLED TVs, is ideal for gaming and online competitions. Its HDMI 2.1 ports offer a full 48 Gbps bandwidth, supporting features such as VRR, ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), G-Sync, FreeSync, and HDR Dolby Vision gameplay, ensuring an exceptional gaming experience.

In terms of gaming, the LG QNED86A6A is a complete tool. It features four HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, which means that whether you connect a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or a powerful PC – everything will work at full 4K 120 Hz with support for all features. This is a big plus, as some competitors still have only two such ports, which can be problematic with a larger number of devices. It also has VRR, or variable refresh rate, which eliminates screen tearing, and ALLM, which automatically activates game mode when the console is turned on. There’s also Dolby Vision Gaming and a proper implementation of the HGiG format, so titles supporting these formats look more vivid and detailed. Added to all of this is the Game Optimizer – a kind of control center for the gamer. From this level, you can view image parameters in real-time, quickly change modes, activate additional features, or adjust image settings to your preferences. The LG QNED86A6A essentially has everything one can expect from a modern gaming television.