LG 55-inch QNED83 review: Quantum Dot + NanoCell = Great TV?

Published On: March 20, 2024

If you are looking for a TV under Rs 1,00,000, there are many options and a host of features you can expect from your TV. From local dimming to a native 120Hz panel with support for all HDMI 2.1 features, Rs 1,00,000 is the sweet spot for great features and performance. While we have seen OLED TVs available under Rs 1 lakh, such as the LG A2, it misses out on HDMI 2.1 support which could be a deal breaker if you are a gamer. Today, we have the 55-inch LG QNED83, which is an LED-backlit TV. The QNED in the name means that the TV combines Quantum Dot with NanoCell to give you surprisingly good picture quality. Let’s dive in and see if this is the right TV for you.

Table of Contents

Display panel and picture quality

As mentioned above, the LG QNED83 combines Quantum Dot with NanoCell behind the panel to give you vivid images on the screen. The panel itself is an IPS panel which gives great viewing angles. Traditionally, IPS panels have not had the best black levels, but we will get to that in later sections of this review. While we have the 55-inch variant for review, the TV comes in 65-inches as well. As of writing this review, the TV has an MOP (Market Operating Price) of about Rs 94,990. The TV supports all popular HDR picture formats including HDR 10, Dolby Vision and HLG. Despite being an edge-lit panel, it also supports local dimming to ensure less blooming when you have a mix of bright and dark scenes on screen at the same time.

4K and HDR performance

We played a slew of content from streaming services in HDR 10 and Dolby Vision and the short answer is that the performance of the TV is very good. On Netflix we played Top Gun Maverick which is in Dolby Vision and the bright glare of the sun that the pilots face in the sky is evident thanks to the high brightness of the TV. Even in a movie like Rebel Moon which has a slightly darker colour pallet, the content looked very good. Even animated content like Blue Eye Samurai, which has a naturally ‘cool’ tone looked bright and vivid on the TV.

The biggest advantage of the LG QNED83 is that it works quite well in a bright room. So if you have a room with ambient light in the day that can’t be blocked out or like to keep a light on when watching movies, then this is a good TV to consider as it handles reflections well and can get quite bright.

On the downside, there is some loss of detail in dark HDR content. The Dark Knight for example (the sequence where Batman kidnaps Lao from Hong King) is one where we saw some loss of detail in Batman’s suit. The webbing and chink in Batman’s armour were far more pronounced on my LG G2 than on the QNED83. The G2 is a far more expensive TV of course, but this is just to let you know the difference. The content was still very watchable and enjoyable.

The TV also has a Filmmaker Mode which can be switched on to auto-detect content and represent it with the same intent the filmmaker intended. However, I found that switching this off, using the Cinema preset along with switching off all forms of mothing smoothing was the best way to watch HDR movies.

SDR performance

Speaking of Filmmaker Mode, it did kick in when I was consuming SDR content. Young Sheldon on Prime Video is a great example of this. When Filmmaker Mode was on, the content looked slightly muted (which isn’t a bad thing). However, switching off Filmmaker Mode and changing the preset to standard made the content look more vibrant. The vivid mode makes the colours look oversaturated to me but it is the look that some people prefer.

When consuming movies in SDR on streaming services, the experience was very good. Spider-Man Homecoming on Netflix looked spectacular on the TV (no pun intended). The red and blue in Spider-Man’s suit popped and looked just right. Even the black webbing on his suit was quite clear, something other TVs fail to produce correctly. Needless to say, if you consume content in SDR from your set-top-box or streaming services, you won’t be disappointed.

Gaming performance

Moving to gaming, the TV comes with four HDMI ports, two of which support HDMI 2.1 with all bells and whistles including 4K at 120Hz, ALLM and VRR. One of the two HDMI 2.1 ports is for eARC in case you want to connect a soundbar leaving just one port to connect an HDMI 2.1 device such as an Apple TV 4K, PS5, Xbox Series X or an NVIDIA 40 series GPU-powered laptop or desktop. I wish the TV had four HDMI 2.1 ports like LG’s OLED C and G series sibling, but hey, the Sony X90L also comes with only two HDMI 2.1 ports.

LG has one of the best gaming UIs you can get on a TV. You can see the framerate, change the settings to suit a bright room/dark room and more to get the perfect gaming experience. There is also an FPS counter in the UI which is cool.

Connectollect a PS5 or an Xbox Series X and the TV detects the consoles and switches to the relevant mode. I recommended calibrating the console with the TV (adjusting the brightness in the console’s settings for HDR) to get the best gaming experience.

Speaking of games we played a lot of games, from Doom Eternal and Gears 5 on the Series X to Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart on the PS5. Needless to say, the gaming experience on the TV was sublime.

Dirt 5 which is an HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) game showcased the perfect brightness without burning (something we have seen other TVs struggle with post-calibration). This means that you can enjoy HDR games quite well on this TV.

Spider-Man 2 is another game where the colours just popped and the experience was immersive. Doom Eternal which ran at a butter smooth 120FPS on the Series X was the perfect experience as far as input latency is concerned. The Series X and the LG QNED83 support Dolby Vision gaming. When playing Gears 5 in Dolby Vision gaming mode I found that there was some loss of detail in the dark sequences, but this could be me just nitpicking.

Audio performance

While the gaming performance of the TV is quite good, the audio missed the mark by a bit. In Doom Eternal, you have this heart-pumping electric background score with sounds great from the TV’s speakers, but when you pull the trigger on your shotgun, you are left a tad disappointed with the lack of bass from the speakers.

This experience translates to movies as well. Watching movies on the TV is a good experience overall with clarity in dialogues and audible background scores, it is the heart-thumping bass that is missing from the TV. For everyday content consumption, the speakers get the job done well. Using the AI sound mode means you don’t need to fiddle with different sound settings based on the content you consume as this changes automatically. The TV supports Dolby Atmos and while it can get loud and room-filling, don’t expect the sound to come from above you or behind you.

UI

LG has one of the better UI’s on its smart TVs when compared to the competition. It comes with a magic remote that works just like a mouse on a computer, making navigation a breeze. The UI is also snappy and responsive. You have content recommendations throughout the screen but the centre of the display has a row of streaming apps that you will be using the most.

My favourite feature of the TV is the settings menu. Press the settings button on the remote control to bring up the settings and you have all the important settings pop out from the left of the TV. this includes picture settings, sound settings, panel brightness, sound output, game optimiser and more. It’s not only super convenient to navigate but changing settings also shows you a real-time change in the balance two-thirds of the display which is super helpful in making picture adjustments.

LG 55-inch QNED83 – Connectivity options

As I said above, the TV has four HDMI ports, two of which support HDMI 2.1. All the connectivity options face the side making them easy to reach when the TV is wall-mounted. All except the LAN port and Optical Port, which are down facing. The list of connectivity options is as follows

HDMI 2.1 ports – 2
HDMI 2.0 ports – 2
eARC – Yes (HDMI 3)
Optical Port – 1
LAN Port – 1
Wi-Fi – Yes – Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth – Yes (5.0)
Ethernet port – 1
RF input – 1 (Combo Jack)
USB – 2 (2.0 ports)

Remote control

Just like LG’s flagship OLEDs, you get the same magic remote control here. It has a slightly curved design making it easy to hold and use as a magic wand when moving the cursor around. You get dedicated shortcuts for streaming services – Netflix and Prime Video. The navigation wheel is slightly deep and has a satisfying click to it ensuring you aren’t pressing it by accident. My only complaint is that I miss the dedicated playback controls found on LG’s previous generation remote control.

Build and design

The LG QNED83 has almost no bezels on any side leading to quite the immersive experience. The back of the TV feels premium and the real standout has to be the feet. They are metal and have a very premium design and hold the TV in place quite easily. The back also has the holes for the standard Vesa wall mount and as mentioned above, all the important ports face out so they are easy to access even if the TV is wall mounted. Overall, no complaints here.

Verdict

The LG QNED83 is a great TV for the asking price especially when you take a look at the features on offer. It supports all popular formats including HDR 10, HLG, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It also supports HDMI 2.1 making it a great TV for gaming, even if only two of the four ports support HDMI 2.1. The picture performance of the TV is great in SDR and while it is very good in HDR as well, there is some loss of detail in dark sequences. The TV is great for content consumption in a bright room. In a dark room, there is slight blooming around subtitles, but it’s something that can be overlooked considering the package on offer. The UI is smooth and easy to use. The sound output is good for everyday content consumption, but for a cinematic experience, we recommend you think about getting a soundbar. If you are in the market for a 55-inch TV for around Rs 1,00,000 then the LG QNED83 can be on your list.

Editor’s Rating: 8.5/10

Pros