LG was kind enough to send us a big boy for review - the 75” QNED 4K UHD 120Hz Smart TV (75QNED816RA). What are the standouts of this QNED smart TV? Read more to find out. 

75 inches, or about 189 cm diagonally, is a lot of screen real estate to contend with. In an average size living room, the LG QNED 4K UHD Smart TV really does bring the big screen experience to the home. So much so, that it becomes perfectly understandable why you would not want to go to the movies anymore, at least not with this sized screen to keep you company.

4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) at this size is a must to give that crispness to images, and as we’ve come to expect from LG, this panel does not disappoint. If you are wondering about the screen’s QNED tech, this uses Mini LEDs as backlighting, which offers higher peak brightness, better contrast and darker blacks than other LCD panels. However, OLED is still the top dog when it comes to pure black and overall performance, which accounts for the higher relative price of OLED. QNED also provides consistent colour  at different viewing angles, plus it might be TV to get if your living room suffers from a lot of light during the day. 

Watching 4K movies on this television is an excellent experience, but it does mean you would have to upgrade Netflix to Premium to get 4K content. Still, Full HD content is not to be frowned at (there is 4K upscaling tech onboard), but trying to watch rugby or football through the DStv Stream app can be a dire affair if you are looking for crisp tackles and passes.

AI Picture Pro  is featured on here, which automatically screens the current content on display to provide the best picture setting. What this means in practice is that you don’t have to worry about that hyper realistic look, also called the Soap Opera Effect, while watching. Otherwise you can simply select Filmmaker mode on the Picture Mode menu to see the movie the way the director intended. 

It seems like while picture quality is really good, the television’s audio doesn’t live up to expectations. It’s not the worst, but the expectation these days is that you’ll also invest in a spiffy soundbar to compliment your television.

The “smart" aspect of the LG is done through the company’s proprietary webOS, in this case version 23. For the most part, webOS works perfectly well, and although you have fewer apps than on a regular Android TV device, all the important ones were there, including Showmax and DStv Live.

Operation is made so much easier through LG’s Magic Remote, which allows you to control the cursor on screen by pointing and selecting, using the remote as a wand. Entering passwords and selecting apps feel like no work at all. As with Android remotes, you can also speak through a microphone on the remote to search via voice. It’s also SIMPLINK-compatible, which means you can control other devices connected to the TV through this remote.

Finally, like most smart TVs, there are loads of connectivity options, including 2x HDMI (supporting 4K 120Hz, eARC, VRR, ALLM, and QMS on two ports), 2x USB2.0, eARC, with support for Bluetooth 5.0. There is not, however, a 3.5mm jack, which I needed after a soundbar crisis led to older speakers being the only alternative.

As we know from previous reviews, LG makes really great televisions, with the 75” QNED 4K UHD no different. It features a beautifully thin (31mm) design and first rate image quality (still, it’s  not OLED), all wrapped up in a smart TV system that’s easy to operate, complete with a great remote as the ribbon on top. Sure, the sound could be better, but that’s the case with most smart TVs these days. Finally, it must be said that 75” really brings that cinematic experience home without being overkill.

As always, there is a cost in doing so, in the case of the LG QNED 4K UHD, just under R30 000.