Heron Fidelity

Updated February 13, 2017: Game Mode, specs, and availability

OLED's ability to create the 'absence of light' when rendering a black pixel translates into incredible picture contrast. For 2017, the OLED masters at LG Electronics have skillfully engineered Signature-series panels that are brighter and more colorful than anything the company has produced to date.

Design wise
LG is going all flat for its 2017 TVs - only the 2016 C6 series OLED televisions will carry over to provide a curved screen option.

2017 LG SUPER UHD TV Preview

The LG OLED TV 4K lineup includes five series starting with the flagship W7 and its 'Picture on Wall' design that features little more that the OLED panel itself with a thin ribbon connection to a sound bar system that provides AV signaling and power to the display. The W7 is an amazingly thin 2.57mm, and it magnetically attaches to a custom bracket enabling a total depth of less than 4mm as mounted on the wall. The W7 is slightly flexible, but it isn't made for curved installations or to be rolled up without voiding the warranty.

For the new E7 and G7 series OLED TVs, LG laminates the ultra thin panels to an equally thin sheet of durable glass. The G7 retains the folding base stand that doubles as a high-performance soundbar introduced with the 2016 G6 OLED televisions.

For the value/performance OLED enthusiasts, the 'Blade Slim' designs of the B7 (below) and C7 OLED TVs will be popular choices - the C7 series adding a stylish aluminum bezel and matching stand.

Ports and Audio
Dolby Atmos audio graces the LG TV lineup - whether or not you'll be able to output a Dolby Atmos signal to an external AVR remains to be seen. For the W7 and G7 TVs that feature sound bar audio, a Dolby Atmos speaker listening experience should far exceed the weak sounding audio that plagues most flat panel designs.

Picture performance
The 2017 LG OLED TVs claim improved DCI color reproduction from about 97% color space coverage for the 2016 models to 99%. Color space reproduction is often measured using relatively bright test patterns. A TV's ability to reproduce a particular color space across luminance levels (bright to dark) is referred to as color volume, and it will be interesting to see how the new LG OLEDs compare to Samsung's 100% DCI color volume claim with its new QLED TVs.

OLED's main weakness is an inability to match the brightness of the best HDR LCD televisions. For 2017, LG is claiming its OLEDs can achieve up to 1000-nits in minuscule portions of the screen - likely not when displaying a 10% window that is the current standard for HDR performance measurement. 1000-nit performance from an OLED would represent an increase of 25% in peak luminance compared to previous models, and more light equates to more HDR detail.

LG's support of 3D is history - go projection if you want impressive 3D.

LG skips the HDR format mess by supporting all of them.

• Dolby Vision
• HDR10
• HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma)

W7 LG Signature series

• 77-inches (OLED77W7P)
• 65-inches
• Picture On Wall design
• Dolby Atmos speaker technology

G7 LG Signature series

• 77-inches
• 65-inches (OLED65G7P)
• Picture On Glass design
• Foldable sound bar stand

E7 series

• 65-inches (OLED65E7P)
• 55-inches
• Picture On Glass design
• Sound bar stand

C7 series

• Flat panel design
• Aluminum bezel/stand
• 65-inches (OLED65C7P)
• 55-inches

B7 series

• Blade Slim design
• 65-inches (OLED65B7P)
• 55-inches

Game Mode
LG snuck in a firmware update late last year that reduced lag times when gaming in HDR mode. 

This article will be updated as more details become available