Review: LG B5 OLED TV

The LG B5 is a lovely TV that you probably shouldn’t buy—at least not yet. As usual, the B-series is among the cheapest ways to get an LG OLED and its perfect black levels, rich contrast, and naturalistic colors that enhance everything you watch. Also as usual, it’s the step-up C-series that generally offers the best overall value for your OLED dollars.

That includes last year’s C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) on sale, and even the upgraded C5 if you time it right. In fact, as I write this review, you can grab a 65-inch C5 for just $100 more than the B5, which grants you LG’s “evo” panel tech for better brightness and colors, a more stylish and stout design, and other performance benefits. Moreover, last year’s B4 and C4 are so close in pricing at present, it makes more sense for most folks to move up to the mid-ranger.

None of that takes away from the B5’s excellent performance. It offers strikingly accurate colors, impressive contrast and shadow detail for viewing in multiple environments, and gaming features that best some flagship TVs. In short, it’s a good OLED TV, and while that's not all you need to know, it’s a great starting point if you value performance. Once the B5’s price really sinks, it will once again be the most affordable way to land some of the best TV tech you can buy.

(Don’t) Bend It Like Beckham

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The B5’s design feels like a blast from OLED past. Most modern OLEDs are thicker than the pencil-thin panels of a few years ago, likely due to a mix of new panel tech to boost brightness and a desire for increased durability. The B5 is old-school, stretching just a hair or two thicker than the four-year-old LG C1 in my bedroom. As such, I wasn’t shocked to see my well-used 65-inch review model slightly bent at the base on one side.

To my relief, the picture was fine—a benefit of OLED’s emissive design—but it’s a reminder to be both gentle and thorough when unboxing. The B5’s A-frame feet make setup easier than the pedestal stands common in most step-up models, but they look chintzier. If you're wall mounting, the low-slung VESA holes at the bottom panel and two back-facing HDMI ports may require you to adjust (or rethink) your mount.

Software setup is easy with either your phone or the remote. LG’s webOS isn't as simple as Roku or as feature-packed as Google TV, but it’s easy enough to find content, with built-in voice search via Amazon Alexa. Video and app loading were smooth, if not as immediate as the flagship G5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). My main complaint is the lack of a global Continue Watching feature, but at least the new magic remote’s quick keys are mostly useful.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Speaking of the remote, I like the slimmer design, and it continues to offer LG’s Wii-style cursor, but the lack of a dedicated input key is confusing until you realize the encircled Home Hub key (set above the regular one) calls up inputs with the smart hub. The lack of a mute key is worse. Muting is engaged by holding volume down, which kind of works with the zippy G5, but with the slower B5 it often just lowers volume. Seriously, LG, bring back the damn mute.

My favorite part of the setup was getting the picture locked in, because the B5 looks pretty fantastic in any of LG’s film-forward picture modes by default. I prefer Filmmaker for both SDR and HDR10 content because it looks accurate and most of the extra nonsense is turned off (though there is a separate light sensor that dims the screen hidden in the Eco Mode settings). If you want a brighter picture, you can goose up the backlight in SDR, turn on Dynamic Tone Mapping in HDR, or pick one of the brighter film modes like Cinema, ISF Bright, or Standard.

For Dolby Vision, I used Cinema Home, which looks killer after turning off a few settings like noise reduction and motion smoothing. Filmmaker also looks great, though it can be too dim with super-dark content for daytime viewing.

Gaming Goods

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The B5 offers good features for its class, from Dolby Vision HDR to streaming via AirPlay and Google Cast, but its gaming credentials are the most notable. You’ll get four (not two) HDMI 2.1 inputs, with support for VRR (variable refresh rate) at up to 120 Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync, and ALLM (auto low latency mode). You’ll get higher refresh rates for PC gaming with the C5 (144 Hz) and G5 (165 Hz), but game consoles top out at 120 Hz.

Game response is quick, and the TV looks stellar by default. Roaming around Ghost of Tsushima was a treat, from windswept Japanese maples to glittering pools bathed in sunlight.

Subtly Sweet

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The worst thing you could say about the B5’s picture is it’s not particularly bright, especially considering the state of TV tech, where QLED TVs (LED TVs with quantum dots) like the Hisense U8QG (7/10, WIRED Recommends) get multiple times brighter. The B5 is more in line with cheaper QLEDs like TCL’s baseline QM6K QLED (8/10, WIRED Recommends). Brightness aside, the QM6K is one of the best TVs in its class, thanks in large part to deep black levels for impressive contrast—and when it comes to picture quality, contrast is king.

That’s all the more evident in the B5, which starts from perfect black thanks to OLED’s emissive ability to pinpoint light at the pixel level. That means its contrast looks more dynamic than the QM6K and even some brighter LED models. No, it’s not going to blast you out of the water or make you squint to see menus, but there’s enough punch to showcase HDR content, especially in brighter picture modes. That combines with shadow detail that bests even high-end OLEDs from a year or two back, making it easy to view even dark content in moderately bright rooms.

Any other reservations I might have had about the B5’s premium status were squashed from the first set of test patterns, where the TV revealed near-perfect screen uniformity. In regular viewing, that’s most noticeable in bright, panning skylines in films or games, where you’ll see no sign of the columns or smudges common in most LED TVs at this price and even above it.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

There’s a sumptuous touch to images of all sorts, and colors are delineated with depth and accuracy, making everything from skin tones to sports jackets stand out. You can lose yourself in subtle gradients, especially when dialing up dazzling imagery like the sparkling ocean scenes in Netflix’s Our Planet. A haunting view of California golden kelp isn’t just gold, but a transfixing mix of gold, brown, orange, and mustard.

The B5’s Gen 2 A8 picture processor provides sparkling 4K images and solid HD upscaling. It’s not quite on par with top-tier models, especially flagships like the G5 or Sony’s near-holographic Bravia 8 II OLED (9/10, WIRED Recommends), but it’s better than similarly priced models from brands like Hisense and TCL.

Then there are things that QLED TVs simply can’t do, like offering zero light bleed or excellent off-axis performance. I was actually surprised to find some discoloration when moving slightly off-axis with grayscale test patterns, but it was barely visible in regular viewing, ensuring everyone in the room gets a great experience.

I could raise a few other complaints, like the B5’s so-so reflection handling (especially compared to flagship models) and some stuttering in motion panning, likely due in part to the TV’s fast input response for gaming. Mostly, though, I just enjoyed the show because, well, it’s an OLED.

If I went shopping with you today, I’d push you toward the C5, or the C4 while it lasts, as both are on steep discounts as I type this. Once the B5’s price falls closer to a grand for the 65-incher, it’s a sweet deal, and the best budget OLED on the market.