LG NANO81 – NANO81 - The entry-level model for the 2020 NanoCell Series

Despite its low price, the LG NANO81 has a well-done design and makes a classy impression. It looks very similar to the other 2020 NanoCell TVs and the quality of the build is equally good. We did criticize the simple design of the NANO86 a bit, but for a TV in the price range of the NANO81, it is quite impressive.

Its narrow frame does not distract from its picture. In combination with the shallow depth, it also looks great when mounted on the wall. Unfortunately, LG has not integrated any arrangements for clean cable management in the entire NanoCell range – which is really annoying.

Since the NANO81 uses a 10-bit ADS panel (8-bit + FRC), its picture quality is not really convincing in dark surroundings. This is due to a not very deep black and a low contrast ratio of 1350:1 – including local dimming. The Edge Lit Local Dimming is also not really convincing, as it only consists of 6 zones. So you can see the individual zones with different brightness levels, which is unfortunately a bit annoying. Furthermore, you can see blooming around very bright objects on a black background. Subtitles are a typical example of this issue.
But in return, the ADS panel has a very wide viewing angle and a great reflection behavior. Thus, it can create a quite respectable image in not too bright surroundings. Due to the NanoCell technology, colors are nicely displayed and the color gamut is quite large. The brightness is sufficient for brighter rooms, but for HDRHigh Dynamic Range – image/video with more dynamic range (contrast range) content the NANO81 just does not get bright enough. Highlights can not really be brought into the spotlight, which means that HDR content is only slightly different from SDRStandard Dynamic Range – image/video with a conventional gamma curve (opposite: HDR) – “normal” videos content. In addition, the NanoCell TV is neither equipped with Dolby VisionDynamic HDR-format with a color depth of up to 12 Bits and Mastering of up to 10,000 Nits nor with HDR10+License-free, dynamic HDR-format in competition with Dolby Vision, so that a dynamic HDR optimization is not possible.

The ADS panel of the NANO81 has a refresh rateHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. of 60Hz and a response time of about 6ms. Therefore, its motion handling is rather average. Fast movements lead to slight motion blur, which the TV cannot reduce further because it is not equipped with the Black Frame InsertionProcess that inserts black “blank images” as intermediate images. This makes movements appear finer and clearer. feature. But there is hardly any stutter visible and in 30Hz content it can be removed by the motion interpolationArtificial calculation of more frames than the source material has to offer feature.

The backlight flickers at a frequencyHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. of 240Hz, which is high enough for the human eye to perceive it as continuous illumination.

JudderInconsistent time frame due to the input frequency not mismatching the TV’s frequency (e.g. 24p via 60Hz) can be removed from most sources – but unfortunately not from all.

Gaming can be a lot of fun with the NanoCell TV. It has a very low input lag of 10ms at a 4K resolution with a refresh rateHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. of 60Hz. LG has also equipped it with an Auto Low Latency Mode, which automatically switches the TV into game mode as soon as a switched-on console is detected. In game mode, the input lag is kept as low as possible, because outside of this mode the input lag is much higher with about 100ms. In game mode, the NANO81 feels very responsive, which will please gamers with Xbox One X or Playstation 4 Pro. However, it can not really push the upcoming Next Gen consoles to their limits. It lacks a variable refresh rate for screen tearing free gaming and an HDMI 2.1 interface is also missing – which was not to be expected at this low price.

The 2.0 channel 20W sound system does not really stand out among other TVs in this price range. The speakers produce a passable sound with clear dialogues due to well rounded trebles and mid-ranges – but it lacks bass. Unfortunately, the sound system does not really get loud either, so the TV should rather be placed in a more quiet environment. If you want to make up for this flaw with a soundbar, you should keep in mind when buying that the NANO81 supports neither Dolby AtmosObject-based surround sound format with 3D-Sound from any direction nor DTSMulti-channel-sound-system (Surround Sound) competing with Dolby Digital. An HDMI eARC interface is also not included – which is certainly the case with televisions with a similar, or even lower price level – such as the TU8000. Due to the ARC or the optical interface, only Dolby DigitalMulti-channel-sound-system for up to 5.1 channel Surround Sound is supported to create surround sound.

With webOS 5.0, the NANO81 is equipped with an excellent Smart OS. It can be controlled very intuitively by hand movements with the included Magic Remote, which is undeniably similar to the operation of the Nintendo Wii. However, those who do not like this can also use the conventional control via the remote’s arrow keys. If that also seems too cumbersome, the voice assistants Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant can also be used. To make the data exchange between the TV and Apple devices as easy as possible Apple Airplay 2 is also available.
The number of installable apps is huge and the most popular streaming providers such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+ are pre-installed.
Like the expensive OLEDs, the NANO81 also has LG ThinQ, which allows the TV to display other smart home applications on a dashboard. These can then also be controlled with the Magic Remote, as long as the external applications are compatible.