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LG OLED B2 Review & Rating

A price-performance winner?
Tobias

tvfindr Editorial

[email protected]

As a studied technology journalist Tobi likes to write regularly about the colorful world of TV sets & Co. Further interests: Music, cars, gaming, soccer

LG OLED B2 - A price announcement

When you look at the LG OLED B2 for the first time, you will not see much that is new in terms of looks. A slightly modified design on the back and the more conspicuous infrared sensor on the bottom are almost everything that distinguishes the 2022 model from its predecessor.

Only under the hood do the real changes become apparent. One of the biggest is undoubtedly the modified control of the panel, which now provides up to 700 nits of peak brightness. Unfortunately, LG does not give the mid-range TV a more advanced Evo panel, but it almost closes the gap to the C1 with this adaptation. However, LG still wanted to keep a certain respect distance.

The LG OLED B2 is also a very good TV in many other aspects, and you can use its extensive features for numerous purposes, such as sports, gaming or movies. Especially in dark rooms, the picture comes into its own excellently. Thanks to OLED technology, the picture quality remains at the usual constant level, even if you take a rather slanted position to the screen. If you compare the range of features with the price, the B2 rightly deserves the title of price-performance winner in our eyes.

Pro
  • Perfect black
  • Great contrast
  • Motion display
  • Viewing angle stability
  • 2x HDMI 2.1
  • Input Lag
  • Dolby Vision IQ
  • Dolby Atmos
  • Viele Smart Features
Contra
  • Automatic Brightness Limiter
  • Speaker system stereo only
  • Low height of the stand
  • No DTS
Reflections Icon
Reflections
76%
OLED65B29LA 65"
Viewing Angle Icon
Viewing Angle
91%
OLED65B29LA 65"
SDR Image Quality Icon
SDR Image Quality
95%
OLED65B29LA 65"
HDR Image Quality Icon
HDR Image Quality
80%
OLED65B29LA 65"
Movies & Series Icon
Movies & Series
87%
OLED65B29LA 65"
Gaming Icon
Gaming
99%
OLED65B29LA 65"
Sports Icon
Sports
80%
OLED65B29LA 65"
Equipment Icon
Equipment
84%
OLED65B29LA 65"
Reflections
76%
Viewing Angle
91%
SDR Image Quality
95%
HDR Image Quality
80%
Movies & Series
87%
Gaming
99%
Sports
80%
Equipment
84%
Rating v3.0

Prices and Deals of LG OLED B2 *

OLED B2 Series Differences
from the main variant OLED B29
55"65"77"
OLED B23
  • WiSA 5.1
  • Single Tuner
OLED55B23LA
OLED65B23LA
OLED77B23LA
OLED B29
Variant tested here
Main variant
OLED55B29LA
976.99 €*
OLED65B29LA
1,196.95 €*
OLED77B29LA
1,696.95 €*

Your best alternative options to the LG OLED B2

With the Sony A80K, you not only get a better sound system, but also a great picture optimization for your movie fun at home. However, you will have to do without Dolby Vision IQ. The Samsung QN85B offers more brightness and better reflection resistance including QLED technology.

However, this model cannot keep up with the contrast and viewing angle of the LG OLED B2. If a refresh rate of 60 hertz is enough for you, but you still don’t want to do without a high-contrast OLED TV, the LG OLED A2 could be an additional option for you.

Sony A80K
4K / UHD
120 Hz
2x HDMI 2.1
Samsung QN85B
4K / UHD
120 Hz
4x HDMI 2.1
LG OLED A29
4K / UHD
60 Hz
No HDMI 2.1

LG OLED B2: Hardly any external changes

When our 65-inch test device, the B29LA variant to be exact, was first assembled in our test lab, the first thing that caught our eye was that there wasn’t much that caught our eye at first. In fact, the LG OLED B2 and the LG OLED B1 are amazingly similar. The frame and the casing’s dimensions only differ marginally from each other and add one millimeter to the width and depth.

  • Flat design
  • Narrow side bezel
  • Clean workmanship
  • Little plastic
  • Stand height

The design of the stand was borrowed from the predecessor model.Β  The styling and the choice of colors also match. Only when looking at the back does one notice that the lower casing area including the port positions has visibly changed or been reduced in size.

However, a closer look at the B2 from the front reveals a comparatively tiny feature – the infrared sensor in the center. You will also find this on the B1, but the sensor is less conspicuous there.

LG OLED B2: Little space for your soundbar

Unfortunately, the few design changes also mean that nothing has changed in the height to the bottom edge of the TV. If you use a soundbar placed directly in front of your TV – which will be the case for some of you – you could cover a small part of the bottom of the screen with it due to the height. Unpleasant! However, this is more of a deduction in the B grade, which does not make much of a difference, but is still worth mentioning.

Although the rear part of the case is now slimmer, you can’t mount the TV on your wall without gaps. For that, the B2 would have to have the consistently flat gallery design of LG’s OLED evo G2 – a dream of the future. By the way, the TV is mounted via the standardized VESA 300 x 200 standard. All in all, the manufacturing quality is on LG’s familiar good level.

LG OLED B2 Stand Closeup
Unfortunately, the stand turns out a bit too low this year as well.

The LG OLED B2 is brighter even without the Evo panel

In contrast to the models from the G and C series, the LG OLED B2 has not changed quite as much in terms of panel and picture quality. The mid-range OLED gains brightness performance by LG adjusting the screen’s control.

With the help of this, the peak luminance was adjusted and is now almost on the level of the LG OLED C1 from 2021. Expressed in bare numbers, this is an increase in luminance of about 100 nits for the OLED TV from the 2022 lineup.

  • Perfect black
  • Great contrast
  • Viewing angle stability
  • Display of flat colors
  • Dolby Vision IQ
  • Automatic Brightness Limiter
  • No Evo-Panel

A brighter screen is generally advantageous, but you will hardly notice the difference in everyday use. Compared with LED-LCD TVs, we can therefore only conditionally recommend the B2 for particularly bright rooms. However, this is also due to the panel’s high sensitivity to reflections, which can sometimes spoil the viewing pleasure. Particularly bright lights that hit the display undiminished have a disturbing effect.

Therefore, the B2 is particularly suitable for darker and dimmable rooms. Here, the OLED can show its full strength in the form of a great contrast paired with a perfect black. In contrast to models with a permanent backlight, the pixels typically simply turn off completely.

LG OLED B2 Tile Image
Clean lines and great contrast on our tile image.

Scores with good HDR quality

Although the HDR experience does not reach decisive best rates, it still invites to full-length TV entertainment. The wide viewing angle, which is typical for this panel technology, allows this even in larger groups without significant quality losses.

In addition to the company’s own HDR10 Pro feature, Dolby Vision IQ and Cinema HDR are available for the OLED to show highlights to their best advantage. The color space is rounded off by HLG. The B2 performs similarly well when displaying color areas that fill the screen.

The mid-range TV manages this cleanly and without dark corners. The Alpha 7 processing unit from the 5th processor generation that LG installs in its flat-screen TVs ensures sufficient performance and possible optimizations.

LG OLED B2 reflection test
Extreme example of reflection behavior in switched-off state.

In addition to the calculation of intermediate images and sound playback, automatic brightness adjustments can also be made. However, a small drawback is the relatively hard-tuned brightness limiter, also known as Automatic Brightness Limiter.

Primarily, this protection mechanism is supposed to prevent permanent damage to the self-luminous pixels due to overheating. In return, the feature reduces the brightness noticeably, especially in large bright scenes.

LG OLED B2 Grey Uniformity
Color areas are displayed cleanly throughout.

Clear display on the LG OLED B2

The B2 has good prerequisites in terms of interference-free picture reproduction. Like its predecessor, this model also has a responsive 120 Hertz panel that manages with just 2 milliseconds of switching time. This means that feedback is almost instantaneous and ensures that blurry pictures are a rarity.

Fast movements can be captured accurately. This makes for a great overall impression in movies, series and sporting events and consequently puts a stop to so-called judder.

  • 120 Hertz Panel
  • Alpha 7 Gen 5 AI processor
  • Response Time: ~ 0.2 ms
  • Clear display
  • No judder
  • Stutter
  • Soap Opera Effect

However, a fast response time of the display also has disadvantages. Experience has shown that the picture can jerk especially in slow scenes.

You will often stumble over the Soap Opera effect when the interpolation is enabled. This is not noticed directly by everyone, but it can be perceived as an annoying factor while watching over time.

The full pipe of gaming features in the LG OLED B2

Since LG generally puts a lot of emphasis on gaming, we expected the B2 to be equipped accordingly. To be more precise, the mid-range OLED hardly has to make any concessions compared to its big brother.

The South Korean manufacturer only spares two HDMI 2.1 ports. Thus, the LG OLED B2 only has half as many sockets of the current HDMI standard at its disposal. In return, you will find a lot of other features on the feature list.

  • 4K with 120 hertz
  • Input Lag ~ 13 ms
  • AMD FresSync
  • Game Optimizer with VRR & ALLM
  • Cloud Gaming
  • Dolby Vision Gaming
  • Only 2x Hdmi 2.1 @ 48 Gbit/s

AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility effectively counteract ugly staircase effects on the panel. The extremely short input lag of 6 milliseconds is almost on the performance level of the C2 and transfers commands on your controller to the screen within the shortest time.

Xbox Series X and S owners can also generally make use of 4K at 120 frames per second and activate Dolby Vision gaming in parallel. You can also use the integrated Cloud Gaming feature to play numerous games directly via streaming on the LG OLED B2’s screen.

LG OLED B2 Stray
Sometimes just a cat is enough to have great adventures.

You will then need a compatible Bluetooth controller, which you simply connect to the TV, and an active subscription to Google Stadia or GeForce Now. To be able to stream games in 4K resolution and HDR, your bandwidth should be at least 35 Mbit per second.

Less sound impact sits in the LG OLED B2

Compared to the predecessor, LG was not as “generous” with the B2 in terms of playback performance. The 2.2 sound system with subwoofer from the B1 gave way to a comparatively simple stereo setup and was thus cut again in the lower frequency range.

The processor performs a virtual adaptation to 5.1.2 via AI Sound Pro, but this cannot be compared with a soundbar or even a full-fledged home theater system.

  • Clean sound reproduction
  • HDMI eARC
  • Dolby Atmos
  • 2.0 sound system with 20 watts
  • Hardly any bass
  • No DTS:X support

Even though the voice reproduction is clean, we cannot really recommend the B2 for movies, series or music in terms of sound performance. Therefore, you should use an external solution for a much better sound impression up to native Dolby Atmos via eARC.

If you don’t have any ideas yet or want to know what you have to pay attention to when buying, we recommend using our soundbarfindr buying guide.

Note: If you want to connect speakers wirelessly to the TV via the WiSA standard, you should steer clear of the B23 model, since LG does not offer this feature in this sales variant.

LG OLED B2 Playing music
Weaknesses are especially evident in the lower frequency range.

LG OLED B2 ohne Hands Free Voice Control

Like all models from the 2022 series, the B2 comes with a webOS 22 interface. However, the Hands Free Voice Control is reserved for LG’s top TV segment. Nevertheless, you can navigate through the menus in a pleasantly familiar manner and use your Magic Remote to activate one of several voice assistants. You can choose between Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s voice assistant or LG’s internal solution called ThinQ AI.

  • Individual user profiles
  • Extensive range of apps
  • Several voice assistants
  • Usual good navigation
  • Apple Airplay 2 & Homekit
  • Hands Free Voice Control missing

For the first time, you can also create your own profiles and individualize them if you like. The comprehensive range of apps and streaming services offers a wide range of options that you can browse through.

If you want to record something, you can simply access the program via USB recording. Did you miss something? No problem! Rewind and watch again is easy via Timeshift.

LG OLED B2 Smart TV Features
The B2 is a full-fledged smart TV with many features.

Features like AirPlay 2 for transferring your screen content from the iPhone or HomeKit for controlling SmartHome devices are also available. The situation is a bit different for the B23 variant.

LG only installs a single tuner in this model. It is therefore not possible to record a program while watching another one on this model.

LG OLED B2 Screencast
The mid-range TV also masters so-called screencast.

HDR calibration

Poor values before calibration

The precision of our test device leaves a lot to be desired ex-factory. If we look at our measurements on the EOTF curve, we see that brightness levels are almost consistently reproduced too intensively on the screen.

Nominally, the deviation is an average error of a comparatively high 3.2 points. Colors are also too bright overall and thus not displayed correctly. The B2 has quite a bit of catching up to do here.

LG OLED B2 before brightness calibration
Measurement of brightness at B2 before calibration.

Off the norm is also the color fidelity. Apart from an overbright output, there is a deviation especially in red and green. This in turn has an impact on yellow and cyan tones.

A maximum error of 3.6 points makes it clear that a recalibration is also sensible with a view to the color values. This is also confirmed by the fluctuations in the RGB balance.

LG OLED B2 before calibration of color accuracy
Measurement of color accuracy at B2 before calibration.

The expected improvement after calibration

Following our adjustment, a lot has happened and the process has ensured that the B2 can now exploit its potential much better. You can already see that in the more homogeneous ETOF curve.

Our test device could improve by a whole 2.5 error points in the maximum range. The aforementioned brightness gradations are now displayed darker over the entire luminance and thus much more precisely.

LG OLED B2 after brightness calibration
Measurement of brightness at B2 after calibration.

The same applies to the color space. We were able to reduce the error tolerance from a maximum of 3.6 points by 50% to 1.8 points. This means that the color values are now almost at the specified target values and are thus reproduced more evenly by the B2.

LG OLED B2 after calibration of color accuracy
Measurement of color accuracy at B2 after calibration.

LG OLED B2 Datasheet

OLED55B29LA technical specifications

Screen diagonal55 Inch
Dimensions without stand (WxHxD)1228 x 708 x 47 mm
Weight without stand18,9 kg
Dimensions with stand (WxHxD)1228 x 744 x 246 mm
Weight with stand18,9 kg
Footprint (WxD)559 x 246 mm
VESA Norm300 x 200 mm
Panel typeOLED Panel
Panel ManufacturerLG Display
Colour depth10 Bit
FRC
Resolution4K
Contrast ratioinfinitely :1
Color space coverage74 %
REC 202065 %
Average brightness630 Nits
Maximum brightness720 Nits
BacklightingOLED
Local dimmingOLED
Dimming ZonesN/A
Curved
Improved viewing angle
Response Time< 1 ms
Input Lag< 12 ms
Frequency120 Hz
VRR
HDR
HDR10
HLG
HDR10+N/A
Dolby Vision
Energy consumption standby (W)0,5 W
Energy consumption SDR84 W
Energy efficiency clas SDRG
Energy consumption HDR151 W
Energy efficiency clas HDRG
Operating systemwebOS 22
Bluetooth
WLAN
USB recording PVR
Timeshift
Picture-in-pictureN/A
TunerAnalog (NTSC/PAL/SECAM) DVB-T DVB-T2 DVB-C DVB-S DVB-S2
Twin Tuner
Audio Channels2.0
Power (W)20 W
Dolby Digital
DTS
Dolby Atmos
Integrated soundbar
HDMI 2.02
HDMI 2.12
HDMI ARC
USB 2.02
USB 3.0
Ethernet RJ451
3.5mm jack
Digital optical1
Satellite2
Antenna1
Ci+ 1.41
All information without guarantee

OLED65B29LA technical specifications

Screen diagonal65 Inch
Dimensions without stand (WxHxD)1449 x 832 x 47 mm
Weight without stand24 kg
Dimensions with stand (WxHxD)1449 x 869 x 246 mm
Weight with stand25 kg
Footprint (WxD)559 x 246 mm
VESA Norm300 x 200 mm
Panel typeOLED Panel
Panel ManufacturerLG Display
Colour depth10 Bit
FRC
Resolution4K
Contrast ratioinfinitely :1
Color space coverage74 %
REC 202065 %
Average brightness630 Nits
Maximum brightness720 Nits
BacklightingOLED
Local dimmingOLED
Dimming ZonesN/A
Curved
Improved viewing angle
Response Time< 1 ms
Input Lag< 12 ms
Frequency120 Hz
VRR
HDR
HDR10
HLG
HDR10+N/A
Dolby Vision
Energy consumption standby (W)0,5 W
Energy consumption SDR105 W
Energy efficiency clas SDRG
Energy consumption HDR202 W
Energy efficiency clas HDRG
Operating systemwebOS 22
Bluetooth
WLAN
USB recording PVR
Timeshift
Picture-in-pictureN/A
TunerAnalog (NTSC/PAL/SECAM) DVB-T DVB-T2 DVB-C DVB-S DVB-S2
Twin Tuner
Audio Channels2.0
Power (W)20 W
Dolby Digital
DTS
Dolby Atmos
Integrated soundbar
HDMI 2.02
HDMI 2.12
HDMI ARC
USB 2.02
USB 3.0
Ethernet RJ451
3.5mm jack
Digital optical1
Satellite2
Antenna1
Ci+ 1.41
All information without guarantee

OLED77B29LA technical specifications

Screen diagonal77 Inch
Dimensions without stand (WxHxD)1723 x 992 x 55,3 mm
Weight without stand18,9 kg
Dimensions with stand (WxHxD)1723 x 1043 x 270 mm
Weight with stand30 kg
Footprint (WxD)749 x 270 mm
VESA Norm400 x 200 mm
Panel typeOLED Panel
Panel ManufacturerLG Display
Colour depth10 Bit
FRC
Resolution4K
Contrast ratioinfinitely :1
Color space coverage74 %
REC 202065 %
Average brightness630 Nits
Maximum brightness720 Nits
BacklightingOLED
Local dimmingOLED
Dimming ZonesN/A
Curved
Improved viewing angle
Response Time< 1 ms
Input Lag< 12 ms
Frequency120 Hz
VRR
HDR
HDR10
HLG
HDR10+N/A
Dolby Vision
Energy consumption standby (W)0,5 W
Energy consumption SDR131 W
Energy efficiency clas SDRF
Energy consumption HDR269 W
Energy efficiency clas HDRG
Operating systemwebOS 22
Bluetooth
WLAN
USB recording PVR
Timeshift
Picture-in-pictureN/A
TunerAnalog (NTSC/PAL/SECAM) DVB-T DVB-T2 DVB-C DVB-S DVB-S2
Twin Tuner
Audio Channels2.0
Power (W)20 W
Dolby Digital
DTS
Dolby Atmos
Integrated soundbar
HDMI 2.02
HDMI 2.12
HDMI ARC
USB 2.02
USB 3.0
Ethernet RJ451
3.5mm jack
Digital optical1
Satellite2
Antenna1
Ci+ 1.41
All information without guarantee

Frequently asked questions about the LG OLED B2

The two main advantages of TVs with OLED technology are the perfect black, as the self-illuminating pixels simply turn off, and wide viewing angles.

Unlike models like the LG OLED evo G2 or the LG OLED evo C2, the B2 does not have an Evo panel.

Compared to its predecessor, LG’s OLED B2 has a sharper brightness control, but still does not quite match LG’s OLED C1 on paper. In reality, however, this difference is not noticeable.

This feature is reserved for the more expensive LG OLED evo G2 and LG OLED evo C2 models and is thus not part of the equipment.

The OLED65B29LA has 2 HDMI 2.1 inputs and 2 HDMI 2.0 inputs, an HDMI eARC, 2 USB 2.0 ports, a digital optical TOSLINK output and a Twin Tuner. and just a Single Tuner.

The LG OLED B2 is dimensioned without stand as follows (WxHxD):

  • 55 Inch: 1228 x 708 x 47 mm
  • 65 Inch: 1449 x 832 x 47 mm
  • 77 Inch: 1723 x 992 x 55,3 mm

The LG OLED B2 is compatible with the following wall mounts:

  • 55 Inch: 300 x 200 mm
    Flat Pivotable
  • 65 Inch: 300 x 200 mm
    Flat Pivotable
  • 77 Inch: 400 x 200 mm
    Flat Pivotable
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