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LG OLED TVs Rival Big-Screen Gaming Monitors With New G-Sync Compatibility
LG today announced that Nvidia certified several of its OLED TVs as G-Sync Compatible. That means anyone looking for a massive gaming display--the lineup's sizes measure between 55 and 77 inches diagonally--now has new reason to consider one of LG's flagship TV sets.
Note that LG said the TVs are G-Sync Compatible; they don't natively support G-Sync but have been tested and approved to properly run G-Sync. LG said the TVs offer up to 120 Hz refresh rates, but input lag will vary based on resolution and refresh rate, so users will have to decide what they want to prioritize. The company said there's 6ms of input lag with 1440p content at 120 Hz and 13ms of input lag with 4K content at 60 Hz. The devices also support HDR10, Dolby Vision, HDMI 2.1 and numerous "cinematic audio formats" for more immersive sound.
Those features mean LG's TVs could've benefited from G-Sync Ultimate, which was made specifically to support HDR content and high-resolution monitors, but the company would've had to manufacture the devices with G-Sync in mind and with Nvidia's proprietary processor for that to happen. Making the TVs G-Sync Compatible is a fair compromise that makes the products better-suited to PC gaming for less cost.
LG said that all size options of this year's E9 (available in 55 and 65-inch versions) and C9 (available in 55, 65 and 77-inch versions) model OLED TVs will receive G-Sync Compatible support via a firmware update in "the weeks to follow."
Gaming Monitors vs. Gaming TVs
Today's news is a G-Sync milestone, as there are currently no other G-Sync TVs on the market, despite there being TVs with AMD FreeSync. There are some G-Sync-equipped BFGD (big format gaming displays) with enough screen real estate and impressive specs to rival a TV, such as the 65-inch HP Omen X 65 Emperium, but they lack channel tuners and therefore can't be classified as TVs.
The Dell AW5520QF is coming out this month and will also reinvigorate the monitor-TV rivalry by being the first OLED gaming monitor, while offering a 55-inch display worthy of the living room. The 4K gaming monitor uses FreeSync instead of G-Sync (notably, when we tested the differences between FreeSync and G-Sync, performance was comparable).
But with LG's own OLED displays adding G-Sync Compatibly to gaming-ready specs, the war between gaming monitors and gaming TVs doesn't seem ready to cease yet.
