Samsung vs LG TV: Which TV brand is the best?

Looking for a new TV? We don't blame you: Every year new TVs hit the market with bigger screens, higher quality pictures, and revised processors that just require a spot in your home, but when it comes to LG TVs vs. Samsung, which to choose?

Let's face it, most TVs look the same at first glance. Sure, some will be bigger or thinner than others, and LG and Samsung have been experimenting with new form factors for their high-end sets. Have you ever seen rollable OLEDs from LG? But in the end you buy a rectangle and sometimes it's hard to determine what really differentiates one from the other.

That's why we've designed this guide to compare Samsung and LG TVs so you can know for sure which brand makes the right TV for you.

Description of Samsung vs LG TV

Samsung and LG are two of the main manufacturers of cheap televisions, but with slightly different panel technologies for their high-end TVs.

Both are South Korean manufacturers that sell TVs worldwide with a significant presence in the UK and US unlike Panasonic or Philips who do not have licenses in North America with significant install base and a wide range of TVs launched each year.

It's hard to compare prices, given the number of sets released each year by Samsung and LG that range from 32-inch LEDs and budget 4K TVs to excellent 8K TVs that can set you back thousands of dollars. Whatever size, shape, resolution or budget you're looking for, you'll be covered.

Samsung and LG also compete for highly competitive territory in the smartphone market: both make Android phones, although we don't compare their devices in this guide.

Smart TV: Tizen vs. webOS

Samsung and LG use their own smart TV platform, and each has its own flavor

Since 2014, LG has been running WebOS, a minimalist and streamlined smart TV interface. It uses a horizontal menu bar for commonly used apps, streaming services, and inputs with customizable placement that lets you choose where your favorite apps are on the dashboard. The latest version of webOS 4.5 software also introduces secondary menus that appear when you hover over an app icon.

Samsung's Tizen platform setup doesn't differ significantly (you could say it was influenced by the previous one), although it doesn't have as impressive a search algorithm as LG's ThinQ AI software.

However what about voice assistants? LG's OLED and Super UHD packages include Google Assistant and limited compatibility with Alexa devices. Samsung uses its own Bixby assistant (slightly worse), but only for mid-range or premium packages, and with the ability to use Google Assistant or Alexa through third-party devices.

Dolby Vision vs. HDR 10+

Both offer a slightly different format for high dynamic range (HDR) with LG integrating Dolby Vision into its premium OLED and Super UHD ranges, while Samsung prefers HDR10+ for its premium TVs.

They have formats that use dynamic metadata to match the TV output to the content being displayed. For example, scenes of dark underground caves or brightly lit drawing rooms vary levels of brightness, contrast and image processing.

Dolby Vision is really the most advanced format with a 12-bit color gamut instead of the 10-bit HDR10+, and it's also more prevalent.

It's true that the preferred HDR format is really only a concern due to higher prices, but those spending a lot should seriously think about which services they're likely to want HDR content on.

QLED or OLED?

The current high-end TV market is divided into two panel technologies: OLED and QLED (essentially a quantum dot LCD-LED).

OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, is a type of TV display that can emit its own light rather than being turned on. This made it possible to display extremely thin TV screens and individually control the brightness of individual pixels. OLEDs are known for their brilliant colors, deep black levels, and low light output. We often talk about “burn-in” on OLED displays, but it’s largely anecdotal and you probably should have worked hard to make it an issue.

All OLED panels are manufactured by LG Display. Even if you have a Sony OLED at home, you have LG to thank.

QLED, on the other hand, is a proprietary technology developed by Samsung. QLED uses a quantum dot filter to improve color and contrast and is content with areas of gradation rather than individual pixel control. QLED TVs are much brighter than OLEDs (thousands of nits versus hundreds), but they can struggle to display bright images and dark pictures at the same time. There are OLED enthusiasts who hate the washed-out colors of overly bright TVs, while many devices with a Samsung TV will find that inferior OLED displays are much less powerful.

We've gone into more depth on this debate in our QLED vs OLED guide, but for now, suffice it to say that OLED is generally adequate for high-quality video formats in dark viewing environments, while Samsung's sets are less loyal to true-to-life color, but make up for it with a bright, clear display.

Samsung vs LG TV: which one to choose?

It was a difficult time for LG and Samsung. LG Display had to spend a lot on research and development for its OLED panels and recorded a business disruption in the first quarter of this year (via Reuters), though with the bet that OLED growth will eventually balance that out.

Meanwhile, Samsung expects a sharp drop in profits in 2019 after smartphone sales and TV demand fell short of expectations. Samsung plans to compete with LG’s OLED technology, with its own hybrid QD-OLED (quantum dot OLED), but shaky finances saw its plans delayed a few years ago.

It should be noted that regardless of the financial health of either company, both companies are focusing on their current display technologies and will not suddenly stop supporting any of the new TVs they are currently marketing. You should take your pick of the set you want in your living room.

If you want a bright, dazzling QLED display to light up your home, or a budget option like the NU7100, Samsung is your best bet. If you really want the most impressive picture quality, no matter what the price, nothing beats LG's OLED panels for color and contrast (see: LG's C9 OLED).