I had been itching to get a new TV since this past summer and had spent an ungodly amount of time researching what to get. I am a big gamer, but also really watch a ton of TV and movies, so the black levels were super important to me. My last TV was a 55" Samsung and it worked well for games, but it was approaching four years old and back then there wasn't much for testing lag, although I believe I found a site listing it as 48ms or something like that. Anyway, I never noticed any lag personally, although the only FPS I play regularly has been Destiny - and I played a LOT of Destiny over the past year with no problems.
Fast forward to October and I finally had my 2 TVs narrowed down to the Samsung JS9000 55" and the LG OLED EF9500. At the time, the Samsung was $500 cheaper ($2499 vs $3000), but the LG had a steeper discount (from $4999). Still, I was super apprehensive about the OLED because of the input lag and was worried that I'd notice it. So, I pulled the trigger and got the JS9000 as the JS9500 was out of my price range.
After setting up the JS9000 I was pretty pleased. The gaming side of things worked fantastic and the colors seemed a richer, with much better black levels than my previous Samsung TV. Still, my old TV looked pretty good, and this one, while better, didn't really make me feel like it was a huge upgrade. My enjoyment lasted about 2 days, then I booted up my Wii U. I pressed the Home button and went to the eShop and as the screen went to complete white, I noticed on the left and right sides of the screen there were these 2 pinkish bars from top to bottom. They were very noticeable and once I saw them, I couldn't unsee them - even when playing other games that didn't have pure white backgrounds.
I regrettably called Best Buy to initiate a return. They were super nice and agreed to do an exchange. The LG was still on sale, and I decided to upgrade for $500 more and give it a try. I was very nervous, but hopeful that it would work for me in gaming, and that it wouldn't have any noticeable defects. I had already went through a bad panel with the Samsung.
Best Buy brought the LG this past Tuesday and I hooked it up and immediately was floored. I couldn't believe how amazing the picture looked. The pure blacks are simply beautiful. Even without tweaking a single setting I was getting very accurate skin tones and colors. I had heard that the passive 3D was good, so I threw in Avatar Blu-Ray 3D and put on the glasses. WOW. The 3D effects were the best I have ever seen. So clear, so vibrant, and so awesome. I was in love. But, the big test was playing games. I turned on the Wii U and checked the white screen. Phew, looked perfectly white, no discoloration anywhere. Then I put in Yoshi's Woolly World, and the colors just popped. So nice looking. I adjusted the Game Mode's colors a little bit to make me happy. I played a whole level and didn't detect any lag - at least that I could perceive. I was able to easily navigate the level and everything seemed spot-on.
I then threw in Destiny for the ultimate test. I figured this would make or break the TV for me. I went down to the Cosmodrome to explore a bit and it controlled fantastic. I was popping head shots left and right and jumping around with ease. I still didn't detect anything as being off. Now, this could be due to the fact that I had gamed on a TV for the past 4 years that probably wasn't the best in the lag department, so maybe this LG TV is similar and I'm used to it. But I have had a few others play on the screen and they haven't noticed a problem either.
I'm so relieved! The TV is spectacular and every single time I turn it on and begin watching TV or playing a game I'm taken aback by the beautiful picture. I'm over the moon with it and couldn't be happier. I messed around with some 4K YouTube stuff and it looked fantastic as well.
I completely understand the hesitation people have in getting one of these TVs as I obsessed over this decision for months. I got lost in the AVS Forums and here reading everything I could on TV sets - and I'm just happy I finally own one that has exceeded my expectations. The LG really feels like a step up, and pretty much everyone I've shown it to is impressed. If you're on the fence and can afford one, I highly suggest trying it out. Get one from Best Buy and keep the box and stuff incase you want to exchange it for something else.