Following up on an announcement made in September, LG this morning sent me a note saying the promised G-Sync firmware updates for certain 2019 model OLED TVs are set to arrive "this week."
LG worked with Nvidia to make this happen, through the latter's G-Sync Compatible program. None of the TV models affected have actual G-Sync hardware modules inside them, but they did each pass Nvidia's stringent testing to be certified as G-Sync Compatible, meaning they can run in G-Sync mode (and are enabled as such automatically in Nvidia's GeForce drivers).
"As the first TVs to offer Nvidia G-Sync Compatible support in the industry, LG is once again demonstrating its commitment to delivering the most advanced gaming experience," said Sam Kim, senior vice president of the TV product planning division of LG’s Home Entertainment Company. "Our partnership with Nvidia, the world’s premiere gaming hardware brand, are helping our 2019 OLED TVs set a new standard in gaming performance."
The upgrade is being made available to certain LG 2019 OLED TV C and E models ranging in size from 55 inches to 77 inches. Specifically, here are the lucky TVs:
- LG 65E9
- LG 55E9
- LG 77C9
- LG 65C9
- LG 55C9
LG says its 65-inch and 55-inch B9 models will also be getting a G-Sync firmware update. As to when this will all happen, I reached out to LG and asked if "this week" meant the firmware upgrades would start arriving today or possibly this weekend (since we're at the tail end of this week). I was told they would in fact start arriving today.
They will show up first to customers in parts of North America, followed by markets in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere before the end of the year.
Generally speaking, LG's OLED TVs look great for gaming (and other content), and have unrivalled black levels. If you can find a Black Friday TV deal on an OLED or an LG promo code, we say go for it. The caveat is that OLED panels are susceptible to burn-in. To what extent depends in large part on the type of content. Even if an OLED panel does suffer burned in images, it may not be noticeable when viewing normal content. Still, it's something to be aware of, especially if you're using one as a monitor.
