LG 43UJ6517 vs 49UJ7507 Ultra HD TV comparison review

I had a chance to test two new LG TVs from 2017 LED LCD range – 43-inch UJ6517 and 49-inch 49UJ7507. Both TVs are based on LG Displays UHD IPS panel with LED backlight, have support for HDR and run latest webOS 3.5 platform. Few weeks long test has helped me to check how well do they perform in various aspects, but primarily in terms of picture quality. Read on to find out more.

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Specifications

UJ65 series is available in sizes 43″, 49″, 55″ and 60″.

UJ75 series is available in sizes 43″, 49″, 55″, 60″ and 65″.

LG 2017 TV lineup >>

Detailed specifications:

• 43UJ6517 – Display Specifications >>
• 49UJ7507 – Display Specifications >>

Unboxing and setup

Design and handling

Both TVs share a simple and elegant design with a combination of silver and black elements. While UJ75 uses so-called “crescent” stand and has silver bezel made of metal, UJ65 has a “2-pole” plastic stand with bezel and backside made of metal. The bezel on UJ65 has rounded edges and looks simpler, while UJ75 combines silver front bezel and black plastic outer frame to make the design just a bit more interesting. The bezel is 10 mm wide on UJ75 and 15 mm on UJ65.

Build quality itself is good for the price category, except for the stand on the UJ65 which leaves a lot to be desired. It does not hold the screen as firmly as one would expect and screen wobbles easily if you push it just a little.

A look from the side reveals a thinner overall depth of the UJ75 – 60 mm compared to 85 mm on the UJ65. Both TVs can be wall-mounted – hole pitch 200×200 mm on UJ65 and 300×300 mm on UJ75.

Both TVs have 4 HDMI inputs that support UHD/HDR, 2 USBs, Ethernet, Wi-Fi (802.11ac), RF and satellite inputs, Bluetooth, Toslink, CI and component A/V inputs. The only additional output on UJ75 is the 3.5 mm headphone jack through which you can connect headphones or, for example, PC speakers to improve sound quality.

Both have down-firing stereo speakers (20 W).

Winner: LG 49UJ7507

Remote control

49UJ7507 arrives with more advanced “Magic remote control” (AN-MR650A) compared to the standard one supplied with 43UJ6517. Both remotes share same layouts as was the case in previous years, however, a closer look reveals small, yet noteworthy changes. Both remotes now offer a dedicated “Netflix” and “Amazon video” buttons, which will load the corresponding app even if the TV is on standby.

Another new thing is a multifunctional numerical keyboard. Since fewer and fewer users actually use these buttons except for watching live TV, LG made them capable of “quick access” functionality. What that means is that you can assign a particular input or app to any of 9 buttons and be able to launch it without opening home menu or navigating different menus. Button 0 opens Quick Access menu where you can easily manipulate with the position of certain app or input for each button.

Panasonic introduced similar “My App” button on its remotes this year as I saw on 65EZ1000E OLED TV, but only one button and on the poorly selected position on the remote (on its very bottom). LG’s approach is much better and more versatile.

Magic remote works like a charm with webOS. It has a very accurate pointer so you can without any effort select the option you want, change settings, etc. There is also a scroll wheel, a built-in microphone and Live Zoom option, making Magic remote still one of the finest on the market and a clear winner compared to the standard remote on UJ65 series.

Winner: LG 49UJ7507

Menus and Smart TV

Both TVs come with LG’s latest webOS in version 3.5. The look and feel of the platform did not change compared to 2016 webOS 3.0, it still is very easy to use and customize. The article on FlatPanelsHD mentions a few upgrades compared to the previous version, so here is the list below:

1. More powerful hardware new webOS is 40%  faster – from my experience with these two TVs, I did not see a significant improvement in speed except for the shorter boot time. There is still a delay in opening certain menus and listing options in the settings menu. Still, for most users, the speed will be acceptable.
2. Magic Sound Tuning – similar as you can optimize sound with A/V receivers that are bundled with microphone and calibration system (YPAO, Audyssey), you can now do the very basic sound calibration with a Magic remote. You simply load calibration and within 8 seconds TV will optimize the sound for your room and position where you sit.
3. 360 videos – you can now view 360 degrees videos, rotate and zoom-in and out. It does not work for YouTube videos, only for those you play using built-in media player.
4. Magic Link – a new feature that gives information about the actors in the scene and displays relevant information such as related YouTube videos and keywords for a Google search.
5. Improved Magic Zoom – introduced in 2016, this feature now allows recording a sequence that you have zoomed in on. You need to have a USB drive plugged in for this option to work (Magic Zoom works only for Live TV and HDMI, not including VOD apps).

New features listed above are exclusive to webOS 3.5 and most probably will not become available to previous generations. Despite both UJ75 and UJ65 having exactly the same webOS 3.5 installed and same options available, more powerful hardware led to the smoother user experience with more animations on the former model.

Winner: LG 49UJ7507

Media player support

Both TVs share very good support for playback of various multimedia files over USB or network. I was able to play H.264 and H.265 files, MKV containers over USB and Synology NAS, smoothly and without stuttering or slowdowns. Subtitles are displayed if they are inside the MKV container or as a separate file (which needs to have the same name as the video file).

Winner: a tie (both perform the same)