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“Well, there’s something you’re doing,” says the courier driver, as he puffers and pulls a huge wooden pallet from the loading area.
“Just a test device,” I say apologetically, knowing full well that the very same driver will heave the 1.2 by 1.9 meter package back into his truck a month later.
The supplier disappears grumbling and the real challenge of this test is revealed to me, while my package and I stand shivering in the rain in front of the apartment building door.
Because while I am trying to drag the delivery into the elevator, I understand why the press office warned me about the sample device on the phone: “The shipping company only delivers to the first door.
Just that it's clear! ”I smiled and said confidently:“ Well, it's just a TV. ”
But the package shouldn't just be any television set - it should be the best.
In any case, the best that the South Korean company LG has to offer at the moment.
I want to test the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X game consoles on it.
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What the gamer boxes can only show in conjunction with a brand new television with the best technology.
My private television is getting a bit old and is already failing to repeat the images as quickly as the consoles spit them out.
Weighs 36 kilos, 1.95 meters screen diagonal
No problem for the OLED77CX9LA from LG, says the manufacturer.
It has the most modern technology on board.
If you copy all the South Koreans' promises into a text document, it is 14 pages long.
And a perfect picture should actually not be a problem for the device - after all, LG charges 7,000 euros on its website.
On the Internet, however, the television is sometimes available for just under half.
The most important promises are made in advance: The television has a resolution of so-called 4K, i.e. with 3840 to 2160 pixels.
This is four times sharper than many current devices that still display their images in the so-called Full HD standard.
The South Koreans have tipped over eight million self-illuminating pixels into the screen, for particularly rich colors and deep blacks.
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Accordingly, it is a so-called OLED television, a technology that controls light and colors pixel by pixel.
Images are also repeated 120 times per second - i.e. at 120 Hertz.
That is almost five times more than the human brain can even process.
That means that the picture does not seem to jerk or flicker on modern televisions.
There is only one hurdle left: the construction.
Because I am learning lesson one about my part-time roommate the moment the package has slipped over the doorstep.
You actually need an extended family to set it up.
The LG device weighs 36 kilos and has a screen diagonal of 1.95 meters.
That's almost two square feet of television.
Almost just a screen: most of the television is less than an inch thick
Source: LG Electronics
And the term “roommate” is by no means exaggerated.
Lesson two: this television is truly possessive.
Once he has moved in, the living room is full.
In my apartment it is so big that it can only stand on the floor.
A Swedish furniture manufacturer's TV cabinet would collapse under the load.
“Have you already looked for a suitable apartment for the cattle?” The parents ask heretically.
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Despite its sheer size, the OLED display is elegant.
The top of the device is not an inch thick.
If the screen is still, the rest of the setup is quickly completed.
The menus are clearly laid out, the connection to the WLAN set up within seconds and the connections easily accessible.
Screen to the edge: the LG uses the entire diagonal
Source: LG Electronics
Then the first test follows: Videos in 4K resolution, sometimes with a lot of black, then with fast movements, and finally with bright colors.
And the television delivers what the price and description promise: the picture is outstanding.
I've never seen such a deep black on a TV screen.
It cannot be determined whether the device is switched on or off.
When the pixels then have to shine, they shine so brightly that the images look almost oversaturated.
And flickering and flickering is actually not noticeable.
This can be checked well with a soccer game.
If the ball pulls light streaks across the screen on a cross or a shot, the TV is too slow.
The ball then flies so fast that it cannot be "repeated" at sufficient speed.
The good news: That doesn't happen.
The ball flies precisely.
The television itself is similarly nimble.
All entries are recorded and processed immediately, and apps such as the TV's own homepage or streaming services such as Netflix are loaded within a few seconds.
The webOS 5.0 user interface is just as elegant as the design.
For example, the television's start page with its virtual tiles and clear shapes in gray and white shows that the makers have also thought through the software well.
The same applies to the menus, which are structured quite intuitively according to picture, sound or connection options.
Powerful sound
The device is powered by the third-generation α9 AI processor.
The abbreviation “AI” suggests: LG has a lot of “artificial intelligence”, that is, clever algorithms, built into the screen surface and this is probably one of the reasons why the manufacturer speaks of its television as if it were actually a living roommate.
It sounds like this, for example: "Based on more than 17 million sound data points, the processor identifies voices, effects and frequencies."
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And indeed: the LG television sounds surprisingly bulky for its flat design.
The reason for this is probably the built-in 2.2 sound system with 40 watts of power - which emanate from a woofer (20W) and two sound channels with 10W each.
In addition, the smart processor should adapt to the transmitted sound.
The voice of a newsreader should sound clearer, sound effects in films should get more "oomph".
This may be understandable under laboratory conditions, but the difference cannot be heard.
But inside the television there is a lot more artificial intelligence at work.
In the end, I don't know what it can do and whether it is really needed.
But it sounds great, because LG hides its functions behind flowery promises like "Ultra Luminance Pro" or "AI Picture Pro with AI Brightness Control".
Translated, that means: the picture and brightness automatically adjust to what the television is reproducing.
That sounds much better, of course, and all of the friends I tell about the "Quad Step Noise Reduction" function nod reverently.
An elegant stand ensures that the 36-kilo device is well positioned
Source: LG Electronics
The overall quality impression is clouded by what is probably the most important accessory: the remote control.
It makes a surprisingly cheap impression, is bulky and, above all, made of boring plastic.
In this price category, a housing made of brushed aluminum should have been included.
In addition, the rubber buttons and the rotating wheel in the middle of the controls feel uncomfortable.
All pressure points cause a loud cracking sound.
Competitor Samsung, for example, shows what an elegant remote control can look like with its "One Remote".
The gamer is happy, my neighbors are not
But how good is the gaming experience?
The LG bolide has to prove itself, among other things, in the presentation of "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" on the Playstation 5 and "Forza Horizon 4" on the Xbox Series X. Both games already get a lot out of the new game consoles - show Game worlds in 4K resolution and repeat images at 120 Hertz.
The smooth display of content is particularly important in racing or action games.
The faster the games are displayed, the better players can react and, for example, avoid other cars in the last millisecond.
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For this to actually work, the television also needs the right connections.
Playstation and Xbox with HDMI connections in "Version" 2.1 work optimally - LG has installed four of them.
All connections are available in sufficient numbers and easily accessible
Source: LG Electronics
In addition, one connection supports the "Audio Return Channel" function.
That sounds like a lot of artificial intelligence, but it's actually practical: Thanks to HDMI-ARC, a device can both receive audio signals from a player and send them back via the same cable.
This makes connecting a home theater system to the television even easier.
The gamer is happy, my neighbors are not.
Because video games can be played for hours with the OLED television: the frame rate is high and variable, the latency is low, and the response time is a millisecond.
What is pressed on the controller and "translated" into a game action by the console lands immediately on the screen.
In addition, the television displays its images with a high dynamic range (HDR). This is what we talk about when images with large differences in brightness from around 1: 1000 are displayed.
The LG screen even supports an HGiG profile.
Behind this is the so-called "HDR Gaming Interest Group", which tries to create a "standard" for games with an extended dynamic range.
This means that the image quality is simply brilliant.
Oh, by the way: you can also watch television with the LG device, in the classic way via two satellite and one cable connection.
Simple HD content is even upgraded thanks to "upscaling" and adapted to the 4K resolution.
Do you need this television for that?
No of course not.
And do you even need this television?
Neither.
Who needs a TV screen for 7,000 euros just so that the black is particularly rich and the picture flickers particularly quickly?
Do I want to hand over the television when the shipping company rings the doorbell (and, by the way, only receives the device at the first door)?
No of course not.
The screen turned out to be far too big for my living room, which is almost three meters away from the 77-inch device.
But playing, streaming and watching TV is just really fun with the LG giant.