LG updates its 2021 OLED TVs to support 120Hz Dolby Vision gaming
You'll be ready when Dolby Vision-supported games are finally released.
Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S consoles both support 4K Dolby Vision at 120 Hz, but there's a problem: so far, no TVs have supported all of those things things at once. Now, LG has announced that it's rolling out a firmware update that unlocks Dolby Vision HDR at 4K 120Hz on its latest 2021 C1 and G1 series OLED models.
We knew that LG's high-end G1 and mainstream C1 series should be capable of 120 Hz 4K gaming with Dolby Vision, as HDTV Test's Vincent Teoh pointed out recently. However, Xbox Series X owners have been reporting that those models weren't working, with an error message that "your TV setup doesn't support Dolby Vision at 4K 120 Hz."
LG told Teoh at the time that it was testing the functionality and working to bring it to market, and now it has done so with the firmware version 03.15.27. That makes the C1 and G1 series OLED TV models "the first in the world capable of supporting Dolby Vision HDR at 4K 120Hz on compatible platforms," the company said.
In addition, it's testing the feature on other 2021 models including the OLED Z1 series, QNED Mini LED QNED99 series and NanoCell NANO99 series, all slated to receive the update in July. "Additional 2021 and 2020 TV models are also being tested for Dolby Vision gaming in either 60Hz or 120Hz," the company added. There's no word on whether its 2019 OLED models, some of which also support both 4K 120Hz and Dolby Vision, will be updated.
Now, if you have an Xbox Series X or S console and 2021 LG G1 or S1 series TV, you'll be able to make the error message go away. However, you still won't be able to play any 4K 120Hz Dolby Vision games, because none exist at the moment. When they do eventually arrive, you should see not only more fluid playback, but brighter images, improved contrast and more vibrant, saturated colors — much as you do on Dolby Vision-encoded films and TV series.
Along with that feature, the new firmware also introduces the Game Dashboard (shown above), a floating menu that helps LG owners optimize settings. It works on any any 2021 LG TV with Game Optimizer, letting users switch between genres (standard, FPS, RPG or RTS). You'll also be able to see the status of modes like black stabilizer, low latency and variable refresh rate. The new update is now rolling out, so if you own a supported set, you should gain access to all of those features soon.
