Why I'm holding onto my 2016 OLED TV for dear life

Key Takeaways

LG E6 OLED, a 2016 model, offers high-end picture quality and the ability to display 3D content in full 1080p resolution.
Newer OLED TV models offer improvements like better burn-in protection, brighter displays, and higher refresh rates.
Despite newer TV features, the LG E6’s 3D capability has made it a desirable viewing option for 3D content enthusiasts.

TVs aren’t the kind of household electronics you need to replace very often. They’re built to last a long time, but it is tempting to see fancy new televisions with cool new features hitting the market every few months. Over the years, I’ve often been jealous of people who own newer TVs, and still, my plan is to hold onto my current TV for as long as I possibly can, all thanks to one killer feature.

The TV I’m talking about is the LG E6 OLED, one of the brand’s high-end models from 2016. It’s a gorgeous 4K screen, with decent connectivity and excellent picture quality with those trademark inky OLED blacks. It’s also one of the last TVs produced that could display 3D video, and it’s exactly the feature I can’t quite give up.

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The beauty of a 3D OLED TV

Three dimensions in perfect clarity

LG E6 OLED

2016 55″ OLED TV featuring 4K resolution and passive 3D

Brand: LG
Display Size: 55
Operating System: webOS
Display Type: OLED
Display Resolution: 4K 3D
Connectivity: 4 HDMI
Refresh rate: 60Hz

The LG E6 OLED — in this case the 55-inch model — was an excellent TV for its time, and remains so now. It was positioned as a higher tier model than the more entry-level C6 OLED, which featured a curved screen and could also display 3D content. After 2016, both Sony and LG stopped producing 3D televisions, and 3D all but disappeared from the market outside select projectors.

Not only was the E6 one of the last 3D TVs ever made, it was also one of the best. This is true thanks to two things — the first being that 3D TVs from LG had already comfortable used passive 3D technology, similar to RealD 3D people regularly experience in theaters. In fact, those same polarized glasses will work with LG’s 3D TVs. The major downside to earlier models was their resolution — due to the polarization tech used on those screens, the vertical resolution on 1080p displays needed to be cut in half, leading to aliasing and a loss of detail.

The 3D image looks bright, colorful, and terrific overall.

Thanks to 4K resolution, though, a full 1080p image could finally be displayed for each eye, meaning viewers could finally watch 3D at home in its full glory, with simple polarized lenses. To make things even better, the quality of the OLED display itself means the 3D image looks bright, colorful, and terrific overall.

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Why I’m tempted to get a new TV

All those fancy features I keep hearing about

The big problem with having an older TV is that — well — it’s not new. In the case of an OLED TV, particularly older models, the main issue is screen deterioration. Over time, OLED screens are susceptible to burn-in, and in general, the uniformity of the image degrades over time. So far, my TV hasn’t experienced these issues in any significant or overly noticeable way, but it doesn’t look totally fresh either.

Newer models handle burn-in better, as well as image uniformity. They are also significantly brighter, featuring better, more accurate color reproduction.

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Newer models handle burn-in better, as well as image uniformity. They’re also significantly brighter, featuring better, more accurate color reproduction, better connectivity, and often higher 120Hz and variable refresh rates, which are great for gaming on consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

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LG OLED C2

An excellent OLED TV for gamers and movie lovers alike.

Brand: LG
Screen Size: 65″
Display Technology: OLED
HDR: 10
Resolution: 4K
Refresh Rate: 120Hz Native
Weight: 16.6

Why I’m not about to give my 2016 OLED

It’s all about that great 3D

A person watching Pluto TV with a bowl of popcorn.

Whenever I do feel tempted by the improved quality and cool new features on newer OLED screens, what holds me back from replacing my current model is the 3D capability. I do not have room in my home for a projection screen, and I don’t have a VR headset, so my LG E6 OLED remains my sole method of viewing 3D content.

And the thing is, I’ve got a lot of it — over the years, I’ve built up a great collection of 3D Blu-rays, including some newer 3D movies like the Avatar films, Coraline, and Alita: Battle Angel, as well as many, many classic 3D films from as far back as the ’50s — like House of Wax and Dial M for Murder. I love getting to see these films as originally intended, in their full 3D glory, and if I give up my TV or if it happens to die on me, that won’t be an option anymore. So, I’m going to hold onto my LG E6 for dear life, or until some TV manufacturer decides to bring 3D displays back.