You’re standing in the middle of a Best Buy or scrolling through Amazon, and everything feels massive. 75 inches. 85 inches. Screens so big they look like they’ll fall off the wall and crush your coffee table. But then there’s the LG televisions 43 inch range. It’s the "Goldilocks" zone. Not so small that it feels like a computer monitor, but not so big that it dominates your entire personality.
Honestly, I’ve seen people blow three grand on a giant OLED only to realize they’re sitting four feet away from it. That’s a recipe for a headache, not a movie night.
The 43-inch market is weirdly competitive right now. LG, specifically, treats this size differently than brands that just slap a cheap panel together for a "bedroom TV." They’ve actually migrated some of their high-end processing tech down to these smaller dimensions. Whether it's the NanoCell series, the standard UHD (UQ or UR series), or the newer QNED models, the 43-inch footprint is arguably the most versatile piece of tech you can put in a modern apartment or a dedicated home office.
The Myth of "Bigger is Always Better"
Most people think they need a massive screen to enjoy 4K. That’s just not true.
Pixel density matters. When you pack 3,840 x 2,160 pixels into a 43-inch frame, the image is incredibly tight and sharp. On a 75-inch screen, those same pixels are spread out over a much larger surface area. If you’re sitting at a desk or in a smaller bedroom, a LG televisions 43 inch model will often look "crisper" to the naked eye than a giant budget TV from a distance.
I’ve talked to installers who say the biggest mistake homeowners make is ignoring "viewing distance." For a 43-inch 4K screen, the sweet spot is usually between 3 and 5.5 feet. If you’re in a dorm or a studio, this isn't just a compromise; it’s the correct optical choice. LG’s alpha series processors—the chips that actually do the heavy lifting for upscaling—work exceptionally well here. They take that grainy 1080p Netflix show and sharpen the edges without making everything look like a plastic cartoon.
What’s Actually Under the Hood?
LG doesn't just make one "43-inch TV." They make about five versions of it, and the differences are kind of a big deal if you care about how your movies look.
Take the LG 43-inch UQ series or the more recent UR series. These are your workhorses. They use LED backlighting and LG's webOS platform. It's snappy. You click the remote, and the app opens. You don't have to wait five seconds for the TV to "wake up" like you do with some cheaper Google TV alternatives.
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Then you have the NanoCell 75 Series. This is where things get interesting. NanoCell uses a layer of nanoparticles to filter out "impure" colors. Think of it like a Brita filter, but for light. It makes the reds redder and the greens deeper. If you’re watching sports or playing something like Forza Horizon 5, the color pop is noticeably better than the standard LED models.
Gaming Features You Actually Care About
Gamers love LG for a reason. Even at 43 inches, LG includes a "Game Optimizer" menu.
- Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM): The TV knows you've turned on your PS5 and switches to a high-speed mode automatically.
- HGiG: This helps with HDR tone mapping in games so the sun isn't just a white blob in the sky.
- eARC support: Vital for plugging in a soundbar and getting actual Dolby Atmos.
Most 43-inch LG panels are 60Hz. If you want 120Hz for "pro" gaming, you usually have to jump up to the 42-inch C-series OLED (which is a different beast entirely). But for 90% of people playing Call of Duty or Minecraft, the standard 60Hz panel on a 43-inch LG is more than enough. It's fast. Input lag is remarkably low—often under 10ms in game mode.
The webOS Secret Sauce
Hardware is only half the battle. Software is where most TVs fail.
You’ve probably used a TV where the remote feels like a brick and the menus are a maze. LG’s "Magic Remote" is different. It’s basically a Nintendo Wii pointer for your TV. You waggle it, a cursor appears on the screen, and you click. It makes typing in passwords or searching for "LG televisions 43 inch" on YouTube way less of a chore.
The 2024 and 2025 versions of webOS have also gotten much better at "Content Discovery." It learns that you watch a lot of Formula 1 or true crime and puts those apps front and center. It’s smart, but not in a creepy way.
Where LG Trumps the Competition (And Where It Doesn't)
Let’s be real for a second. LG isn't the only player in the 43-inch game. Samsung has the QLEDs, and Sony has the X80 series.
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LG’s primary advantage is the IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel.
Most budget TVs use VA panels. If you sit directly in front of a VA panel, it looks great. Move three feet to the left? The colors wash out. LG uses IPS panels in many of their 43-inch models. This means the viewing angle is huge. You can be sitting on the floor, at a desk, or on the far side of the bed, and the colors stay consistent.
The downside? Contrast.
If you’re watching a horror movie in a pitch-black room, the "blacks" on an IPS panel can look a little dark grey. It’s the trade-off for those better viewing angles. If you’re a "cinemaphile" who only watches movies in total darkness, you might find this annoying. But for a bright living room or an office with the lights on, the LG brightness and color consistency usually win out.
Setting Up Your LG 43-Inch for Success
Don't just take it out of the box and leave it on "Vivid" mode. Please.
Vivid mode is designed to look good in a bright store under fluorescent lights. At home, it’ll make people’s skin look orange and the grass look radioactive. Switch it to Filmmaker Mode. LG was one of the first brands to really push this. It turns off all the "soap opera effect" motion smoothing and sets the colors to what the director actually intended.
Also, check your sound settings.
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Physical reality dictates that 43-inch TVs are thin. Thin TVs have tiny speakers. LG’s AI Sound Pro does a decent job of "pumping up" the dialogue so it doesn't get buried under background music, but you're still better off with a small soundbar. Since the TV is 43 inches, look for a soundbar that's about 25 to 30 inches wide so it doesn't look ridiculous sitting underneath.
Real World Use Cases
The Home Office Monitor
A lot of developers and stock traders are buying the LG televisions 43 inch models to use as monitors. Because it’s 4K, you have the screen real estate of four 1080p monitors combined into one. Just make sure you turn the "Sharpness" setting down to zero so the text doesn't have weird halos around it.
The Kitchen/Nook TV
Since it's light (usually around 17-20 lbs), you can mount it on a swivel arm. This is perfect for a kitchen where you might want to see the screen from the stove and then rotate it toward the kitchen table.
The Guest Room
It’s the polite size. It says, "I want you to be comfortable," without saying, "I want you to stay in this room forever and never talk to me."
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
When you're shopping, keep an eye on the model numbers. A "43UR8000" and a "43UR9000" might look identical, but the 9000 series usually has a slightly better processor or an extra HDMI port.
Speaking of HDMI—always check the count. LG is usually generous, giving you 3 or 4 ports. Some budget brands only give you two. If you have a cable box, a gaming console, and a Roku, you’re already out of space on a two-port TV.
Also, don't forget the feet. LG uses "v-shaped" feet on some models and a central stand on others. If you have a narrow TV stand, make sure the feet aren't going to hang off the edge. The spread on the 43-inch models is usually around 30 inches wide, but it varies by model year.
Actionable Steps for Your Purchase
If you've decided that a 43-inch LG is the way to go, here is how to actually execute that purchase without getting ripped off or ending up with the wrong tech:
- Measure your surface first. Don't guess. Ensure you have at least 38 inches of horizontal clearance. Even though the screen is 43 inches diagonally, the actual width of the TV is usually around 37.3 inches.
- Identify your lighting. If your room is very bright with lots of windows, prioritize the LG NanoCell 75 or 80 series for the extra brightness and glare reduction. If it's a dark bedroom, the standard UHD (UR series) will save you money and perform just fine.
- Check the "Manufactured Date". If you're buying in-store, look at the sticker on the back or the box. Try to get a model from the current or previous year (e.g., 2025 or 2024). LG updates their webOS every year, and the newer versions stay snappy for much longer.
- Update the firmware immediately. As soon as you connect to Wi-Fi, go to Settings > Support > Software Update. LG frequently pushes patches that fix "handshake" issues with soundbars and game consoles.
- Disable "Energy Saving Step". By default, many LG TVs dim the screen to save power. It often makes the picture look muddy. Go into the OLED Care or Energy Saving menus and turn this off to see the panel's true potential.
The LG televisions 43 inch lineup remains a powerhouse because it refuses to be "just a small TV." It’s a specialized tool for specific spaces, and when configured correctly, it offers a viewing experience that rivals much larger, more expensive setups. Use the Filmmaker Mode, get a decent HDMI 2.1 cable for your consoles, and enjoy the fact that you didn't have to rearrange your entire living room just to watch the news in 4K.