Home Theater Geeks 508: LG Multi-View Mode

Summary

Home Theater Geeks 508: LG Multi-View Mode

Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)
Host: Scott Wilkinson (with Leo Laporte introduction)
Date: November 13, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Scott Wilkinson tackles a listener's question about LG OLED TVs' Multi-View mode, specifically regarding limitations on displaying multiple HDMI sources simultaneously. With insights from LG contacts, technical explanations, and user manual contradictions, the discussion navigates the nuances of hardware capabilities and the evolution of TV technology.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Question: LG B7A's Multi-View Limitation

• Michael S asks why his 2017 LG65B7A OLED only allows Multi-View (side-by-side viewing) between the OTA tuner and an HDMI input, and not two HDMI inputs.

2. LG’s Official Answer (03:00)

• Scott Wilkinson shares LG’s response:
  • The B7A can only support Multi-View with one HDMI input and the internal OTA tuner, not two HDMI sources.
  • The reason is a hardware limitation: “Back when we introduced the OLED B7 most TVs… were only built with a single HDMI decoder.”
  • Beginning in 2024, top-line LG models with the Alpha 11 processor (G4 2024, G5 & M5 2025) allow two HDMI sources in Multi-View, thanks to dual HDMI decoders.

“So my contact confirms that what you are experiencing with your B7 is indeed how it is. It’s a hardware limitation. There’s only one HDMI decoder in the TV and that applies to whichever HDMI input you select.”
— Scott Wilkinson (04:32)

3. Contradictory User Guide Findings (07:37)

• Scott finds an online user guide for the B7A suggesting it’s possible to have two HDMI inputs in Multi-View.
• He walks through the manual’s instructions:
  • Access Multi-View via the Home button.
  • Select inputs for both images, which in the guide include the OTA tuner and HDMI inputs.
  • The manual oddly suggests you can display different channels from the tuner in both windows, implying two tuners might exist.

“According to the manual, you press the Home button on the remote control and run the Multiview app… Under each image there is a list of sources including live TV, the internal OTA tuner, and the TV’s HDMI inputs. This should let you select two different HDMI inputs. I’m surprised…”
— Scott Wilkinson (08:19)

• Caveats from the manual:
  • Multi-View not available for Ultra HD channels.
  • Cannot use Multi-View and recording features simultaneously.
  • Feature availability may depend on connected devices or signal quality.

4. Community Experience & Broader Context

• Scott cites a Reddit thread about the LG C2 OLED (2022), showing similar consumer confusion and suggesting this is a common issue across multiple LG models.
• Reinforces: Most TVs, including those from LG and other brands, traditionally only decode one HDMI source at a time. Only newest, high-end TVs support dual HDMI Multi-View.

“So there seems to be some confusion which I have not yet gotten to the bottom of except to say, and I believe this to be true. According to my contact, there’s only one HDMI decoder in the B7 and most TVs…”
— Scott Wilkinson (09:29)

• The only real solution: upgrade to a high-end, recent model with the Alpha 11 processor.

5. Listener Engagement & Show Participation Invitation (11:39)

• Invites listeners to send home theater questions to [e-mail].
• Encourages fans to share photos and descriptions of their home theaters for a chance to be featured in "Home Theater of the Month" episodes, potentially even appearing live via Zoom.

“If you have a home theater, I invite you to send me photos of your room… I’d like to feature some of your rooms, some of your home theaters, in my Home Theater of the Month episodes…”
— Scott Wilkinson (12:04)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Scott Wilkinson on hardware limits:
  “It’s a hardware limitation. There’s only one HDMI decoder in the TV and that applies to whichever HDMI input you select.” (04:32)
• On contradictory manuals:
  “I’m surprised it says you can select the tuner for both images and display different channels. That’s pretty surprising. That would mean there’d need to be two tuners in the TV.” (08:31)
• On what consumers can do:
  “There’s nothing you can do about it except buy a new TV and an expensive one at that, a high-end one, one of their top of the line ones…” (10:30)
• Engagement invitation:
  “Send me an email to htgwit tv and I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time, geek out.” (12:22)

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Detailed Timeline

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:23 | [Scott Wilkinson introduces the episode and the listener question] | | 01:59 | [Main answer begins – explanation of LG B7A limitation, LG contact response] | | 04:32 | [Clarifies single HDMI decoder limitation in most OLED TVs until recent models] | | 07:37 | [Discusses conflicting information in the B7A user manual and Reddit user experiences] | | 08:19 | [Detailed walkthrough of the B7A online manual Multi-View steps and caveats] | | 09:29 | [Summarizes confusion, affirms LG’s limitation applies, only high-end models support dual] | | 10:30 | [Concludes: only option is to upgrade to newer, high-end models for this feature] | | 11:39 | [Calls for listener questions and home theater submissions for future features] | | 12:22 | [Signs off: “Until next time, geek out.”] |

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Summary for Listeners

This compact, highly focused episode delivers a clear answer to a common question among LG OLED TV owners: why can’t most LG TVs display two HDMI sources side-by-side in Multi-View? Scott dispels confusion by consulting LG directly and referencing both user manuals and community discussions. The answer is simple but significant: only LG’s latest, top-tier models can support this due to processor and hardware decoder upgrades. For everyone else, the limitation is hardwired. The episode stands out for its technical clarity and genuine engagement with the home theater enthusiast community.

Transcript

[Leo Laporte]

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[Scott Wilkinson]

[e-mail] in this episode of Home Theater Geeks, I answer a question from Michael who has an LG B7A OLED and wonders about picture in picture or side by side viewing. I have the answer so stick around.

[Leo Laporte]

Podcasts you love from people you trust. This is twit.

[Scott Wilkinson]

Hey there Scott Wilkinson here, the Home Theater geek. In this episode I answer a question from Michael S who writes I have a 2017 LG65B7A OLED TV and it seems that with the multi view setting that is side by side picture, you can only choose between the OTA over the air tuner input and an HDMI input. The OLED's tuner always has to be one of the inputs. You cannot have two different HDMI inputs displayed at the same time. Why is this? Is this the way on all LG OLEDs or for that matter on any brand OLED TV? Well, it's a great question. I reached out to my contact at LG who sent this response. On the LG OLED 65B7 the multi view only supports one HDMI input plus the built in tuner. Unfortunately it does not allow for two HDMI inputs to be displayed side by side. As this is an older tv there is a hardware limitation. Back when we introduced the OLED B7 most TVs including most LG OLEDs were only built with a single HDMI decoder. Major TV brands typically limit multiview to combinations like HDMI Plus, OTA Tuner or a streaming app or screen sharing. He went on to write. We did start offering two HDMI inputs from last year 2024, but it was only available on TVs with our Alpha 11 processor which were the top line models. If your listener wants to display two HDMI inputs, they would need to purchase our OLED G4 from 2024 or OLED G5 or M5 from 2025. Other manufacturers may have done the same with their newer models as well. So my contact confirms that what you are experiencing with your B7 is indeed how it is. It's a hardware limitation. There's only one HDMI decoder in the TV and that applies to whichever HDMI input you select. So that allows only one HDMI input to be displayed side by side in multiview.

[Leo Laporte]

Hi, I'm Leo laporte, host of this Week in Tech and many other shows on the Twit Podcast network. Can you believe it? 2026 is around the corner. So this, my friends is the best time to grow your brand. With Twit. Nobody understands the tech audience better than we do. We love our audience and we know how to effectively message to them. We develop genuine relationships with with brands creating authentic promotions that resonate with our highly engaged community of tech enthusiasts. You know over 90% of Twitch audience is involved in their company's tech and IT decision making. Can you believe that 90%, 88% have actually made a purchase based on a Twit post read ad no one comes close. We're the best at this. As one TWiT fan said, I've bought from Twitter sponsors because I trust Leo and his team's knowledge of the latest in tech. If Twit supports it, I know I can trust it. You cannot buy trust like that. Well, actually you can. You can buy an ad on Twitter. All our ads are unique. They're read live by our expert hosts, Micah Sargent me. We simulcast all during the shows on our social platforms so everybody can be watching live. You know one of our customers, Harun Meer, the founder of ThinksCanary, he's been with us since 2016. Since 2016 he said we expected Twit to work well for us because we were longtime listeners who over the years bought many of the products and services we learned about on various Twitch shows and we were not disappointed. The combination of the very personal ad reads and the careful selection of products that Twit largely believes in gives the ads an authenticity, authentic, trusted voice that works really well for our products. 10 out of 10 we'll use again. Thank you Harun. We love you and it's been nine years. That's kind of. That's the proof, right? Partnerships with Twit offer valuable benefits, including over delivery of impressions. You get presence on show episode pages, so there's a link right there that our audience can click on. We're in the RSS feed descriptions. I'll link there too if you and social media promotion. Our full service team will craft compelling creative to elevate your brand and support you throughout your entire campaign. I work on the copy myself to make it authentic, to make it real. If you want to reach a passionate tech audience through a network that consistently over delivers, please contact us directly. PartnerWIT TV that's email address PartnerWIT TV let's talk about how we can help grow your brand. Or just go to Twit TV advertise for more information. I look forward to working with you. Thanks for listening.

[Scott Wilkinson]

Now, as I was researching this question, I found a B7A online user guide which seems to indicate that you can view two HDMI inputs side by side, contradicting what my contact said. Now, my contact works at LG and knows his stuff, so I'm not quite sure what to make of this, but I thought I'd show it to you anyway. We'll put a link in the show notes for this online guide. Now, I've repeatedly reached out to my friend at LG to ask him about this discrepancy. I haven't heard back, so I am going to show it to you anyway. So you go to this online guide. You click on Enjoy Live tv. Then you click on viewing two programs or external inputs simultaneously. According to the manual, you press the Home button on the remote control and run the Multiview app. You should see two images. You select either one and the audio for that image is played. In the online manual, you scroll down to selecting Input, click on the down arrow at the top of the screen. That's how you do it. Under each image there is a list of sources including live TV, the internal OTA tuner, and the TV's HDMI inputs. This should let you select two different HDMI inputs. I'm surprised it says you can select the tuner for both images and display different channels. That's pretty surprising. That would mean there'd need to be two tuners in the tv. Now, the manual does have some caveats. It says Multi View may not be available for ultra HD channels. It the multi view and the recording feature, which is only available in certain countries, cannot be used at the same time. That may not apply here. Multi view may be limited depending on the device connected or the strength of the broadcast signal. Okay, those are some of the caveats that they mentioned. Now interestingly, I also found a Reddit thread about this very question. It concerns the LG C2 OLED which is from 2022 and we'll put the show the link into the show notes for that as well. And they're talking about the same problem. So there seems to be some confusion which I have not yet gotten to the bottom of except to say, and I believe this to be true. According to my contact, there's only one HDMI decoder in the B7 and most TVs including those from LG and other manufacturers and as a result you can't show two HDMI inputs side by side in multi view or picture in picture or whatever the TV is, whatever the manufacturer calls it in their TV. You can do it in late model LGs including the G4 from last year 2024, or the G5 or M5 this year from this year 2025 because they have two HDMI decoders built in because they have a more powerful processor, the Alpha 11. So I suspect, I'm pretty sure in fact, that what you're experiencing is just the way it is and there's nothing you can do about it except buy a new TV and an expensive one at that, a high end one, one of their top of the line ones to do that. And it's probably true of most other TVs, certainly the lower end models, maybe more recently the other manufacturers, high end models have two HDMI decoders as well. But it is what it is and I'm afraid that's all there is. But thanks for the question. Now in some episodes of Home Theater Geeks, I answer listener questions just like yours, so send them along to HTGWIT TV and I'll answer as many as I can right here on the show. Also, if you have a home theater, I invite you to send me photos of your room from different angles and maybe a sentence or two describing the room and what makes it special to you. I'd like to feature some of your rooms, some of your home theaters, in my Home Theater of the Month episodes which I do here on the show and maybe even have you on the show in real time to show us around your theater with your phone via zoom. Wouldn't that be cool? Could be a lot of fun. If you're interested, send me a. Send me an email to htgwit tv and I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time, geek out.

[Leo Laporte]

Sam.