Product: LG C2 65 inch 4K Smart OLED TV
Type: 4K OLED TV
Price: $4499 AUD
Availability: Out Now
Link: lg.com/au/tvs/lg-oled48c1ptb

For those well-versed in what’s available out there in terms of brand-new TVs and finding the right display for some 4K gaming, odds are you’ve heard of OLED. The panel or display technology that has many, including us, talk about just how much of a difference it makes. Different from other forms of LCD technology, how it works is that each individual pixel is self-lit which leads to perfect black levels, impressive contrast, and vibrant colours.

For playing games and watching movies it’s, well, a game changer. Although other brands feature their own OLED ranges, and some are looking to blend the tech with other more traditionally brighter bits of technology like QLED, even now it’s something we associate with LG.

LG was at the forefront of making OLED technology available to consumers, so much so that we got our first taste of the technology at AusGamers prior to the launch of the 4K-capable previous-gen refreshes that were the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. In 2022, with PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X presenting the very best in high-end hardware to game on - the LG OLED range has embraced this side of the panel. Gaming has come a long way in just the last couple of years, and this is a display that proves it.

---

Features like NVIDIA G-Sync, VRR, Dolby Vision, and full 4K 120 Hz HDMI 2.1 integration sit alongside LG’s excellent Game Optimiser mode.

---

Features like NVIDIA G-Sync, VRR, Dolby Vision, and full 4K 120 Hz HDMI 2.1 integration sit alongside LG’s excellent Game Optimiser mode. A mode that not only gives you a look at the current signal in terms of resolution and frame rate but features presets for different genres alongside offering a fast GTG 1ms response time. Although response times aren’t even a consideration for many, it’s key to creating a smooth and clean image without blurring or ghosting, or issues. 1ms is better than most PC displays designed for esports gaming, so yeah, it’s better than anything we’ve seen on a competing TV.

But, all of that was in last year’s range - so what’s new? Well the new LG C2 65-inch 4K Smart OLED TV for 2022, reviewed here, brings one pretty major improvement - brightness. Featuring an ‘OLED Evo’ panel, it presents a noticeably brighter image than the 2021 model making it a better fit for, well, bright environments and rooms chock-full of natural light.

Design and Features

---

In terms of design, the new LG C2 65-inch 4K Smart OLED TV keeps the ultra-thin panel that has been a hallmark of OLEDs, with a revamped 2022 look (with a small-ish stand) that is definitely minimal. It’s also lighter, which is pretty impressive. As a premium display, the onboard sound is pretty terrible, but the bottom portion of the display sits high enough for a decent sound bar - which was no doubt the intention. It’s a sleek design and we love the addition of the material-like back panel - it adds to the overall high-quality build and feels like a natural extension of what’s come before.

Specs:

• Screen Type: OLED
  
• Screen Size: 65"
  
• Resolution/Response Time: 3840x2160 (4K@120fps), 1ms Response Time
  
• Processor: α9 Gen 5 AI Processor 4K
  
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG
  
• Features: Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10 Pro
  
• Game Features: Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible, NVIDIA GeForce Now, AMD FreeSync Premium, HGiG Mode, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Game Optimiser
  
• SDR Picture Modes: 9 (Vivid, Standard, FILMMAKER MODE, APS, Cinema, Cricket, Game Optimiser, ISF Bright Room, ISF Dark Room)
  
• HDR Picture Modes: 6 (Vivid, Standard, FILMMAKER MODE, Cinema Home, Cinema, Game Optimiser)
  
• Dolby Vision Picture Modes: 5 (Vivid, Standard, Cinema Home, Cinema, Game Optimiser)
  
• Colour Bit Depth: 10-bit

With the latest α9 Gen 5 AI Processor 4K and continual updates made to LG’s own UI, we found the 2022 version to be intuitive compared to the 2021 models. And with all of the streaming apps available and easily accessible (and quick to load and respond to input), the all-in-one streaming chops of the LG OLED is impeccable. This is good because it then automatically feeds into the excellent OLED picture and options like FILMMAKER MODE which is supported by Netflix and Disney+.

With the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S still selling out across the country, and the globe, their adoption of cutting-edge HDMI 2.1 4K display features like VRR (variable refresh rate), HGiG standards for HDR, Low Latency modes, and even calibration settings like Dolby Vision mean that it’s only been a couple of years since TVs out there have featured enough boxes to fit all of the ticks. The LG OLED ticks them all.

With the LG C2 65-inch 4K Smart OLED TV (which is also available in 42-inch and 48-inch models in addition to the other standard TV sizes) there’s also been a conscious effort to embrace PC gaming. Whether that’s at a desk or on the couch, LG OLEDs are NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible so they pair perfectly with the NVIDIA GeForce range. For that, we connected an RTX 3090-powered rig and the results were something to behold. And with the addition of a dedicated app for the NVIDIA GeForce Now streaming service, couch gaming via an RTX cloud-powered rig is possible too - with the only bit of additional hardware required being a controller in hand.

The best part about all of these features is that a lot of this stuff is automatic. Fire up a PS5 or an Xbox Series X and the consoles will automatically detect the capabilities of the display and enable all of the goodies without much in the way of tweaking required. On the Xbox Series X side, as that supports Dolby Vision, you probably won't even need to tweak picture settings.

Picture Quality

---

Though it has to be said, the one immediate difference with the 2022 range compared to last year - the improved brightness - isn’t available on the 42-inch and 48-inch models. Now, when it comes to displaying brightness, which factors into the quality of things like HDR, LG OLED has always been a step or two behind the competition. Still perfectly fine, but having a brighter panel in the LG C2 65-inch 4K Smart OLED TV does lead to a more vibrant slice of HDR when playing games or even watching a movie. But worth noting that brightness (to a point) is as much about the setting as the content.

---

The new LG C2 65-inch 4K Smart OLED TV for 2022, reviewed here, brings one pretty major improvement - brightness. Featuring an ‘OLED Evo’ panel, it presents a noticeably brighter image than the 2021 model making it a better fit for, well, bright environments and rooms chock-full of natural light.

---

As someone who used to game on a 1080p projector, part of the immersion came from being in a darkened room. In a naturally bright sunlit room, a display would need to compensate just to make the image clear and visible. For many, couch gaming sessions are carried out in these sorts of environments so having a noticeably brighter panel opens the LG C2 65-inch 4K Smart OLED TV to more settings. For me, in the darkened den of media consumption, I actually turned it down so as to not melt my eyes when the screen displayed anything close to white.

As for the picture quality itself, the Dolby Vision and FILMMAKER MODE presets are great examples of the LG OLED panels displaying a wide colour space with excellent accuracy. This of course sits on top of the ‘Self Lit Pixel’ technology of OLED leading to perfect black levels and any dark or night scene being as impressive as one set during the day. Sections of an image that are supposed to be black will be black, with the effect looking like those parts of the screen are ‘turned off’. It’s something to behold and really, one of the main reasons that OLED converts stay OLED converts.

There is processing magic that comes into play, and all of that carries over seamlessly to Game Optimiser where you get all of the benefits plus the increased brightness. Gaming is one of those cases where upping the brightness can help with the readability of digital spaces, so its benefits are definitely felt here too.

Game Performance

---

The LG C2 65 inch 4K Smart OLED TV is a display that’s at home rendering God of War at 4K 60 frames-per-second on a PS5 in addition to 4K 120 on a PC bolstered by some of that NVIDIA DLSS magic and G-Sync. It’s a display more than capable of being used for productivity and supports custom resolutions so you can effectively and accurately create some sweet 21:9 ultrawide vistas. With perfect black levels, impressive contrast, and vibrant colours, you’ve also got the absolute best in terms of response times - a true GTG 1ms.

---

The LG C2 65 inch 4K Smart OLED TV is a display that’s at home rendering God of War at 4K 60 frames-per-second on a PS5 in addition to 4K 120 on a PC bolstered by some of that NVIDIA DLSS magic and G-Sync.

---

For gaming, it doesn’t get better, so you might be wondering why a larger portion of displays targeting game performance isn’t OLED. Outside of the high cost of making the panels compared to cheaper LCD technologies like VA, which makes the LG OLED a premium option, there’s also the long-standing issue and concerns around burn-in. Which is that thing where image retention becomes a permanent and visible issue. With movies and most TV featuring images and continuously updating, PC use and gaming are chock-full of always visible bars and other UI elements. OLED burn-in is a real thing too, but the good news is that LG has made several advances in this area to mitigate the potential for burn-in. In fact, the new brighter display here has design elements specific to mitigating the problem.

With HDMI 2.1, Game Optimiser, Dolby Vision, PC, and console-friendly design, incredible response times, and several other features, the LG C2 65 inch 4K Smart OLED TV is easily one of the best displays for gaming, media, and streaming currently available. There’s a higher-than-average price to be sure, but all of that adds up to a difference you can just about immediately see. Thanks in part to the new brighter panel.