LG C2 OLED TV review

After much anticipation, the LG C2 finally lands in the WePC testing studio – looking set to  become one of the best gaming TVs of 2022 thanks to an array of high-end features and specifications. Like it’s predecessor, the new LG C2 will be equipped with a UHD 4K OLED display that features fantastic color accuracy and picture clarity. Alongside this, the C2 also offers a 120Hz refresh rate, near instantaneous pixel response time, and variable refresh rate technology for both NVIDIA and AMD systems. Pair this with its HDMI 2.1 support (with full 48Gbps bandwidth) and you have one of the best console gaming TVs for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Unfortunately, while the LG C2 TV range will feature the new Evo OLED panel, the smaller variants (42 inch and 48 inch) won’t go as bright as the 55-inch (and above) models. That said, the LG C2 48-inch will feature all the latest Game Optimizer features, a new 5th Gen processor, and a bunch of new build materials that make construction and mounting far easier. Like all OLED TVs, the C2 48-inch will offer up perfect blacks, an infinite contrast ratio, and excellent viewing angles too.

All being said, we’ll be putting the brand’s latest C2 48 inch TV to the test in a variety of scenarios that include gaming, productivity, PC usage, console gaming, and everyday usage. We’ll also be testing it for color accuracy, panel uniformity, and gamut coverage – also putting that new Evo OLED panel to the test in max luminance and general picture quality scenarios.

LG OLED C2 TV: Specifications

What's in the box & construction

Like it’s predecessor, the new LG C2 comes in a fairly basic box that showcases limited marketing material on the exterior. LG opts for a simple cardboard box theme with the model name on the side and some of the panel’s key features.

Inside, the TV is unassembled – requiring two people for safe construction. A user manual and construction guide can be found in the box itself, explaining safest build practice. The TV does not come with any input cables either, so PC users will have to purchase an additional HDMI cable if they plan on using this as a monitor.

Alongside the TV and stand, the following items can be found inside the box:

• LG C2 OLED TV
• Remote
• User manual 
• Construction guide
• Warranty details
• Registration form

Design

With specifications out the way, let’s take a closer look at the build quality, design, and mechanical features this TV comes equipped with. As this is the LG OLED 48C24LA (48-inch variant) it will differ in design compared to the other sizes in the range.

Aesthetics

As far as aesthetics go, the LG C2 looks absolutely fantastic. It follows in the footsteps of the original 2021 LG C1, offering up premium materials and a luxurious feel throughout.

Like most OLED TVs, the C2 features an incredibly thin profile (shown perfectly in the ‘pencil test’) that adds to the high-end feel. Alongside this, users can expect thin bezels, a brushed aluminum stand, and subtle LG branding.

Moving to the rear of the C2, there isn’t much to report. The base of the stand does protrude out the back a bit, but nothing too substantial that it is worth true consideration. The main body of the TV has a brushed aluminum finish but is in fact hardened plastic. A carbon-fibre-esq design has been used for the rear of the glass portion of the panel, adding an interesting dynamic to the rear of the panel. Cooling grills can also be found in several areas of the TV, aiding in the general temperature of the TV.

Of course, all inputs can be found at the rear of the TV, with most of the main inputs located on the left hand side (as you look at the TV face on).

Overall, while the LG C2 utilizes a fairly basic design, it still provides a premium feel that is going to suit almost any living room setting.

Build Quality

As you can imagine with a product of this price range, build quality has to be of the highest quality. Luckily, that’s exactly what you get with the LG C2.

Premium materials have been used throughout, with the stand featuring a metal interior that adds stability and stylish aesthetics. The panel itself is glass which, despite being quite reflective, does add an element of reinforcement to the face of the TV.

The rear of the TV uses a hardened plastic that offers very little in the way of flex or bending. Furthermore, all fittings and fixtures are well-finished with no gaps across the board. All inputs also feel very well finished, with no wiggle or play throughout.

LG says that new build materials have been used for the construction on this TV, giving it a lighter feel which is better for general construction and mounting. We compared this to the old C1 and while there were some weight differences, they were incredibly subtle.

That said, don’t take anything away from the C2’s build quality – it really is excellent.

• LG C1 vs C2: which should you buy?

Panel Coating

Unlike gaming monitors – that opt for an anti-glare matte panel coating – LG has opted for a glossy glass panel in the C2. While this isn’t fantastic for daytime viewing (lots of reflections when viewing from angles), it looks absolutely stunning in dark room conditions. The glass panel doesn’t degrade the image quality in the slightest, instead producing a pure visual experience that is hard to beat – especially when used in tandem with a stunning OLED panel.

Of course, like most glossy panels, the LG C2 does struggle with fingerprints. Fortunately, a solid cleaning solution and microfiber cloth should see to those pretty efficiently though.

Bezels

The bezels on the C2 are incredibly slender for a TV of this size – with top and side bezels measuring in at 9mm (1mm less than the 2021 C1) by 14mm at the base. Bezels of this size help to create high levels of immersion when consuming content or playing games on this panel. Better yet, it helps to add to a premium feel to the visual experience it provides.

Stand

The stand is fairly basic in both design and ergonomic functionality. It features no height, tilt, pivot, or swivel functionality – as you’d expect. If you are looking for adjustability in this TV, it does feature VESA mounting holes at the rear. Of course, a relatively sturdy stand is required for this TV.

Inputs

As you’d imagine, all inputs for the LG C2 can be found at the rear of the TV. Alongside USB inputs, the C2 comes with a generous 4 x HDMI 2.1 (with full 48Gbps bandwidth) ports – great for console gaming at 4K @ 120Hz.

For a more in-depth look at the inputs, see below:

• 4 x HDMI 2.1
• eARC/ ARC (HDMI 2)
• 3 x USB ports
• LAN port
• IR Blaster
• CI Slot
• SPDIF 
• RF In
• Headphone out
• Line out
• Bluetooth
• WiFi

OSD

The OSD, or on-screen display, for the LG C2 is incredibly extensive. It covers all the usual picture-enhancing settings, including brightness, contrast, color, and sharpness settings.

Part of the C2’s new design includes additional Game Optimizer features – allowing you to take full control over the TVs responsiveness and picture quality. Users can choose between game mode presets (Standard, FPS, RPG, RTX, and sports) or create their own unique setup using the settings available. Like its predecessor, the C2 offers the following features:

• OLED motion
• Game mode
• VRR & G-Sync
• AMD FreeSync Premium
• AI Game Sound
• Game Dashboard
• Fine Tune Dark Areas
• Menu Color
• White stabilizer
• Dark stabilizer

Additionally, the C2 also features a Blue Light reduction mode, new input lag reduction feature, and a Dark room mode too.

Color Accuracy & Picture Quality

Great colors and excellent picture quality are two of the most important factors that help create immersion when playing games or watching movies. Like all major TV manufacturers, LG tries to provide the best color via a number of different presets found in the OSD. We’ll be testing each for color accuracy in this section – followed by panel uniformity tests, a peak brightness test, and gamut volume measurements as well.

Here are the results for the LG C2 OLED:

Like always, we started off the color accuracy testing portion of this review by loading up our colorimeter and running a test right out of the box. Below are the results:

Out of the box, the Standard preset didn’t preform to the highest level – even when compared to last year’s 2021 LG C1. Like it’s predecessor, the C2 offered a 9377K white point, perfect black depth, and infinite contrast ratio. Impressively, the LG C2 featured a 204.2cd/m2 max brightness in this preset, with gamma holding out at 2.09. Overall average deltaE resulted in a score of 4.26 overall – which, when compared to last year’s offering, wasn’t the best.

We moved onto the Expert Mode (bright setting) next and resulted did improve slightly. Overall deltaE improved to 3.81 and gamma was much better at 2.19. Luminance for this preset was still 160 candelas which was actually lower than the out the box settings – interesting when you consider this preset being developed for bright room conditions. Again, the OLED panel produced infinite contrast ratio and perfect blacks throughout. Better still, the white point was much closer to the ideal 6500K (6108K).

Lastly, we ran the sports mode out of curiosity. It produced a 7407K white point, perfect blacks, and infinite contrast ratio. Weirdly, the Sports Mode featured the best average deltaE from the presets we tested – resulting in a 2.51 averaged deltaE. Gamma was also good at 2.17 candelas, however, luminance for this preset was 134cd/m2.

We wasted no time and decided to calibrate the LG C2 to see just how accurate it could go.

Here are the results:

Unlike the C1, the C2 became much more accurate when put through out calibration software. White point was now near-perfect and average deltaE dropped to a very respectable 1.14. Gamma was now perfect at 2.2 but black depth and contrast both suffered. That said, the panel definitely looked more accurate from a user standpoint, with overly vibrate colors being reduced to more normal levels.

Panel Uniformity

Panel uniformity is a test we run to check how uniform the luminance and colors are across the entirety of the screen. During this test, the center square is used as the reference space. Every other square is then tested to see how far it differentiates from the reference.

In an ideal world, we want every square to be green, meaning it hasn’t broken the differential threshold – something we can set at the start of the test.

Note: results will differ from panel to panel.

Looking at panel uniformity, you’d have to say that the  LG C2 OLED TV performed to an incredibly high standard. As you can see from the graph above, the majority of the panel passed the recommended tolerance limit, resulting in a green score. There were a few quadrants that resulted in an amber score (bottom right-hand corner), but the difference was undetectable by the human eye.

Overall, like its predecessor, the C2 offered up excellent panel uniformity – making it a great choice for entertainment consumption and gaming (particularly sporting events).

Viewing Angles

Like all OLED TVs, the LG C2 features fantastic viewing angles. As you can see from the video below, there was very limited color shift when viewing the C2 from obscure angles. Even when you take the camera to almost 180 degrees, you can still see color to a fairly decent standard.

Below you can see the LG C2 viewing angles:

Color Gamut

As part of the calibration process, the DisplayCal will give an accurate measurement of the color gamut the TV can provide. Below are the results of the color gamut test:

The LG C2 OLED offered up an incredibly large color gamut that offered 100% of the sRGB spectrum (168.9% gamut volume). This translates to over 100% Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 spectrums – allowing this TV to produce an incredibly accurate HDR experience that was characterized by true levels of realism.

Looking at the physical gamut graph, you can clearly see where the LG C2s gamut extends past the sRGB space. Similarly, on the DCI-P3 graph, you can easily see how it covers most of the gamut space.

Despite this not meaning much to many readers, it’s definitely worth mentioning as it has a direct impact on the visual experience you receive. A wide color gamut (WCG) is the reason why a TV can produce life colors. Better still, HDR requires a certain range of colors to be deemed ‘true HDR’. That range looks something like 95% of the DCI-P3 spectrum – which as you can see from the chart above, is easily covered by this TV.

Maximum And Minimum Brightness

We ended the color accuracy and picture quality testing by checking the maximum brightness, minimum brightness, and 120 candelas points on this panel. For this particular test, we used a 30-40% window size.

The results are below:

Brightness	Candelas
100% Brightness	227.32cd/m²
0% Brightness	33.01cd/m²
43 Brightness	120cd/m²

LC C2 OLED TV: Gaming performance & response

With color accuracy out of the way, it’s time to put the LG C2 OLED TV through a number of different gaming scenarios to see how it stacks up in pixel response, input lag, and overall responsiveness. 

It’s worth mentioning that, while this panel is tailored towards console gaming and entertainment consumption, the fast 120Hz refresh rate should help to deliver a good overall experience for PC gaming as well. Better still, with a lightning-quick response time, we should see very limited ghosting, smearing, or overshoot while gaming.

Competitive gaming

We started off by launching CS:GO, our number one game when it comes to testing a display’s general responsiveness. We started by loading the FPS preset from the TV’s Game Optimizer menu and set the TV to its native 4K screen resolution. Furthermore, we ensured that the TV was set to 120Hz in the NVIDIA Control Panel and tweaked some of the response settings in the Game Optimizer menu (such as OLED motion and reduced input lag).

The LG C2 performed to an extremely high standard in this fast-paced shooter – even when facing high speed objects. During the gaming session, almost no ghosting or smearing was experienced – mainly thanks to the TV’s incredibly fast pixel response time. Thanks to VRR and ALLM (auto low latency mode) there were also no obvious screen tear problems or stuttering. Instead, gameplay felt incredibly lucid and responsive. General perceived blur was incredibly low and it allowed individuals to focus more clearly on images on the screen – great for competitive titles such as CS:GO, COD, and PUBG.

Additionally, thanks to OLED’s self-emissive pixels, absolutely zero blooming or light bleed was experience either – something we’ll touch upon in more detail during the general gameplay section.

General gaming

Speaking of which, we wasted no time and fired the LG C2 into a few less competitive titles to see how general immersion and HDR performed. As you can imagine, the latter offered truly impressive results – especially when playing games that showcased dark scenes (such as caves or space). As the OLED panel could produce perfect blacks and an infinite contras ratio, these types of scenes looked absolutely stunning. Again, no smearing, ghosting, or blooming was experienced – a screen artifact characterized by unwanted brightness around bright objects.

We enabled the HDR feature and it’s safe to say that the LG C2 performed to an incredibly high standard once again. Playing games like Shadow Of The Tomb Raider and Battlefield V were a joy when used in tandem with this particular setting. We enabled HDR in former and the amount of detail that was produced in both extreme light and dark scenes was fantastic. Looking up at a sun through the jungle in Tomb was particular enjoyable, with HDR producing a very lifelike and realistic experience.

We played a number of different titles on the C2, including Elden Ring, Halo, New World, and Apex Legends and the feeling of immersion was abundant. The thin bezels of the screen and vibrant colors that the C2 produced helped to create a feeling of complete focus – great for both casual and competitive play.

Annoyingly, adjusting the C2’s brightness was a little problematic, with the panels ‘energy saving mode’ blocking its adjustment at first – kind of like when monitors block luminance alterations when using the sRGB emulation. We managed to adjust the brightness after a while, and, to our disappointment, the LG C2 didn’t get a that much brighter than the LG C1.

Content consumption

With this being a TV, and an OLED TV at that, you’d expect nothing but the best visual experience possible. And yep, you guessed it, that’s exactly what you get. We loaded all the usual suspects through the C2, including wild life shows, space films, and artistic pictures to get a real taste of how this TV performed on a day by day basis. It’s safe to say that everyone that put their eyes on this TV was immediately impressed by the qualities it displayed.

As we’ve already touched upon, the true blacks this TV provided helped to create incredibly accurate and immersive scenes when watching movies. Space scenes were particular good as each individual pixel could emit its own light source – meaning perfect blacks could be directly next to maximum luminance with zero blooming or haloing. You simply can’t replicate that in other technologies like LED or QLED – regardless of whether they’re utilizing the latest mini LED backlight technology.

All being said, this is where the C2 comes into it’s own – in the performance category. It delivers truly stunning visuals regardless of the content you’re consuming. Whether you’re watching a movie, playing Elden Ring on the PS5, or just catching up on the news, the visual experience that OLED TVs produce is like no other.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it, our comprehensive review of the latest LG C2 OLED TV – the brand’s latest mid-tier ‘C’ class OLED TV.

As far as the price of this TV goes, you’d have to say that, once again, it displays excellent value for money. And yes, that is taking into consideration the fact that it retails for around $200 more than last year’s model at launch.

The new Evo OLED panel has been deployed in the LG C2 range and it’s clear to see the benefits that it brings to the table. The visual experience across numerous types of content was both stunning and immersive. The high refresh rate made gameplay and everyday viewing feel incredibly smooth, paring nicely with the VRR and ALLM features to create a artifact free visual experience.

Gaming was a highlight for this TV, offering up all the features and specifications you could want. The new Game Optimizer menu offered up a bunch of cool new features that help you create the perfect experience for your specific needs. Whether you’re looking for additional vibrancy, smoother gameplay in fast-paced titles, or want to reduce eye strain in both light and dark conditions, there is a setting for almost every scenario.

Overall, we were incredibly impressed by the LG C2 OLED TV – and at this early stage, it looks set to be one of the contenders for best gaming TV of 2022.