LG C4 OLED assessment: everybody ought to have one

The LG C4 is the second-best OLED TV LG makes. As an OLED, it’s acquired a leg up on mini-LED TVs when it comes to distinction, black ranges, and shade richness. It was that OLEDs had a troublesome time competing when it comes to uncooked brightness energy. However with every year that passes, that’s much less and fewer of a priority. At this time, an OLED TV just like the C4 is a lot vivid sufficient for many viewing conditions.

The highest portion of the C4 is superthin — thinner than your cellphone — and there’s just a little bump-out towards the underside to accommodate a few of the bulkier guts like the facility provide and processing elements. The TV has a centralized pedestal stand that is available in two items and is put collectively and connected to the TV with eight screws.

You get 4 HDMI 2.1 inputs with this TV, certainly one of which is an eARC port. Across the entrance, you’ve gotten very efficient anti-glare and anti-reflection remedy, however the display nonetheless has a shiny luster when lit up and exhibiting an image.

The C4 comes with LG’s Magic Distant, which is loaded with buttons and movement management — you possibly can simply level and wave on the TV to maneuver issues round. I’m not a fan of the movement management that almost all apps use to make it very simple to log in utilizing your cellphone. Nonetheless, LG gives this type of home-office interface the place not solely are you able to browse webpages, however you possibly can view your electronic mail, Google Docs, messenger, calendar, and many others. And when you use that stuff in your TV, the movement management is important for shifting the on-screen cursor, as clicking your approach round can be a ache.

That is all because of the webOS working system on LG’s TV. And, sure, LG has sneaked advertisements into that person interface. That’s not a brand new factor. And to LG’s credit score, the one advertisements I’ve seen are for content material or video games you possibly can get pleasure from on the TV — no retail or product advertisements, although there’s a purchasing channel when you like the thought of purchasing in your TV.

You possibly can simply entry free web TV — or FAST channels, as they’re known as — in addition to your entire regular apps. I simply don’t just like the structure. It’s a bit too busy and full of stuff I’ll by no means use and may’t take away. I simply want I might clear this mess up, however exterior of shifting apps out of the way in which, I can’t actually do this.

The LG C4 has a fantastic automated recreation mode that engages when enjoying console or PC video games. It helps all of the variable refresh fee (VRR) codecs, has super-low enter lag, and is in any other case an superior alternative for gaming. If you happen to’re apprehensive about burn-in, LG has processes in-built to mitigate that threat. And whereas LG doesn’t provide a burn-in-specific guarantee for this TV prefer it does for the G4, I’m assured all however essentially the most hardcore avid gamers needn’t fear about gaming-triggered burn-in.

A fast phrase on the sound high quality: It’s inferior to I would like it to be for a TV at this value. The Roku Professional Sequence is a TV that proves it doesn’t take a ton of house to slot in a strong sound system. The sound on this TV is just not poor, it’s simply not as superior as I would like it to be.

Dialogue is fairly clear, however voices appear disconnected from the image. There’s sufficient bass to spherical out the sound, however it carries little weight. The sound additionally will get just a little compressed at larger volumes. LG does present an AI sound Professional function that goals to bolster the audio, however I’ve by no means been a fan and the C4 doesn’t change my stance.

Yet one more factor to say regardless that I completely don’t suppose this must sway anybody’s choice on a TV buy: LG doesn’t do ATSC 3.0 tuners proper now. So, if for some cause it’s important to have that — regardless that I might argue it’s of little to zero profit to anybody, a minimum of proper now — simply know you’d want an exterior field to do ATSC 3.0 over the air (OTA) broadcasts.

OK, now it’s time to speak image high quality. It is a part the place we get into some technical measurements, so when you don’t care what the height brightness, electro-optical switch perform (EOTF), and BT.2020 protection specs are for this TV, be happy to skip to the following part the place I’ll speak all concerning the real-world image high quality capabilities for this TV.

Right here’s the tea: Completely zero surprises, no actual disappointments, and there’s even a slight measurable enhance in brightness.

In Fillmmaker mode, SDR brightness peaked at simply shy of 300 nits for me. You possibly can, in fact, drive the TV a lot more durable to brighten it up. Two-point white steadiness and grayscale are wonderful — maybe not as excellent because the G4 measured, however I’m nonetheless mighty impressed. I imply, I’d knock just a few factors off the pink channel throughout the grayscale and this is able to tighten proper up.

Shade efficiency is great. You lose a little bit of saturation within the dimmest colours, however based mostly on the measurements, these readings are excellent.

And that development continues in HDR, the place I acquired simply over 1,000 nits peak from a 2% window as much as 25% earlier than it drops down. We all know to count on this from non-micro lens array (MLA) OLEDs, the place full-screen white is available in at round 200 nits. So, when you watch quite a lot of hockey or quite a lot of snow-filled scenes and also you need your eyeballs seared, nicely, it’s possible you’ll wanna go elsewhere. For all however the brightest, most sun-soaked rooms, that is going to be simply nice, thanks very a lot.

The TV tracks EOTF completely right here. Gamma is strong.

HDR shade matching was top-tier. P3 shade was proper at about 100% and BT.2020 at 75%.

Like I mentioned, zero surprises.

I’ll word that HDR mode is just not fairly as vivid as a few of the different image modes. Not as soon as did it ever hassle me, however I’m not gaming with daylight pouring in right here. The lighting in right here is at all times reasonable, so whereas the measurements don’t lie, it was robust to note any degradation in brightness throughout precise gameplay.

So the image high quality takeaway for this TV? It’s excellent. That is the OLED TV tier most individuals should purchase. The processing is superb. It’s perhaps not as pristine as Sony’s, however most folk gained’t discover the distinction on-screen like they’ll discover the distinction of their checking account ought to they select the Sony Bravia 8 as an alternative.

I additionally really feel just like the processing right here is best than Samsung’s in a few areas based mostly on prior expertise with the S95D, however I’m going to carry off on making a last name till I’ve reviewed the S90D QD-OLED TV. Actually, when you purchase the Samsung S90D QD-OLED, you’re doing it since you need the upper shade saturation on the brighter finish of the spectrum. It’s a decent, tight race, of us. I’d say when you’ve got preexisting model loyalty to LG, simply purchase the C4.

The proper blacks, the wonderful shade, the moment pixel response time, the highly effective processing, the strong upscaling, the wonderful gaming efficiency? The one cause you must pay extra is when you crave the very, best possible there’s and also you’re prepared to pay handsomely for it.

A lot of the distinction between the C4 right here and the G4 goes to be within the HDR highlights. It’s a distinction you possibly can see after we have a look at scenes like this one in Mad Max, the place the LG G4 makes these flames searingly vivid, quite than simply glowing on the C4.

Now, when you do watch TV in a super-bright room pretty usually? I believe it’s worthwhile to have a look at a extra highly effective mini-LED across the similar value. And when you actually need an OLED, you’ll have to step as much as one thing just like the LG G4, the Sony A95L, or the Samsung S95D.

However when you’re coming from an LED TV from 4 or  5 years in the past, or any mid-tier TV from that point interval, the LG C4 goes to be a severe improve in image high quality.

I’m telling ya, that is your TV proper right here. Get it.

If you happen to had been anticipating an extended, extra drawn-out assessment — hey, I’m sorry. The factor is that there’s little or no this TV does that isn’t superior. Get your self a pleasant soundbar, get a Roku or an Apple TV, and get this TV.

The C4 is simply rock-solid, dependable, and spectacular. It’s beautiful. I want everybody might have one. It’s simply that good.