NEXT-GEN COMPATIBILITY AND GAME OPTIMISER
Just like last year's C1 model, you will get four HDMI 2.1 ports using the LG C2, which means if you've got a PS5, Xbox Series X and a 3000 series GPU, you're sorted. Whilst some manufacturers are still doing their HDMI port compatibility, LG has made it so that you can plug any HDMI 2.1 compatible device into any of its full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports and get an equally great result. Which means that having a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you can access 4K at 120FPS with HDR enabled whilst taking advantage of Variable Refresh Rates and Auto Low Latency Modes. The TV supports both NVIDIA G-Sync as well as AMD FreeSync Premium so every is made of covered when it comes to playing games about this display.
Last year’s Game Optimiser menu constitutes a return and processes largely the same, with a few slight tweaks. Like before, when you press around the settings menu whilst there's a console connected, rather than obtaining the generic settings popup, you will get one focused on gaming. This means that you can check out your frame rate on the fly, adjust the black stabilizer, turn on G-Sync and low latency modes or quickly visit the broader Game Optimiser menu which lets you adjust items like your HDR settings and so on. It’s a little thing in the grand scheme, but being in a position to quickly see how your TV is performing together with your consoles or PC instantly and easily discover your chosen settings is extremely welcome.
THE IMAGE QUALITY
If you are looking for true-to-life picture that's almost perfect out of the box, there aren't many consumer-level sets on the market as impressive as this (bar LG’s own top-of-the-line G2). With the C2 being an OLED TV, this means that each pixel is self-lit which means you are going to have the inkiest, deepest blacks and truly vibrant colours. Every year we have seen more and more innovations using their company display technologies that bring them closer to the imagine infinite contrast that OLED offers, but nothing beats the genuine article.
That’s especially true considering that LG is making huge strides to bridge the one gap between its OLED technology and other solutions available on the market – brightness. Because of the limitations of power and thermals, OLED panels have traditionally been significantly dimmer at peak brightness compared to the various assumes LCD panels out there, making them perfectly ideal for dark theatre room environments but an inconvenience in brightly-lit areas. That’s far less of a concern now though, with the “evo” panel in the C2 offering further improved brightness within the C1. Looking at the plethora of side-by-side comparisons and benchmarks available elsewhere it’s not really a huge margin within the previous model but because someone coming off of an older LG B8 OLED the main difference in brightness here's astronomical and simply makes this TV viable for viewing in about any environment.
Whilst gaming or watching HDR movie content, the picture this is a genuine marvel. The blacks are cosmically deep, HDR really pops, using the TVs implementation of HGiG being excellent and perfectly arranging using the PS5 and Xbox Series X's in-built calibrations. The best compliment we are able to give this TV when gaming or doing almost anything is the fact that everything just works how it's supposed to out of the box. It is fool proof, right down to the television literally recognising that you're plugging in a console and automatically setting up everything the way it needs to be.
Usually after i customize the TV I spend literal hours setting up and tweaking everything to match the viewing environment and what I’m playing through it, however with my C2 I’ve barely scratched the surface of all of the picture settings because I’m incredibly pleased with the way it all looks from the outset. I did previously hate booting up a new HDR-ready gaming and achieving to guess my way through those brightness calibration screens, but to date not one of them have given me any grief since.
Something I had been keen to check out for myself is the C2’s compatibility with new gaming-focussed technologies like Variable Rate Refresh, 120Hz refresh rates and pushes towards low input latency. The great news is the TV does all of this stuff excellently. Both my PS5 and Xbox Series X instantly detected the display was capable and adjusted their output settings to match, meaning I possibly could get to firing up games like Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart to marvel in their 120Hz/40FPS output options in addition to performance modes that appear to be impossibly smooth with VRR enabled. Input latency overall can be quite good as well, with multiple step settings in the Game Optimiser to push it all the way down.
As usual, burn-in is definitely something OLED owners will have at the back of their brains like a possibility when gaming, however i can personally say after using these LG OLED for years and now the C2 I’ve only noticed a minimal amount of very temporary image retention with no actual burn-in. There are a couple of technologies and settings on the TV to ensure the chances are negligible at best so it’s nothing I’d be worried about unless you somehow planned on utilizing it as your main monitor for everyday PC use.
What I’m still less than keen on is the LG’s aggressive backlight control, which can occasionally look funky on scenes with very bright screen coverage as it dims in and out to complement the displays overall peak brightness. It’s much less noticeable here compared to older models though, particularly when there’s just as much brightness overhead as you become here.
THE USER INTERFACE
The LG C2 carries over the newer iteration of LG’s WebOS Smart TV interface from last year’s models – you have one home screen that not only has all your apps and HDMI sources on it, but it'll also cleverly demonstrate top picks in the variety of streaming services, and permit you to continue watching programs without even jumping into those apps. It’s slightly disappointing to determine there’s still no dedicated Google Cast capabilities, but all the apps you’d want are here from Netflix to Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Kayo, Binge and Apple TV+. If you’re an Apple user, you’ve still got the option of easily casting content with AirPlay too.
My only real gripe using the UI around the C2 is that I couldn’t try to have the TV boot directly into the excellent Home Dashboard, which helps you to see all of your inputs as well as access content from your phone and control all of your home’s smart lighting and devices in one sexy-looking screen. It’s a small complaint and just comes down to how much I love the Home Dashboard being an all-in-one home control solution immediately around the giant screen in my lounge.
The staple LG Magic Remote is largely unchanged from this past year but still one of the best proprietary TV remotes around, and I’ve grown to like it much more since discovering that I can utilize it as a mouse pointer with the TV’s native GeForce Now app to quite literally utilize it as a pointer for games that I’m streaming. Pointer controls for strategy or point-and-click games? Wiimote-style controls for FPSes?? Count me in!
What all of this comes down to after your day is the C2 quite deftly continues the already-stellar legacy from the C1 as a consumer-level OLED TV that possesses unbeatable image quality and great gaming features. May possibly not be a huge step-up from the predecessor – I certainly wouldn’t go upgrading if you’ve got last year’s model – but originating from an older LG OLED or another display technology you’re going to be wowed. With regards to gaming, there’s no other TV I’d sooner recommend.
