The LG C2 is a Light, Easier, and More Light than It Looks: The C2’s New HDMI-portfolio
It will not win out in every scenario, but the C2 never left me wanting for more. It’s good for the contrast and inky blacks that some OLEDs are known for. It’s fun to watch Top Gun: Mavericks on this thing because the colors are vibrant, the highlights pop, and the HGiG support is great.
One of the improvements that LG made to the C2 will be obvious soon after you power it on. The most notable thing about this TV’s design is just how remarkably light it is. By switching to composite fiber materials, LG has reduced the heft in a big way. The 65-inch model I’ve been testing weighs 40.8 pounds with the stand or 36.6 pounds without. The difference is significant, as last year’s version came in at 71.9 pounds, with or without the stand. The larger the screen, the lighter the weight is so you won’t need a helping hand when setting up one. The pedestal stand is also now lighter, narrower, and appreciably taller; my Sonos soundbar partially obstructed the screen with my old CX, but that’s not a problem thanks to this stand’s extra clearance.
As for the HDMI ports, all four are capable of 120Hz 4K gaming and the whole array of HDMI 2.1 features. It is nice that there isn’t a necessity to be so precious about which device gets plugged into what port. The rest of the system has plenty of flexibility, but you should always make sure your system is running through the eARC HDMI port. LG has been doing this for years, and while some TV makers are finally catching up and going full-bandwidth on every HDMI port, others like Hisense and TCL still limit some of the most important features (like 120Hz) to two ports instead of the whole lot.
The actual TV settings menus are the same as in the past, and are easy to find. When you visit the different picture modes and other settings you will want to turn off the energy-saving features that can dim the screen and keep the C2 from looking its very best. And if the haphazard layout or ads of webOS’ homescreen get on your nerves, you can always hook up a streaming player from Apple, Roku, Amazon, or Google and largely ignore the TV’s software beyond the basic menus.
The Fixed-Curve OLED TV C2 ($999$ or $2,699$) for Preorder: Features, Audio, and Sound System
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It is not possible for us to read and analyze every single agreement. We are going to start counting the number of times you have to agree to use devices when we review them, since they are agreements most people cannot negotiate.
I don’t know many people who splurge on an OLED TV only to rely on its built-in speakers, but if you find yourself without a soundbar or surround system for a while, the C2’s audio output is better than tolerable. The company doesn’t expect much in the way of bass at moderate volume levels but uses some tricks to maintain good balance. These speakers are fine as a stopgap, but you’ll want to pair the C2 with a better sound system to bring its audio experience up to par with its visual one.
In case you missed it, they just went on preorder this week, costing $999 and $1,699, respectively. The 27-inch model will be one of many options if you want an LG OLED panel, with riffs on it coming from companies like Dough and perhaps Asus. And LG’s 45-inch model uses the same display as the curve-it-yourself 45-inch Corsair Xeneon Flex that I got my hands on, but this is the first time I’m getting to see LG’s own fixed-curve version.
I like the 27-inch version for several reasons. First, it’s novel to see a 27-inch OLED, not just a “small” 42- or 48-inch OLED TV that, in reality, is still a tall desk hog with a terrible stand. It might be on the small side for some (not sure about you, but 27 inches is perfect for my studio apartment), and it looks so sharp running Valorant at QHD resolution that most people probably won’t mind that it isn’t 4K, like LG’s OLED TVs. QHD doesn’t require the latest graphics cards to work, and the latest consoles support 1440p just fine.
I like the fact that the 28-inch model can pivot 90 degrees in portrait mode if you want, and the 25-inch model can pivot 10 degrees in portrait mode if you want. If you don’t want to use the stand, each monitor has a VESA 100x 100 mount on its rear that you can wall-mount or attach to a monitor arm. Both monitors have a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4 port.
Samsung claims that both of these monitors support HDR True Black 400, a VESA spec that means they can reach 400 nits of peak brightness. However, it’s possible that they’ll deliver lower brightness in reality, depending on what you watch on them. During HDTVTest’s review of the Alienware QD-OLED monitor, which has the same True Black spec as these new Samsung monitors, it delivered closer to 280 nits while displaying an all-white screen (the most brutal challenge for an OLED).
The Odyssey G8 has a similar panel to what Alienware used in their QD-OLED gaming monitor, but is a bit smaller. The 34inch screen has a 21-9:9 aspect ratio, 3,440 x 1, 480 resolution, and a 175Hz refresh rate. Samsung still hasn’t shared a price, but we’ll update this post if that changes.
It is expected that they can maintain vivid quantum dot color reproduction even at the peak brightness levels, and that it can occasionally exhibit some desaturation. In Sony’s case, the company is claiming that QD-OLED “boosts color brightness by up to 200 percent compared to conventional TVs.” The QD-OLED view angles are claimed to be even better since there’s more diffuse light hitting the screen.
It is possible to connect these monitors to powerful consoles and PCs but also to play on cloud streaming services like XBOX Cloud Gaming, when you use the Gaming Hub. They have a Smart Hub which lets them access their smart TV apps. In terms of ports, both of them feature Mini DisplayPort, Micro HDMI 2.1, and USB-C charging of up to 65W.