LG C2 55 Inch Ultra HD Smart OLED TV Review: Champion of OLED
The TV I am going to review is part of the series which has been the most popular OLED TV series in India. The LG C2 range is the successor to the C1 and CX ranges that preceded it. The series promises better performance and efficiency, and brings the benefits TVs with OLED screen technology have to offer. Is this the best 55-inch premium TV you can buy under Rs 2 lakh? We will find out in this review.
LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) design and specifications
The LG C2 series comes in a variety of sizes. TVs ranging from 42 inches (Rs 1,39,990) to 83 inches (Rs 11,74,990) are available in it. The unit sent to me for review was of 55 inches which is priced at Rs 2,19,990. All sizes of TVs in this range are Ultra HD (3840×2160 pixels) OLED TVs with refresh rates up to 120Hz and all have almost the same specifications. Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos are also supported in the TVs of this series.
LG’s C series TVs aren’t known for flashy, premium designs. Its 55 inch C2 TV is also not as attractive to look as Samsung 55QN95B. Still, the company has made it in a slim profile with thin bezels, easy access to ports and sockets and thin borders around the screen, allowing you to focus more on the screen.
There is no marking on the front side of the TV, not even the LG logo is there. Only the power button is provided at the bottom, which is housed in a module where the status light and IR receiver are also located. All ports and sockets are located on the left side of the screen and are easily accessible, even when the TV is mounted on a wall. The speakers are bottom firing. Overall the design of the TV is quite straightforward.
The LG C2 55-inch TV weighs 12.7 kg without the stand and 14.4 kg with the center stand that comes in the box. The stand design is such that the TV can be placed even on a small table. For review, I mounted the TV on the wall. Wall mount kit is not included with the TV but can be provided upon request at the time of free installation.
Talking about the ports and sockets of the TV, it has four HDMI ports. All have 4K support with 120Hz. eARC support has been provided in one of these. The TV has three USB Type-A ports, LAN, optical digital audio-out, single-socket AV-in, antenna and cable socket. It also has an analog socket for the IR blaster. The TV has no connectivity for wired headphones.
Additionally, there is NVIDIA G-sync, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and AMD FreeSync support for gaming. The LG C2 supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity, and along with a 2.2-channel speaker system, it comes with 40W rated sound output. The television operates on LG’s a9 Gen 5 AI processor at 4K. It supports many types of AI features.
Remote and features of LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC)
LG’s Magic Remote concept has been quite popular. The same remote comes with the C2 55 inch. It is a full size unit and is made heavy at the bottom for better grip. The remote shows a floating cursor on the screen. You can set the cursor at any point and click by shaking the remote in front of the TV. Apart from this, a scroll wheel is also provided along with button controls. The remote is easy to use and the interface quickly becomes friendly.
Hot keys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney + Hotstar are provided in the TV remote. Separate buttons are provided for Google Assistant and Alexa. Usefully you can use both features simultaneously on the TV. This feature is not usually seen in TV. The rest of the remote is standard, with buttons for power, volume, source selection, and opening the settings menu. You can open these at any time.
Talking about other features of the TV, it also has support for Apple Air Play and HomeKit. It also supports hands-free voice control and LG’s AI ThinQ suite. With its help, it can sense the surrounding light so that it can adjust the picture and sound accordingly. The TV can be connected with the LG ThinQ app. You can connect it through your smartphone, after which you can use the phone as a TV remote and can also change many settings.
LG C2 55-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC) Software and Interface
LG’s Web OS platform has been around for many years and was originally created for Palm smartphones. Now it comes as the default operating system of TV. Changes have also been made in it in the last few years. This content has now been upgraded for recommendation. Some elements span the entire screen, such as settings and source selection menus. Most of its interface covers the entire screen.
It has a home dashboard in which connected devices are shown in a tile display. From here you get quick access to AirPlay and any IoT devices you’ve connected through the LG ThinQ app. The main interface of the smart TV appears on the full screen, which includes weather, content recommendations, apps and web browser. As soon as you press the home button, the things playing now get paused, which was not the case earlier.
The popular apps that you want to watch on smart TV are already installed in it like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney + Hotstar etc. You can install other apps by going to the library. Many types of games and social media apps are also provided in the TV. The app library of webOS is quite good. The apps work just like they do on other TV platforms.
Overall, I found the software experience to be a bit clunky and things took a while to load. Apart from this, I did not find any special problem in it and found webOS useful.
Performance of the LG C2-inch OLED TV (OLED55C2PSC)
Priced at over Rs 2,00,000, the LG C2 55-inch TV is clearly a premium option. Considering the price, it is natural to expect similar performance from it. LG’s OLED televisions typically deliver on this premise and the C2 is no different. Talking about picture quality and overall performance, this is one of the best TVs in its segment right now.
If we look at its specifications, the TV is ready for all types of content. It supports various HDR formats along with features like Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos audio, pixel level dimming. One thing that is special about its picture performance is that it adjusts the picture according to the lighting and conditions in the room. This allows it to display content in the best picture quality so that whatever appears on the screen appears in its best form.
In this list, Ultra-HD Dolby Vision content was at the top for me. I watched a lot of shows and movies on TV. These included titles like Obi Wan Kenobi, The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, Uncharted, and Man Vs Bee. The TV performed wonders in this regard, especially when it came to contrast levels.
The true pixel level of OLED TVs means contrast goes to virtual infinity, but maintaining the right amount can be a challenge. The LG C2 does its job here, delivering picture quality that doesn’t give the impression that the picture is struggling too hard to highlight the deep blacks, as is the case with affordable OLED TVs. Gets to see.
The colors were in place, instead of showing bright colors, here the focus is more on the accuracy of the colors. The impact of Dolby Vision’s ability to handle colors is clearly visible here. Especially when The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals features stunning locations.
The brightness was absolutely on point according to the lighting of the room. Here LG’s AI ThinQ function works and sets the picture properly. The picture collaboration in Obi Wan Kenobi’s detailed scenes is perfect. However, sometimes the TV takes a few minutes to react to changes in light conditions, but when it does its job the picture quality turns out to be excellent.
OLEDs are not known for very high brightness levels. Here the company has claimed to make C2 brighter than previous models. This was not a problem for me as I mostly watch TV at night in dim light of the room. But it faced problems many times during the day.
Unlike the Samsung QN95B Mini LED TV, the LG TV seems to struggle to adjust to the picture in bright daylight during the day. For this I had to pull down the curtains of the room. This can become a challenge in rooms with lots of light. Dolby Vision and HDR10 content was watchable in a brightly lit room, thanks to the TV’s brightness. There was some difficulty in viewing non-HDR content in such a room. Episodes of Better Call Saul were highly detailed, which was thanks to the TV’s Ultra HD resolution. But it was difficult to watch this wonderful show in dull night time scenes. Black levels were handled well, but the show’s suburban setting sometimes lacked character and feel.
Even though I had a slight problem with the brightness, there was no lack in the sharpness and motion handling of the TV. The TV focused on Rowan Atkinson’s facial expressions in the slow scenes of Man Vs Bee. At the same time, Uncharted’s fast and exciting action scenes looked very clean, with accurate blur levels and hardly any visible artifacts.
The TV performs well with low-resolution content, with decent brightness and color levels. While watching The Batman on Amazon Prime Video, I was disappointed at several points. With the low resolution, the TV was not able to do much and the picture mostly looked of poor quality while streaming. However, in this case, better results were obtained on Philips Ambilight 7900 series TVs. This shows that the LG C2 needs a lot of improvement to process light quality content.
The sound quality of LG C2 55 inch proved to be very good in many places. Thanks to Dolby Atmos, the sound remained clear even in standard content, even if the volume was high. However, this was also a problem for me. I have a habit of often keeping the TV volume at 90 percent to hear things better. But, I did not get that level of loud sound while watching movies like Uncharted and The Batman on this TV. You may feel the need to install a soundbar or speaker system in it.
our decision
Premium televisions come with big expectations and priced at Rs 2,19,990, the LG C2 55 Inch TV delivers the same flagship experience you would expect from it. The TV delivers an amazing viewing experience with high quality content while maintaining amazing colours, contrast levels, black levels, sharpness and motion.
It also has some shortcomings. If these shortcomings match with your needs and viewing conditions, then you may also prefer to buy one of its competitors. These shortcomings include weak brightness, poor performance with low-resolution content, and a built-in speaker system that is less loud. In such a situation, Samsung QN95B can also become your choice.
Despite this, overall LG C2 55 inch is the best choice with good design, features, software of the TV. If you are going to buy a premium TV recently then you can definitely keep this in your list.
