A beautiful and great-value OLED from LG
Execs
- Sharp and vibrant image
- Wonderful upscaling
- WebOS nonetheless rocks
- Low enter lag
Cons
- Movement may very well be higher
- Higher suited to darker rooms
Key Specs
- Overview Worth: £2799
- 4K Extremely HD decision
- HDR codecs: HDR10, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, HLG, Superior HDR
- Dolby Atmos sound
What’s the LG C8 OLED?
Every year, LG releases a variety of OLED TVs that’s higher than its final. And annually, the ‘C’ mannequin (together with its ‘B’ sibling) represents the perfect worth. This 12 months is not any totally different: the LG C8 OLED deserves particular consideration.
This isn’t as a result of it has the fanciest design or is the perfect performer of the vary; it simply presents higher worth for cash. What you get is similar image efficiency because the dearer LG E8 OLED, however with a extra palatable price ticket.
The 55-inch LG C8 OLED reviewed right here (full title, LG OLED55C8PLA) prices £2799. It’s additionally out there in a 65-inch model (LG OLED65C8PLA) for £3495 and at 77 inches (learn our overview: LG OLED77C8) for £7499.
This TV does nearly all the things proper, however its greatest concern is its equally priced LED LCD rival, the Samsung Q9FN. This presents the next dynamic vary and is extra fitted to bright-room viewing. It’s a troublesome selection, so let’s discover out which mannequin comes out on high.
LG C8 OLED – Design and options
The final C-series TV from LG featured a modest central pedestal, however the LG C8 OLED is a bit more showy. The steel slab is now longer (roughly 104cm), and it curves forwards. That is to redirect sound from the down-firing audio system so it fires forwards.
I just like the look, and the unit is definitely extra steady than TVs with central pedestals – however you’ll want a wider desk or bench to accommodate it. If that’s a little bit boring for you, try the LG E8, which sports activities a elaborate glass design. Personally, I’d follow the C8.
The C8’s display is in regards to the thickness of six bank cards, and the bezel isn’t substantial sufficient to dwell on. The underside half of the again homes all of the electronics, which takes the thickness to about 5cm.
Inputs embody 4 HDMI ports, all of which help 4K and HDR enter. In contrast to the Sony AF8 OLED, the LG C8 OLED doesn’t use massive plastic panels to cover cables. This isn’t a difficulty for me: I not often look behind my TV.
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The ‘Magic Distant’ makes a welcome return. It’s a big (however ergonomic) wand that appears a little bit intimidating at first sight however is definitely a pleasure to make use of. It has three management schemes in a single: customary buttons, a wheel for menu scrolling, plus gyroscopes and accelerometers to regulate an on-screen cursor. Bear in mind the Nintendo Wii? It’s a bit like that.
One other welcome sight is LG’s webOS interface, which has primarily outlined how sensible TVs must behave. Over time the system has been tweaked, however the core providing stays the identical.
The menu is a helpful pop-up bar with a bunch of playing cards for apps, inputs and favorite channels. It’s possible you’ll drag and drop them the place you want, navigate with the pointer, or go old-school and press buttons.
If solely all sensible TVs have been this intuitive; Android TV (favoured by Philips and Sony Bravia TVs) has so much to study. The closest different is the launcher bar system utilized by Samsung, however even that isn’t as silky-smooth nor snappy as webOS.
LG C8 OLED – Specs
All of the actually new stuff is on the within. The brand new Alpha 9 chip powers all of LG’s 2018 OLED TVs (besides the entry-level B8, which makes use of the Alpha 7). LG tells me the Alpha 9 excels at noise discount, sharpness and color dealing with – all particularly essential should you’re upscaling non-4K content material.
There’s additionally a brand new Dynamic Tone Mapping function – which, should you ask me, is a little bit of witchcraft in motion. It provides dynamic changes to static metadata alerts. Translation: vanilla HDR alerts nonetheless get the scene-by-scene optimisation loved by fancier (dynamic metadata) HDR codecs.
Talking of which, LG continues to help the best variety of HDR codecs – which is an effective factor contemplating the HDR panorama continues to be a Wild West state of affairs. The LG C8 OLED will settle for the usual HDR10, the dynamic metadata-toting Dolby Imaginative and prescient, the broadcast-friendly HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) and Superior HDR by Technicolor.
The one one lacking is HDR10+, which has help from Fox, Warner and Amazon. It’s nonetheless too early to find out which format will change into dominant, so I applaud LG’s agnostic method.
The corporate tells me it’s specializing in processor tech this 12 months, as a result of the panel tech hasn’t modified a lot. We’re nonetheless coping with a 10-bit panel with a 4K Extremely HD decision and a slightly elevated peak brightness of simply over 800 nits.
Is it attainable that OLED panel tech has peaked? Fairly presumably, however given how good the LG C8 OLED seems to be, I’m unsure it must get any higher.
LG C8 OLED – Efficiency
There’s no easier strategy to put this: the LG C8 OLED is a surprising TV. Its photos are attractive, and it’s onerous to not marvel on the image high quality. Should you ignore all elements and rivals and simply purchase this TV proper now, you received’t be disillusioned.
It doesn’t provide an enormous soar over final 12 months’s LG C7 and B7, however this isn’t a detrimental when you think about these fashions have been already glorious. The C8 is unquestionably brighter, extra detailed and extra impactful, although.
Like all OLED TVs, the LG C8 enjoys pixel-level luminance, the place every pixel is ready to activate and off individually. Meaning outstanding lighting precision that beats even probably the most completed FALD (full-array native dimming) methods discovered on high-end LCD TVs, such because the Samsung Q9FN.
You’ll be able to have gentle components subsequent to darkish components with zero blooming or halo results. In shadowy motion movies akin to The Darkish Knight or John Wick, it’s outstanding how darkish areas stay unpolluted by close by gunfire and explosions. If you would like correct blacks, you’ve acquired it.
Good blacks are nothing new to OLED TVs, however the LG C8 does an amazing job at preserving darkish element in these areas simply above black. It appears the Alpha 9 chip actually works, since there’s little of the noise extra prevalent on older OLEDs. Detailed shadows and nil gentle air pollution: this TV would do very nicely in darkish rooms.
Now for the opposite excessive: brightness. Traditionally, this has been an space that OLEDs have tended to battle. The LG C8, nevertheless, doesn’t battle. No less than, not with the mixed-brightness pictures that make up nearly all of all content material on the market. Simply watch Thor: Ragnarok and marvel on the approach Jeff Goldblum sparkles.
Clearly, the LG can’t hit the identical 2000-nit peaks because the Samsung Q9FN. Nor can it provide the identical lush ranges of vividness in vivid scenes. Nonetheless, it’s able to impactful highlights and its colors don’t endure any points with saturation. Largely vivid scenes, in the meantime, don’t endure wherever close to the quantity of clipping seen on older OLED fashions.
Should you’ve been holding off shopping for an OLED till they acquired vivid sufficient, now’s the time. That being mentioned, I’d nonetheless advocate testing the Samsung Q9FN if most of your viewing is in brightly lit circumstances, or if you need that actual HDR ‘punch’.
Then there’s the sharpness. This can be a splendidly crisp image. In native 4K, some pictures are the sharpest I’ve ever seen from an LG OLED – even sharper than the Samsung Q9FN. This crispness extends to upscaled non-4K sources, which take pleasure in properly outlined edges with out a lot in the way in which of image noise. Once more, it seems the Alpha 9 chip works as marketed.
OLED continues to fly the flag for viewing angles. You’ll be able to sit just about wherever within the room with out the concern of dropping out on brightness and distinction. The Samsung Q9FN could also be vastly spectacular, however that limits you to about 35 levels off-centre.
There’s one space I’m nonetheless unsure about, and that’s movement. LG has by no means been notably sturdy on this division, and whereas there have been enhancements, it isn’t a patch on what the Sony AF8 OLED and Sony A1 OLED can do. Sony manages {smooth}, pure movement however the LG was at all times a little bit too juddery for my tastes, or a little bit too shiny. I spent ages twiddling with the TruMotion and the brand new black body insertion function however, in the end, I left them turned off and resigned myself to a little bit judder.
LG stays among the finest for gaming, nevertheless. The low-latency Recreation Mode displayed an enter lag measurement of round 21ms. A much less scientific method: my week with the LG C8 OLED had me carry out constantly higher than my week with the Sony AF8.
As for sound, probably the most noteworthy function on the specs sheet is Dolby Atmos. This TV can’t present the complete ‘dome of sound’ expertise like a full-fat Atmos system with ceiling audio system, however it really succeeds in offering sense of house.
The sound is definitely bigger than you’d count on from the TV’s dimensions, and there’s an honest grasp of results placement. Some sounds even really feel like they’re coming from above the TV. Tonal stability isn’t wonderful, although – it’s a little bit skinny to do justice to bombastic film soundtracks. If you would like one thing to shake your home/wake your neighbours, think about getting a soundbar or some audio system.
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All in all, there are many causes to purchase the LG C8 OLED. Should you’re intending to take action, listed below are some setup ideas. Keep away from the Vivid mode. I typically alternated between Normal for day use and Cinema Residence for night time. The previous is brighter and extra punchy, whereas the latter is hotter and a little bit extra delicate.
I already talked about leaving the TruMotion settings off, however should you do need a little bit processing, I’d set it to ‘Consumer’ and manually nudge de-judder and de-blur to a few.
Of most significance is that you simply activate the Dynamic Tone Mapping mode. With out this, the image seems to be a little bit flat and muted. Don’t confuse that setting for Dynamic Color, which may result in unintended over-saturation. Flip that one off.
Why purchase the LG C8 OLED?
The LG C8 places to mattress any suggestion that OLED TVs aren’t vivid sufficient or thrilling sufficient for HDR. The panel tech itself might not have modified a lot, however LG has clearly discovered an efficient strategy to optimise efficiency by means of intelligent processing. The outcomes are beautiful; you probably have £3000 to splash on a TV, go forward and purchase the C8 – you received’t remorse it.
There’s only one fly in LG’s ointment: the Samsung Q9FN. It’s equally priced and excels in its personal methods. It doesn’t have the lighting precision, however it might get virtually as darkish, and an entire lot brighter too – that’s an enormous dynamic vary. For these properties with quite a few home windows or vivid lights, the Samsung manages a extra versatile image.
Should you’re not in a rush, nevertheless, you may need to wait a little bit. Sony has simply introduced a possible game-changer OLED within the type of the Sony AF9: Sony’s new Grasp Collection 4K TVs may very well be the last word strategy to watch Netflix.
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Verdict
One other 12 months, one other attractive and great-value OLED from LG.
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