he LG C2 OLED is one of the most popular TVs of 2022, and with its incredible performance for gamers and media enthusiasts alike, it will certainly be a popular choice going into 2023 as well.
Having had recent price reductions before the LG C3‘s arrival, it’s a compelling pick to choose when it comes to OLED TVs. For myself, as a newer dad, I’m spending far more of my limited time gaming on TVs instead of PCs.
Personally, it’s easier and more relaxing to grab the controller, melt into my couch, and game on my PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X at the end of a long day. And as someone who appreciates high refresh gaming coming from PC, the LG C2 OLED has made my console gaming experience that much better. Not to mention, shows and movies are absolutely stellar, and, spoiler alert, you really won’t be disappointed.
So here’s a long-term review of the LG C2 OLED from a tired gamer dad who appreciates an incredible TV. I’ll also have all product links for everything.
Build & Design
The first thing I want to touch on before I get into gaming is the building design. Truly, it has held up extraordinarily well over the year. I’m still amazed at how thin and light this TV is, and it’s largely due to the OLED panel. The overall design is super refined with wildly thin bezels, and if you’re coming from an older TV, this will have a pretty huge shock value.
The center-oriented stand has minimal branding as well, and it feels like premium metal material. Having a center-oriented stand, there is a little bit of wobble back and forth for the TV itself, but this really hasn’t been an issue for me. Less so if I end up mounting this on a wall. I will say the profile of the height of my stand is a little bit short, so I’ll have to take this into consideration when I get a soundbar later this year.
The model I ended up going with is 55 inches, although I really do wish I went with a minimum of 65. The available sizes are 42, 48, 55, 65, 77, and a massive 83.
LG C2 Ports
What’s actually totally badass here is that I’m seeing a lot of people using the 42-inch model as a PC monitor, although without a display port, you will need a 6000 or 30 series GPU later to get that high refresh through HDMI 2.1.
Regarding HDMI and the ports, one thing I absolutely love here is that there are four HDMI 2.1 ports. A lot of TVs only seem to come with two, which is a little bit lackluster, but this TV does come with four, one of which is supported for your sound systems. For other ports, you do have three USB ports and ethernet ports for direct internet connection.
The headphone jack, which I’m sure will be good for those PC users, and optical port and coax for whatever you have plugged in as well. The clips do a great job on the back end to help you hide cables, and I’m super stoked that they have a solution for cable management. While I’m back here, I have to say you should consider using some sort of light strip on the back end of your TV. This is easily one of the more affordable ways to make any setup nicer. Even during the daytime, ambient white lights are super clean. Overall, though, the build and as for the gaming experience.
Gaming
This is truly what makes the C2 such an incredible TV for me. While some people may watch more TV and movies, gaming is where I get the most value out of this TV. What makes the C2 so special for me personally is the high refresh rate. As a long-time PC gamer, high refresh is an absolute must-have for me, and pairing that with a new generation of consoles, this TV absolutely delivers. I recently finished God of War Ragnarok, which is easily one of my favorite games of all time, and frankly, I don’t know what to do with my hands now. Although, I did just move on to Elden Ring for the first time, which has been an interesting experience to say the least. At least I can fail repeatedly on a crisp 4K HDR TV.
When it comes to fast-paced gaming like Call of Duty or Overwatch, you can really see the FreeSync and G-Sync come into play. Since there are zero noticeable artifacts or tearing while gaming, it’s been an absolute great time. AMD FreeSync will be supported by Xbox series X and Nvidia’s G-Sync for the PlayStation 5. And while I’m still getting destroyed by children in these games, the filthy toxicity of those lobbies are dampened by the insane colors and inky blacks thanks to the OLED panel. Getting roasted by 12-year-olds really ain’t that bad on a beautiful TV.
At least I know it’s not a hardware problem. With the Xbox series X and PlayStation 5, there are a couple of stamina features that are enabled which makes this a great choice for gamers, and that’s VRR and ALLM. VRR is variable refresh rate, which allows this TV to take advantage of the new-gen consoles for better frame rates while gaming. The thing about this too is that games that were previously locked to 60 FPS, like Horizon Forbidden West or Spider-Man, now have frames unlocked up to 120 FPS. And what I haven’t seen a lot in TVs these days are gaming-specific menus which allow you to change settings and see your FPS on the fly. So, this is absolutely a nice touch by LG. And if you are a competitive gamer, ALLM, which is auto low latency mode, makes controller input ridiculously quick and easy. One of the better things for console gamers on TVs is that while it’s easy to glorify 4K high refresh gaming, it still looks incredible on older systems or even a Nintendo Switch. And it doesn’t end at gaming either.
Picture Quality
As I mentioned, content on this TV looks incredible. I’m not really the media consumption type, what with wanting to game, work, and parent, but this is easily one of the best TVs I’ve ever seen. HDR content truly looks amazing, and it could be because I’m spending a lot of time watching animated movies with my toddler – these always have incredible 4K HDR imagery. But even throwing on other shows and movies is noticeably beautiful on this OLED panel. I will mention that OLED panels won’t get as bright as many LEDs, so this should be a consideration if you have a huge light source or a window in your room.
I’m situated right next to a window, and mostly it’s a non-issue. I just watched Top Gun Maverick for the first time, and honestly, it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while, and watching it on here was an absolute pleasure. Between reflections and a glossy finish, I would have expected viewing angles to be worse than they are, but even from the extreme side, content is absolutely watchable. Not that you’d really ever be in this angle anyways.
Speakers
The speakers are actually really great as well, although I don’t really ever blast them, and I can’t really show you through this video the quality of the speakers. It is super nice playing music though and having it fill the entire floor. I’m in the market for a good soundbar though, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments.
OS and UI
This TV comes with an updated web OS operating system that has mostly everything you need, although I feel it’s a bit bloated. However, I’ve gotten used to it since I use this TV every single day. There are a lot of apps, ads, and suggestions that I don’t use. That said, I think I’ll connect an Apple TV soon because I prefer the minimal UI. The C2 has Smart features like Google and Alexa integration, but I haven’t used them much. It also has all the popular apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus. The ambient modes are a nice feature while chilling on the couch, working, or reading. And my absolute favorite feature is being able to connect Bluetooth earbuds to the TV without waking up my family. It’s a must-have for my late-night game sessions.”
Remote
When it comes to the remote, it’s thick and while I wasn’t really a fan about it in my original review, my opinion largely remains unchanged. The magic cursor is cool, but I still don’t really use it. The remote shortcut buttons are actually super useful. If I’m not gaming, I’m just switching between the media apps. Either way, I think I’ll be getting a new Apple TV, as mentioned, which would replace this remote. From gaming to movies, this has easily been one of the best TVs I’ve ever used.
Verdict
Honestly, I’m just happy to have high refresh with my new-gen consoles. I still PC game every week when I want to be more competitive, but I’ll always be a console COD player, and I’ll always prefer open-world and story-based games on a TV. At the end of a long day, jumping into my favorite game is peak relaxation.
